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Alex Scott (footballer, born 1984)

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For other people named Alex Scott, see Alex Scott (disambiguation).

Alex Scott
MBE
Scott in 2019
Personal information
Full name Alexandra Virina Scott[1]
Date of birth (1984-10-14) October 14, 1984 (age 40)[1]
Place of birth London, England
Height 5 ft 4 in (1.63 m)[1]
Position(s) Right-back
Youth career
1992–1999 Arsenal
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2002–2004 Arsenal
2004–2005 Birmingham City 15 (2)
2005–2009 Arsenal 72 (6)
2009–2011 Boston Breakers 55 (1)
2012–2018 Arsenal 76 (6)
Total 218 (15)
International career
2004–2017 England 140 (12)
2012 Great Britain 5 (0)
Medal record
Women's football
Representing  England
FIFA Women's World Cup
Third place 2015 Canada
UEFA Women's Championship
Runner-up 2009 Finland
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Alexandra Virina Scott MBE (born 14 October 1984) is an English sports presenter, pundit, and former professional footballer who mostly played as a right-back for Arsenal in the FA WSL. She made 140 appearances for the England national team and represented Great Britain at the 2012 Summer Olympics.

At club level, Scott has had three separate spells with Arsenal, punctuated with a season at Birmingham City in 2004–05 and three years in the American Women's Professional Soccer (WPS) with Boston Breakers. She scored the winning goal for Arsenal in the 2007 UEFA Women's Cup Final.

In 2019, Scott was inducted to the English Football Hall of Fame.[2] As of 2019, Scott is a pundit for BBC Sport and Sky Sports and was featured during the 2018 FIFA World Cup and 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup.[3][4] She also covers the English Premier League.[5]

Early life

Scott was born in Poplar, East London to a British mother with Northern Irish, English and Lithuanian-Jewish heritage and a Jamaican father. During the filming of the BBC's Who Do You Think You Are? in 2021, she discovered that her maternal great-grandfather was a Jew who opposed fascism in East London,[6] and that her 4x great-grandfather, a black man, owned 26 slaves.[7]

Scott attended Langdon Park School which has been granted Sports College status. Scott and fellow past pupil rapper Dizzee Rascal both represented Great Britain (in their own fields) at the 2012 London Olympics.[8]

In 2022, Scott revealed in her autobiography that she had been a victim of domestic abuse from her father during her childhood; she pledged that all proceeds from her book would go to help women affected by similar abuse.[9]

Club career

Scott playing for Arsenal in 2006, with Emma Byrne looking on

Start in England

Scott signed on with Arsenal in 1992, at the age of eight.[10] After breaking into the first team as a striker or right winger,[11] she was later converted to full-back. Scott remained with Arsenal until the 2004–05 season, after which she moved to Birmingham City. With the addition of Scott, the club finished fourth in the FA Women's Premier League National Division. However, due to Birmingham's financial difficulties, she returned to Arsenal for the 2005–06 season.

Upon rejoining Arsenal, Scott helped the club to a domestic double of the FA Women's Premier League and FA Women's Cup. She was also a key figure in Arsenal's historic "Quadruple" season in which they won all of their trophy competitions, including the 2006–07 UEFA Women's Cup. Arsenal were the first ever British side to win the competition, with Scott scoring the only goal in the two-legged tie with Umeå IK. She appeared in 22 Premier League games, scoring two goals. In all competitions, she made 40 appearances and scored four goals.

The 2007–08 season saw Scott appear in 21 games, scoring once. In all competitions, she made 35 appearances, scoring three goals. In the 2008–09 season, Scott scored once in 13 games. In all competitions, she made 24 appearances, adding two goals.[citation needed]

Move to the United States

Scott playing for the Boston Breakers in the WPS in 2010

Upon the creation of a new women's league in the United States, Women's Professional Soccer, it was announced on 25 September 2008 that her WPS playing rights had been assigned to Chicago Red Stars, whose head coach was former Arsenal assistant Emma Hayes. Her rights were traded on 15 January 2009 to Boston Breakers and it was announced on 6 February 2009 that she would be leaving Arsenal to join up with her new team.[12]

In the inaugural 2009 Women's Professional Soccer season, Scott played in 17 games for the Breakers. She scored one goal and added one assist. In 2010, Scott featured in 21 games and registered two assists. She started 14 of her 15 matches in 2011. In December 2011, Scott returned to Arsenal on loan for the duration of a three-match pre-season tour of Japan.[13]

