Jill Scott has won a European Championship, lifted the Women's Super League title and collected 161 England caps.
So why is one of the most decorated players in Lionesses history joining a team currently playing in the sixth tier of English women's football?
Scott wants to be part of Salford City’s ambitious project around their women’s team, the aptly-named Salford City Lionesses.
From England's Lionesses to Salford's Lionesses
Scott has been appointed Chief Women's Football Advisor at Salford City, where she will help shape the technical programme for the club's women's first team and academy. The 39-year-old will also support the development of players and coaching staff, while drawing on her own journey from grassroots football to the professional game to inspire the next generation across Salford and Greater Manchester.
It marks Scott's return to football after retiring in 2022. Since then, she has become a familiar face on television, winning ITV's 'I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!', working as a pundit and appearing alongside the likes of Gary Neville, co-owner of Salford City, on The Overlap.
Why Salford?
Salford City Lionesses currently play in the North West Women's Regional League Division One Central, in the sixth tier of the English women's pyramid.
They have won their opening two games of the season and welcomed Bury on Sunday - their first match since Scott's appointment.
But the club's ambitions extend considerably beyond their current position in the pyramid.
AIG has agreed in principle to become the largest minority equity investor in the Lionesses, with the investment described as part of a long-term plan for the women's team.
If completed, AIG says it would become the first Fortune 500 company to take an ownership stake in a UK women's football club, with plans for developing the existing environment and pathways for future players.
Rather than playing her part in a WSL side, one of England's most recognisable former internationals is taking a role at a club much further down the pyramid, but one with big ambitions of transforming their women’s team.
