Thursday 31 December 2015 07:48, UK
Tracey Neville, Fara Williams, Steph Houghton and Heather Rabbatts head the list of sportswomen recognised with MBEs in the 2016 New Year Honours List.
Liverpool Ladies midfielder Williams has made 148 appearances for her country - a record for any England player, male or female.
The 31-year-old, who made her international debut aged 17, scored three goals at the 2015 Women's World Cup in Canada, including the winner from the penalty spot as England clinched the bronze medal.
Manchester City Women's defender Houghton skippered the Lionesses over the summer as they secured the best ever result for an England senior football team overseas with their historic third-place finish in Canada.
Durham-born Houghton, who was Team GB's top scorer at the London 2012 Olympics, has won 66 England caps and was appointed skipper by head coach Mark Sampson in January 2014.
Houghton said: "I am delighted and surprised to receive an MBE and it is a massive step in the right direction to see that we are being recognised both at country and club level.
"I would never have thought of receiving an MBE in a million years because my main aim is just to play as well as you can for your team and your country, and everything else comes as a bonus."
Football Association board member and chair of the organisation's inclusion advisory panel Rabbatts has also been awarded an MBE.
In 2011, Rabbatts became the first woman appointed as an FA director and the former Millwall deputy chair remains the only female and only ethnic minority member of the FA board.
England netball head coach Neville - Phil Neville's twin and younger sister of Gary - has also been recognised with an MBE in the New Year's Honours List.
After guiding Manchester Thunder to the Superleague title in 2014, Neville took over from Anna Mayes as interim England head coach ahead of the 2015 World Cup in Australia.
The 38-year-old guided England to the bronze medal at the tournament after they defeated Jamaica, who had edged them to bronze at the 2014 Commonwealth Games.
Neville told Sky Sports News HQ the award was "a privilege" and said she would let her brothers "find out on Sky Sports News - like I always find out their news!"
There is also an MBE for Janice Eaglesham, co-founder of the Red Star Athletics Club in Glasgow.
Eaglesham and partner Ian Mirfin, who was also awarded an MBE, set up the Red Star club for athletes with disabilities in 1990.
The club, which has in excess of 50 people regularly attending twice-weekly sessions, was the first of its kind in Scotland and previous members have gone on to set world records and compete at international level.
The Honours List also saw the award of a number of British Empire Medals (BEMs) for outstanding work in the community.
Sharon Blackman, head coach of Chichester Fencing Club was awarded a BEM for her services to fencing. Elizabeth Gibbons, who runs weekly horse riding sessions for disabled people in Cornwall was another BME recipient, as was Fitmums and Friends founder Samantha Barlow, who launched a jogging club to help mothers socialise while remaining active in East Yorkshire.
