Harriet Scott (footballer)

Harriet Archer Scott (born 10 February 1993) is a professional footballer who plays as a defender for Birmingham City and the Republic of Ireland national team.[3] She was named Women's International Player of the Year by the Football Association of Ireland in 2018.[4] A combative left-back, Scott joined Reading at youth level and remained with the Berkshire club when they were promoted into the FA Women's Super League in 2015.

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

Harriet Scott
Personal information
Full name Harriet Archer Scott[1]
Date of birth (1993-02-10) 10 February 1993
Place of birth Reading, England[2]
Height 1.62 m (5 ft 4 in)
Position(s) Defender
Team information
Current team
 Birmingham City
Number 3
Youth career
Caversham
Reading
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2009–2018 Reading 24 (0)
2018– Birmingham City 67 (1)
International career‡
2017– Republic of Ireland 23 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 8 May 2022
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 6 September 2022

Club career

Scott joined her local club Reading as an eight-year-old and progressed through the club's youth system to debut in the first team as a 16-year-old. She spent some time out of football due to her studies, before returning to Reading and helping them secure promotion to the top-flight FA Women's Super League in 2015.[5]

Scott signed a full-time professional contract with Reading in January 2016.[6] She made seven appearances during the 2016 FA WSL season.[7] Reading finished in eighth place with a 1–9–6 record.[7] After signing a new contract with Reading for the 2017 FA WSL season, Scott made eight appearances during the regular season. The team finished in sixth place with a 2–4–2 record.[7]

After leaving Reading, Scott agreed to join Birmingham City ahead of the 2018–19 FA WSL season.[8] In her first season she was an important player for The Blues as they performed better than expected, compiling a 13–6–1 record to finish fourth in the League.[9] She signed a new two-year contract with Birmingham in July 2019.[10] Following the departure of the long-serving Kerys Harrop in 2020, Scott was appointed club captain by incoming Birmingham manager Carla Ward.[11]

In August 2023, after completing a 5-year medical degree at Keele University and returning from the 2023 Women's World Cup in Australia, Scott retired from professional football,[12] with the intention of becoming an NHS doctor.[13]

International career

Youth

In 2010, Scott was included in the Republic of Ireland U-17 squad who were runners-up in the 2010 UEFA Women's Under-17 Championship[14] and quarter-finalists in the 2010 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup.[15][16] Scott was born in England but eligible to play football for Ireland because three of her four grandparents were Irish.[3] After refusing an under-19 call up in order to prioritise her educational commitments, Scott spent an extended period out of consideration at international level.[17]

Senior

Scott made her debut for the Republic of Ireland women's national football team at the 2017 Cyprus Cup in a 2–0 win over Czech Republic.[18] She became an important national team player under head coach Colin Bell, displaying good form in the unsuccessful 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup qualifying series.[19] Scott was part of the team who successfully qualified for Ireland's first ever major tournament for the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand in 2023. She then represented the Republic of Ireland at the Women's World Cup 2023 in Australia in the summer.

Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps
Republic of Ireland 2017 10
2018 3
2019 6
2020 3
2022 1
Total23

Honours

Club
Reading

National
Individual

Personal life

During the 2020–21 FA WSL season, Scott entered her final year of studying medicine at Keele University.[21] She is a qualified and chartered physiotherapist, and left her full-time position at Royal Berkshire Hospital to become a professional footballer, although she continued to work at the Hospital part-time.[22] During the hiatus in her playing career with Reading, Scott moved to Bristol, attended the University of West England and worked as a physiotherapist for the Wales women's national football team under head coach Jayne Ludlow.[23]

References
  1. "List of Players under Written Contract Registered Between 01/08/2018 and 31/08/2018" (PDF). The FA. Retrieved 3 December 2018.
  2. Hannigan, Mary (19 September 2020). "Girls in green: meet the Irish women's soccer team". The Irish Times. Retrieved 6 November 2020.
  3. Malone, Emmet (5 July 2017). "Harriet Scott enjoying "surprise" return to the Ireland fold". Irish Times. Retrieved 24 April 2018.
  4. Gallagher, Aaron (5 July 2019). "FAI International Player of the Year Scott signs new deal with Birmingham until 2021". The42.ie. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
  5. "Harriet Scott: Reading Women defender signs new full-time contract". BBC Sport. 9 February 2017. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
  6. "Reading women: Melissa Fletcher and Harriet Scott sign new deals". BBC. 13 January 2016. Retrieved 24 April 2018.
  7. "H. Scott". Soccer Way. Retrieved 24 April 2018.
  8. "Harriet Scott: Birmingham City Women sign ex-Reading full-back". BBC Sport. 15 August 2018. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
  9. House, Alfie (11 March 2020). "Harriet Scott: The qualified physio on balancing her studies with WSL and international football". Synergy Sports Management. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
  10. "Harriet Scott Commits". Birmingham City F.C. 5 July 2019. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
  11. Rendell, Sarah (5 September 2020). "Harriet Scott and Christie Murray named as Birmingham City's captains". Newschain.uk. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
  12. "Harriet Scott interview: 'Football is one of the best jobs in the world. So life will feel very odd without it'". Irish Times. 18 August 2023. Retrieved 26 August 2023.
  13. "@HarrietAScott". Twitter.com.
  14. "Women's U17 Player Profiles". Football Association of Ireland. 18 June 2010. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
  15. "King announces 21 player squad for FIFA U17 World Cup". Football Association of Ireland. 24 August 2010. Archived from the original on 6 March 2014. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
  16. "Republic of Ireland – Squad List". FIFA. Archived from the original on 7 March 2016. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
  17. Farrell, Sinead (26 November 2017). "'It was just me being realistic. I wouldn't have been happy sacrificing my education for football'". The42.ie. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
  18. O'Grady, Dave. "Ireland's new loyal Royal". sportdec. Archived from the original on 24 April 2018. Retrieved 24 April 2018.
  19. "Scott wins Ireland Player of the Year!". Reading F.C. 19 March 2018. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
  20. "Shane Duffy and Harriet Scott take top billing at Three FAI International Awards". Irish Examiner. 18 March 2018. Retrieved 24 April 2018.
  21. McElwee, Molly. "Harriet Scott on juggling the stress of being a medical student whilst playing for Birmingham City". The Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group. Retrieved 4 September 2020.
  22. Hopes, James (27 September 2016). "Reading FC Women in the spotlight - Harriet Scott". Football in Berkshire. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
  23. "Scott: I've always been driven to do more". The Football Association. 26 March 2020. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
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