Back to England

When the WPS collapsed ahead of the 2012 campaign, Scott returned for a third spell at Arsenal. She was joined by Boston teammate Kelly Smith.[14] Scott was named captain for the 2014–15 season. She did not take part in the 2015 Continental Cup final where Arsenal Ladies beat Notts County to the Cup.[15] In the following season, Scott helped take Arsenal to the final of the 2016 FA Cup against Chelsea, which the Gunners won 1–0.[16] Scott played her last game on 12 May 2018 against Manchester City Women which Arsenal won 2–1.[17]

International career

Scott playing for England in 2014

England

Scott competed at the U19 and U21 levels for England, including at the 2002 FIFA U-19 Women's World Championship in Canada.[18]

Scott made her full debut against the Netherlands on 18 September 2004. She played in the 2005, 2009, 2013 and 2017 editions of the UEFA Women's Championship, as well as the 2007, 2011 and 2015 FIFA Women's World Cups. She won silver at the 2009 UEFA Women's Euros and bronze at the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup.[19]

In November 2014, Scott headed powerfully past her own goalkeeper to give Germany the lead in England's crushing 3–0 defeat at Wembley Stadium.[20]

On 2 September 2017, Scott retired from international football. On the date of retirement, she ended up as the second most capped England player with 140 appearances.[21]

Great Britain Olympics

In June 2012, Scott was named in the 18-player Great Britain squad for the 2012 London Olympics, where the British team finished 5th.[22][23]

Media career

Scott began her media career while still playing football, appearing on programmes such as Soccer AM[24] with other minor roles at BBC Sport, BT Sport, and Sky Sports.[25] In 2016 she appeared in Bear Grylls' ITV show, Mission Survive, which she won.[26]

Following her retirement in 2017, Scott turned her focus full-time to television broadcasting, co-presenting on Match of the Day Kickabout.[27] She became well known to a wider audience when she covered the 2018 FIFA World Cup, becoming the first female football pundit at a World Cup for the BBC.[28] After the tournament, she continued to provide insight on the Premier League, and in August 2018 became the first female pundit on Sky Sports, joining the Super Sunday team.[29] She covered the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup for the BBC.[28] In August 2019, Scott was announced as the new co-host of Sky Sports' Goals on Sunday alongside Chris Kamara.[30] Since 2020, Scott has been a regular presenter on the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Awards. Scott is also a frequent guest presenter on The One Show.

From September 2019 Scott was a contestant on the 17th series of Strictly Come Dancing, paired with professional dancer Neil Jones.[31] The couple were eliminated in week 11, coming fifth.

Week No. Dance/Song Judges' score Total Result
Horwood Mabuse Ballas Tonioli
1 Quickstep/ "I Get a Kick Out of You" 5 5 5 6 21 No Elimination
2 Cha cha cha / "What I Did for Love" 4 6 6 6 22 Safe
3 Rumba/ "How Far I'll Go" 5 6 6 6 23 Safe
4 Tango/ "Go Your Own Way" 4 6 6 7 23 [a] Safe
5 Charleston / "Pump Up the Jam" 8 8 8 9 [b] 33 Safe
6 Street / "Ghostbusters" [c] 7 9 9 9 34 Safe
7 American Smooth / "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" [c] 7 8 8 8 31 Safe
8 Jive / "Let's Twist Again" 7 8 8 8 31 Safe
9 Paso Doble / "Run the World (Girls)" 8 8 9 9 34 Safe
10 Argentine Tango / "Never Tear Us Apart" 4 7 7 8 26 Safe
11 Samba / "Joyful Joyful" 6 7 7 7 27 [a] Eliminated
  1. ^ a b Red number indicates Alex and Neil were at the bottom of the leaderboard
  2. ^ Score awarded by guest judge Alfonso Ribeiro
  3. ^ a b Neil was injured during week 6 rehearsals, so Kevin Clifton danced in his place

Scott has spoken out repeatedly about the sexist abuse she frequently receives on social media because of her role as a football pundit.[28][32]

In May 2021, Scott was announced as the new presenter of Football Focus, after Dan Walker's decision to step down.[33]

In July 2021, Scott was announced as the host of a new BBC daytime quiz show, The Tournament,[34] which began airing in November.[35] That same month (July), Scott was announced as a commentator for the EA Sports game FIFA 22.[36]

