Alex Scott (footballer, born 1984)

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.

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) 14 October 1984[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 place2015 Canada
UEFA Women's Championship
Runner-up2009 Finland
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

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]

In October 2023, she won The Sport Award in the 2023 Virgin Atlantic Attitude Awards.[6]

Early life

Alexandra Virina Scott was born on 14 October 1984 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 Jewish and opposed fascism in East London,[7] and that her four times great-grandfather was a black man who owned twenty-six slaves.[8]

Scott attended Langdon Park School which has been granted Sports College status.

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.

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]

Scott was allotted 155 when the FA announced their legacy numbers scheme to honour the 50th anniversary of England’s inaugural international.[22][23]

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.[24][25]

Media career

Scott began her media career while still playing football, appearing on programmes such as Soccer AM[26] with other minor roles at BBC Sport, BT Sport, and Sky Sports.[27] While playing for Arsenal, she completed a degree in Professional Sports Writing and Broadcasting at Staffordshire University.[28] She wrote a weekly women's football column in the Morning Star newspaper,[29] and a column in The Independent during the 2014 FIFA World Cup.[30][31]

In 2016 she appeared in Bear Grylls' ITV show, Mission Survive, which she won.[32]

Following her retirement in 2017, Scott turned her focus full-time to television broadcasting, co-presenting on Match of the Day Kickabout.[33] 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.[34] 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.[35] She covered the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup for the BBC.[34] In August 2019, Scott was announced as the new co-host of Sky Sports' Goals on Sunday alongside Chris Kamara.[36] 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.

In September 2019 Scott was a contestant on the 17th series of Strictly Come Dancing, paired with professional dancer Neil Jones.[37] 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 [lower-alpha 1] Safe
5 Charleston / "Pump Up the Jam" 8 8 8 9 [lower-alpha 2] 33 Safe
6 Street / "Ghostbusters" [lower-alpha 3] 7 9 9 9 34 Safe
7 American Smooth / "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" [lower-alpha 3] 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 [lower-alpha 1] Safe
11 Samba / "Joyful Joyful" 6 7 7 7 27 [lower-alpha 1] Eliminated
  1. Red number indicates Alex and Neil were at the bottom of the leaderboard
  2. Score awarded by guest judge Alfonso Ribeiro
  3. 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.[34][38]

In May 2021, Scott was announced as the new presenter of Football Focus, after Dan Walker's decision to step down.[39] In July 2021, Scott was announced as the host of a new BBC daytime quiz show, The Tournament,[40] which began airing in November.[41] That same month (July), Scott was announced as a commentator for the EA Sports game FIFA 22.[42] She was a main presenter for the BBC's coverage of the 2020 Olympic Games alongside Clare Balding.[43]

Scott participated in the ancestry research programme Who Do You Think You Are?, which aired from October 2021 onwards.[44]

Her memoir How (Not) To Be Strong was published on 29 September 2022.[45]

Shortly after 7 European national football associations announced that they were asking their captains not to wear the pro-LGBTQ+ OneLove armband at the 2022 FIFA World Cup, due to a threat of sporting sanctions from FIFA, Scott wore the armband while reporting on the England vs Iran match on 21 November.[46]

On 10 March 2023, following the suspension of Gary Lineker as the host of Match of the Day for allegedly breaching BBC impartiality rules by criticising the government's asylum policy on Twitter, Scott sent a Bernie Sanders meme "nah not me" to indicate she would not present the following episode of the show in solidarity with Lineker.[47]

In June 2023, Scott was featured in the national ad for messaging platform WhatsApp. In the campaign titled A Private Message, Scott starred opposite Ted Lasso actor Karen Johal. WhatsApp used Scott to help promote their new secure messaging services.[48]

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.[49]

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.[50][51] She received an honorary doctorate from the University of Hertfordshire in 2021.[52]

Scott and former partner, and teammate, Kelly Smith shared a house in Hertfordshire.[53] The pair were teammates in America while both played for the Boston Breakers.[54][55] 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 said she has been in relationships with both men and women.[56]

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[57]
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
311 May 2006St. Mary's, Southampton, England Hungary2–02–02007 FIFA World Cup qualification
425 October 2006Waldstadion, Ahlen, Germany Germany1–01–5Friendly
58 March 2007National Hockey Stadium, Milton Keynes, England Russia1–06–0Friendly
628 January 2007Guangdong Olympic Stadium, Guangzhou, China United States1–11–12007 Four Nations Tournament
7 27 October 2007 Bescot Stadium, Walsall, England  Belarus 1–0 4–0 2009 UEFA Championship qualification
8 4–0
926 November 2009Buca Arena, İzmir, Turkey Turkey1–03–02011 FIFA World Cup qualification
10 1 March 2010 GSP Stadium, Nicosia, Cyprus  Italy 1–0 3–2 2010 Cyprus Cup
11 2–0
1221 August 2010Sepp-Doll-Stadion, Krems, Austria Austria3–04–02011 FIFA World Cup qualification

Honours

Arsenal

England

Orders and special awards

See also

References
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  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. Attitude Staff (12 October 2023). "Here are all the winners from the 2023 Virgin Atlantic Attitude Awards, powered by Jaguar". www.attitude.co.uk.
  7. Wolfisz, Francine (14 September 2021). "Alex Scott taps into Jewish roots for BBC One's Who Do You Think You Are?". Jewish News. Retrieved 17 September 2021.
  8. 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.
  9. "BBC presenter Alex Scott: I won't let my abusive dad win any more". BBC Sport. Retrieved 6 October 2022.
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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 (2016), The Roar of the Lionesses: Women's Football in England, Pitch Publishing Limited, ISBN 9781785311512
  • Dunn, Carrie (2019), Pride of the Lionesses: The Changing Face of Women's Football in England, Pitch Publishing (Brighton) Limited, ISBN 9781785315411
  • Grainey, Timothy (2012), Beyond Bend It Like Beckham: The Global Phenomenon of Women's Soccer, University of Nebraska Press, ISBN 0803240368
  • Scott, Alex (2022), How (Not) To Be Strong, Penguin Books, ISBN 9781529159134
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