England midfielder Jill Scott tells FourFourTwo about the struggles of playing as a young girl in the boy’s football team
The 32-year-old, who plays at Manchester City alongside captain Steph Houghton, is one of the squad’s most experienced players, having played at three World Cups and three European Championships as an England midfielder.
One of her first football memories was winning the man of the match trophy, when she played for a boy’s team at the age of seven.
Speaking in the July issue of FourFourTwo magazine, Scott says: “They wanted to change the inscription to ‘Girl of the Match’, but I kicked up a fuss and didn’t let them change it - I didn’t want anyone to think I’d only won because I was the only girl in the team.
“A local paper got wind of it and wrote a story. The headline read: ‘Jill is proud to be a man’, which was pretty embarrassing.”
Being the only girl in the team wasn’t without its difficulties, as Scott admits to being shouted at by parents and being kicked by fellow team-mates.
“I used to get a lot of stick, and parents shouted things like, ‘kick that girl’. There were definitely times I walked off the pitch in tears. But I’d always pick up my boots a couple of days later and go back to training, then play again the following weekend.
“It was hard, but I always felt like I was meant to play football and no one was going to stop me.”
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Read the full interview with Jill Scott and other England Women's internationals in the July 2019 issue of FourFourTwo, which you can order online here. This issue also includes exclusive interview with Diego Maradona ahead of the World Cup in France, a history of madness at the Copa America, and an in-depth profile of ex-Barcelona and Spain hero, Carles Puyol.
Conor Pope is the former Online Editor of FourFourTwo, overseeing all digital content. He plays football regularly, and has a large, discerning and ever-growing collection of football shirts from around the world.
He supports Blackburn Rovers and holds a season ticket with south London non-league side Dulwich Hamlet. His main football passions include Tugay, the San Siro and only using a winter ball when it snows.
