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'I've left women's football in a better place'

Molly Smith
BBC News, North East and Cumbria
BBC Jill Scott is standing on a football pitch as young footballers play in the background. She has long brown hair in a ponytail and is wearing a pink jumper.BBC
Jill Scott said she can't remember having flood-lit pitches when she was younger

Former Lioness Jill Scott said she does not think she would be able to "survive nowadays" due to the technical level of girls' football.

She returned to Sunderland alongside former referee Rebecca Welch and said the provision for girls in her home city was now far better than when she was younger.

The pair attended an Emerging Talent Centre (ETC) session and presented coach Sophie Gibson with a Community Captain Award to acknowledge the time she has volunteered, which Scott said "often goes unnoticed".

The former midfielder said she cannot remember playing on flood-lit pitches when she was growing up but, after retiring in 2022, has "left the game in a better place".

Ms Gibson, a sports development officer at the Foundation of Light, has coached the girls at Sunderland Downhill for two years and said the award was a "massive surprise".

"When we were kids, sometimes we wouldn't even get 11 players for the pitch, and now you look behind me and you've got so many girls here just wanting to play football," said the 24-year-old.

"The standard just gets better and better every year."

Sophie Gibson who has light hair in a ponytail and is wearing a black coat with the red and white Sunderland AFC badge. She's standing on a football pitch and is holding a white, blue, purple and yellow award.
Sophie Gibson said the girls always give 100%

ETC's across England are funded by the Premier League to support the next generation of female footballers.

Welch, who is from Washington, Sunderland, was the first woman to referee a Premier League fixture in 2023.

The pair also took part in a skills session with the young footballers.

"Obviously our journey was a lot different," said Scott.

"We had a dream that didn't exist because there were no female professional footballers.

"It's so fun to be back here and see so many girls playing football.

"I feel very lucky that I grew up in Sunderland."

Last year, Scott, 37, joined the Foundation of Light's board of trustees in the hope of supporting women's football provision.

Ms Gibson said the girls coming through are "so passionate these days about football".

"They're just always 100%, you never have to get after them," she added.

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