England captain Steph Houghton said yesterday that she believes women’s football is finally getting the recognition it has strived for — and is relishing the chance to ramp up wider public interest during the World Cup this summer.

The Durham-born defender, who shot to prominence with three goals for Great Britain at the London Olympics, has been captaining England for the last year.

The Women in Football group, which recently launched a campaign to tackle sexism in football, was marked International Women’s Day yesterday by holding a panel debate at Wembley Stadium.

Houghton has seen her profile soar since becoming England skipper, while international teammates past and present including Eni Aluko and Sue Smith have become familiar TV and radio pundits.

The World Cup in Canada is just three months away and England are stepping up their preparation at the Cyprus Cup, where Mark Sampson’s side have already beaten Finland and Australia, and where they play the Netherlands today.

Houghton said: “We are getting a few more well-known names and well-known faces and the support and the knowledge of the women game is getting bigger. It’s nice to know that all the hard work you’re putting in is being recognised but the most important thing is we concentrate on what happens on the pitch.”

The 26-year-old Manchester City captain has led England in recent defeats to Germany and the United States, the leading two teams on the Fifa rankings, but remains confident she and her teammates can be seriously competitive at the World Cup, where reaching the semi-finals is an acknowledged target.

Houghton said: “We have to believe in the squad that we’ve got and I believe as the captain we have players that could be up with the best of the rest of the world.

“We’ve got to be focused, we’ve got to make sure we prepare properly and put the team first before any individual and I think that’s the most important thing before we go to Canada in June.”