She was a main presenter for the BBC's coverage of the 2020 Olympic Games alongside Clare Balding.[37]

Scott participated in the ancestry research programme Who Do You Think You Are?, which aired from October 2021 onwards.[38]

Her autobiography How (Not) To Be Strong was published on 29 September 2022.[39]

Personal life

In 2011, Scott founded the Alex Scott Academy in partnership with Kingston College and Puma, for female footballers aged 16–19 years. This represented the first such academy in the UK and was intended to highlight the growth of the women's game.[40] Scott also wrote a weekly women's football column in the Morning Star newspaper.[41]

Scott was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2017 New Year Honours for services to football, she invited her mother, grandmother and niece to her investiture at Buckingham Palace and surprised her family with afternoon tea at the Ritz.[42]

Scott and former partner, and teammate, Kelly Smith shared a house in Hertfordshire.[43] The pair were teammates in America while both played for the Boston Breakers.[44][45] Both returned to England to play for Arsenal together in 2012, after the collapse of their American league.[14] In her 2022 memoir How (Not) To Be Strong, Scott confirmed that she and Smith were a couple from 2005 to 2013. While she says she fell “madly and deeply in love” with Smith, Scott has not explicitly labelled her sexuality and has been in relationships with both men and women.[46]

Career statistics

International

Scores and results list England's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Scott goal.
List of international goals scored by Alex Scott[47]
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 27 October 2005 Tapolca, Hungary  Hungary 4–0 13–0 2007 FIFA World Cup qualification
2 6–0
3 11 May 2006 St. Mary's, Southampton, England  Hungary 2–0 2–0 2007 FIFA World Cup qualification
4 25 October 2006 Waldstadion, Ahlen, Germany  Germany 1–0 1–5 Friendly
5 8 March 2007 National Hockey Stadium, Milton Keynes, England  Russia 1–0 6–0 Friendly
6 28 January 2007 Guangdong Olympic Stadium, Guangzhou, China  United States 1–1 1–1 2007 Four Nations Tournament
7 27 October 2007 Bescot Stadium, Walsall, England  Belarus 1–0 4–0 2009 UEFA Championship qualification
8 4–0
9 26 November 2009 Buca Arena, İzmir, Turkey  Turkey 1–0 3–0 2011 FIFA World Cup qualification
10 1 March 2010 GSP Stadium, Nicosia, Cyprus  Italy 1–0 3–2 2010 Cyprus Cup
11 2–0
12 21 August 2010 Sepp-Doll-Stadion, Krems, Austria  Austria 3–0 4–0 2011 FIFA World Cup qualification

