Four members of the England women's football team which became European champions in the summer have been recognised in the New Year Honours List.
Captain Leah Williamson, who lifted the Women's Euro trophy after a 2-1 victory over Germany at Wembley in July, has been made an OBE while her team-mates Lucy Bronze, Beth Mead and Ellen White all become MBEs.
England's Dutch head coach Sarina Wiegman was also made a CBE on the Overseas List. She said: "I feel very privileged and humbled to have been given such a prestigious honour and would like to dedicate it to the players, the support team and others within The FA who have worked tirelessly for our shared success.
"As I reflect upon this I would like to thank the fans for the warmth they have shown to me since I joined in 2021, I feel very proud to represent them as England's head coach.
"I would also like to share my congratulations to Leah, Beth, Ellen and Lucy, their recognition is a reflection of a brilliant 12 months for the whole squad and the excellent work they all do on and off of the pitch.
It's been a wonderful year and as we look ahead to 2023 we hope we can continue to make the country proud."
Williamson skippered England to glory on home soil in the summer, while her Arsenal team-mate Mead was the tournament's top scorer and was voted its best player. Earlier this month, Mead was voted BBC Sports Personality of the Year.
White had been a key figure in England's attack for more than a decade until her retirement from the game in August, while Barcelona right-back Bronze is arguably the Lionesses' highest-profile player, having been voted the best player in the world in 2020.
Sir Hugh Robertson, the chairman of the honours sport committee, was asked why more of the Lionesses squad had not been recognised.
"What we've tried to do is stick to the principle of the honours, which is to recognise excellence and to recognise extraordinary contributions," he said.
In addition to the Lionesses quartet, the captains of Wales and Scotland, Sophie Ingle and Kim Little, have been made an OBE and MBE respectively.
Little's Arsenal and Scotland team-mate Jen Beattie, who was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2020, has also become a MBE for services to football and charity.
"I'm beyond proud," Beattie said. "It's something I never even dreamed of or expected, it's just an incredible feeling."
Beattie says the recognition of her charity work, which includes working with Cancer Research UK, is "definitely the part I'm most proud of".
"Work like that to raise awareness, to encourage people to check themselves, go to GP appointments, that's something that's been most important to me, because it ultimately saved my life, going to get checked."
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