Top News

The England great has stepped into a new position at Salford City, with ambitious plans in place to reshape the club’s women’s football set-up.

Jill Scott won the European Championship, lifted the Women’s Super League title and earned 161 caps for England.

So why is one of the most decorated players in Lionesses history joining a side currently competing in the sixth tier of English women’s football?

Scott wants to play a part in Salford City’s ambitious project centred on their women’s team, the aptly named Salford City Lionesses.

Scott has been named Chief Women’s Football Advisor at Salford City, where she will help mould the technical programme for the club’s women’s first team and academy. The 39-year-old will also assist with the development of players and coaching staff, while using her own journey from grassroots football to the professional game to inspire the next generation across Salford and Greater Manchester.

The role 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 Gary Neville, Salford City’s co-owner, on The Overlap.

Salford City Lionesses currently compete in the North West Women’s Regional League Division One Central, which sits at the sixth tier of the English women’s football pyramid.

They won their opening two matches of the season and hosted Bury on Sunday in their first game since Scott’s appointment.

However, the club’s ambitions stretch well beyond their current place in the pyramid.

AIG has agreed in principle to become the biggest minority equity investor in the Lionesses, with the investment described as part of a long-term strategy for the women’s team.

If the deal is 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 to develop the existing environment and pathways for future players.

Instead of taking up a role with a WSL side, one of England’s most recognisable former internationals is joining a club much lower down the pyramid, but one with major ambitions to transform its women’s team.