Honours

Arsenal

England

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c "FIFA Women's World Cup Canada 2015: List of players: England" (PDF). FIFA. 6 July 2015. p. 10. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 June 2019. Retrieved 1 June 2019.
  2. ^ "Alex Scott". National Football Museum. Retrieved 9 January 2021.
  3. ^ "Alex Scott: Ex-England defender receives sexist abuse 'every single day' on social media". BBC. 9 May 2019. Retrieved 9 January 2021.
  4. ^ "England need to be better - Alex Scott". BBC. 9 June 2019. Retrieved 9 January 2021.
  5. ^ Bate, Adam (7 December 2020). "Arsenal's defeat to Tottenham: What is Mikel Arteta's style of play now?". Sky Sports. Retrieved 9 January 2021.
  6. ^ Wolfisz, Francine. "Alex Scott taps into Jewish roots for BBC One's Who Do You Think You Are?". Jewish news. Retrieved 17 September 2021.
  7. ^ Griffin, Louise (16 October 2021). "Alex Scott tearful as she finds out ancestor owned 26 slaves: 'That goes against everything I stand for'". Metro. Retrieved 18 October 2021.
  8. ^ "langdon park news". studylib.net. Retrieved 17 September 2021.
  9. ^ "BBC presenter Alex Scott: I won't let my abusive dad win any more". BBC Sport. Retrieved 6 October 2022.
  10. ^ "Ladies re-sign Yankey and Scott". Arsenal. 19 August 2005. Archived from the original on 10 September 2012. Retrieved 5 July 2012.
  11. ^ "Ellen Maggs going great Guns at Arsenal". femaleSOCCER.net. Retrieved 2 August 2012.
  12. ^ "Alex Scott set to join the Boston Breakers | Ladies News". Arsenal. 6 February 2009. Archived from the original on 10 September 2012. Retrieved 5 July 2012.
  13. ^ "Arsenal enjoy charity Japan trip". UEFA. 8 December 2011. Retrieved 20 December 2011.
  14. ^ a b "England's Kelly Smith and Alex Scott rejoin Arsenal Ladies". BBC Sport. 9 March 2012. Retrieved 18 August 2012.
  15. ^ "Continental Cup final: Arsenal Ladies 3–0 Notts County Ladies". BBC Sport. 1 November 2015. Retrieved 29 April 2018.
  16. ^ a b "Arsenal Ladies 1–0 Chelsea Ladies". BBC Sport. 14 May 2016. Retrieved 17 May 2018.
  17. ^ "Arsenal Women 2–1 Manchester City women". BBC Sport. 12 May 2018. Retrieved 20 May 2018.
  18. ^ "England Player Biographies". Women's Soccer World. Archived from the original on 18 July 2011. Retrieved 18 August 2012.
  19. ^ "Centurion Alex Scott retires from England duty". The FA. 2 September 2017. Retrieved 23 September 2017.
  20. ^ Thompson, Anna (23 November 2014). "England Women 0–3 Germany Women". BBC Sport. Retrieved 23 November 2014.
  21. ^ "Alex Scott: England defender retires from international football". BBC Sport. 2 September 2017. Retrieved 2 September 2017.
  22. ^ "Team GB women's squad for London 2012 announced". BBC Sport. 26 June 2012. Retrieved 26 June 2012.
  23. ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Alex Scott". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 4 December 2016.
  24. ^ Thomas-Mason, Lee (15 January 2016). "Exclusive: How England star Alex Scott is pioneering the role of women in sport". Metro. Retrieved 1 June 2019.
  25. ^ Johal, Harjeet (3 August 2017). "Euro 2017: Q&A with England fullback Alex Scott – Equalizer Soccer". Equalizer Soccer. Retrieved 1 June 2019.
  26. ^ Fletcher, Alex (7 April 2016). "Bear Grylls Mission Survive final: Alex Scott beats Jason Gardiner and Samantha Barks to win". Digital Spy. Retrieved 1 September 2017.
  27. ^ Rutzler, Peter (19 June 2018). "'Knowledgeable, insightful, brilliant': BBC pundit Alex Scott earns rave reviews at World Cup". iNews. Retrieved 1 June 2019.
  28. ^ a b c Topping, Alexandra (18 December 2018). "What happened next? How the World Cup brought in a new era for Alex Scott – and women in football". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 1 June 2019.
  29. ^ Williams, Hamish (10 August 2018). "Alex Scott to create history by being Sky Sport's first ever female pundit". Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved 1 June 2019.
  30. ^ "Football on Sky Sports in 2019/20: New season, new signings". Sky Sports. 1 August 2019. Retrieved 2 August 2019.
  31. ^ "Presenter and former footballer Alex Scott is our 12th Strictly celeb". BBC. 6 August 2019. Retrieved 6 August 2019.
  32. ^ "Alex Scott: Ex-England defender receives sexist abuse 'every single day' on social media". BBC Sport. 9 May 2019. Retrieved 1 June 2019.
  33. ^ "Alex Scott: Football Focus host 'ready to bring her best self' to new role". BBC. 15 May 2021. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
  34. ^ "Alex Scott and Ross Kemp to host new BBC Daytime Quiz formats made in Scotland". BBC. Retrieved 9 July 2021.
  35. ^ Sunner, Amber (2 November 2021). "Alex Scott to host new BBC quiz with penalty shootout tension". BristolLive. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
  36. ^ "Alex Scott confirmed as commentator on FIFA 22". MSN.
  37. ^ "Alex Scott proud of accent amid criticism from Lord Jones". BBC News. 31 July 2021. Retrieved 31 August 2021.
  38. ^ "Dame Judi Dench, Pixie Lott, Joe Lycett, Alex Scott and Josh Widdicombe among stars set to take part in a new series of Who Do You Think You Are?". BBC. Retrieved 17 September 2021.
  39. ^ Bagwell, Matt (29 September 2022). "Alex Scott Opens Up About Falling 'Madly In Love' With Lioness Teammate Kelly Smith". HuffPost. Retrieved 4 October 2022.
  40. ^ "The Alex Scott Academy". Kingston College – Sport Academies. 9 June 2011. Archived from the original on 10 June 2011. Retrieved 10 July 2011.
  41. ^ Scott, Alex (17 August 2012). "The Alex Scott column: It's time to get back to business with the Gunners". Morning Star. Archived from the original on 22 August 2012. Retrieved 18 August 2012.
  42. ^ "Alex Scott to receive an MBE". Arsenal. 30 December 2016. Retrieved 16 October 2022.
  43. ^ Thievam, Kieran (25 August 2019). "Kieran Theivam: I sat on Kelly Smith's sofa and knew I had to cover this fascinating sport". The Athletic. Retrieved 17 December 2020.
  44. ^ Gray, Ashley (10 December 2019). "Kelly Smith: How I beat the drink and turned into England's best player". Ashley Gray. Retrieved 17 December 2020.
  45. ^ "These Are the Boston Breakers: Alex Scott".
  46. ^ McLoughlin, Lisa (28 September 2022). "'I fell madly and deeply in love': Alex Scott reveals she was in a relationship with teammate Kelly Smith". Evening Standard. Retrieved 16 October 2022.
  47. ^ Karsdorp, Dirk (2018). The England Women's FC 1972–2018: The Lionesses – A Statistical Record. Soccer Books Ltd. ISBN 978-1-86223-391-1.
  48. ^ Kubusch, Lars; Shannon, David (6 March 2005). "2003–04 season". Retrieved 30 March 2018.
  49. ^ "2004 FA Women's Cup final". 3 May 2004. Retrieved 30 March 2018.
  50. ^ Harris, Chris (1 May 2006). "FA Women's Cup Final: Leeds 0–5 Arsenal". Retrieved 30 March 2018.
  51. ^ Cheese, Caroline (7 May 2007). "Arsenal Ladies 4–1 Charlton Women". Retrieved 30 March 2018.
  52. ^ Harris, Chris (5 May 2008). "FA Women's Cup Final – Leeds 1–4 Arsenal". Retrieved 30 March 2018.
  53. ^ "Women's FA Cup final: Arsenal beat Everton to retain trophy". Retrieved 22 September 2017.
  54. ^ "England – A. Scott". Retrieved 4 September 2017.
  55. ^ "Arsenal clinch League Cup glory". 4 March 2007. Retrieved 30 March 2018.
  56. ^ Leighton, Tony (26 February 2009). "Arsenal's Smith signs off in style". TheGuardian.com. Retrieved 30 March 2018.
  57. ^ Harris, Chris (2 August 2006). "Comm Shield: Arsenal Ladies 3 Everton 0". Retrieved 30 March 2018.
  58. ^ "Community Shield: Everton 0–1 Arsenal Ladies". Archived from the original on 5 March 2016.
  59. ^ "Match for third place – Match report" (PDF). FIFA. 4 July 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 July 2015. Retrieved 7 July 2019.
  60. ^ "UEFA Women's EURO 2009 – Final". UEFA. 10 September 2009. Retrieved 7 July 2019.
  61. ^ Leighton, Tony (12 March 2009). "England women win Cyprus Cup". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
  62. ^ Leighton, Tony (13 March 2013). "Rachel Yankey volley earns England women their second Cyprus Cup title". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
  63. ^ Lavery, Glenn (11 March 2015). "England 1–0 Canada: Cyprus Cup final match report". The Football Association. Retrieved 13 August 2019.

Further reading

  • Aluko, Eniola (2019), They Don't Teach This, Random House, ISBN 9781473564480
  • Caudwell, Jayne (2013), Women's Football in the UK: Continuing with Gender Analyses, Taylor & Francis, ISBN 9781317966234
  • Clarke, Gemma (2019), Soccerwomen: The Icons, Rebels, Stars, and Trailblazers Who Transformed the Beautiful Game, ISBN 9781568589206
  • Dunn, Carrie (2019), Pride of the Lionesses: The Changing Face of Women's Football in England, Pitch Publishing (Brighton) Limited, ISBN 9781785315411
  • Dunn, Carrie (2016), The Roar of the Lionesses: Women's Football in England, Pitch Publishing Limited, ISBN 9781785311512
  • Grainey, Timothy (2012), Beyond Bend It Like Beckham: The Global Phenomenon of Women's Soccer, University of Nebraska Press, ISBN 0803240368
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