About Alex Scott
Country of Birth
United Kingdom
Industry
Sports
Top Achievements
Alexandra Virina Scott is a former professional footballer and one of four women who made more than 140 appearances playing for England. She represented Great Britain at the 2012 Summer Olympics and one of her most well-known triumphs was when she scored the winning goal for Arsenal in the 2007 UEFA Women’s Cup Final. Today she is a well-known television sports pundit.
Early Life and Education
Alex was born in 1984 in Poplar, East London to a British mother and a Jamaican father. She attended London’s Langdon Park School, a co-ed secondary school and sixth form.
While she was already playing for Arsenal, she completed a degree in Professional Sports Writing and Broadcasting at Staffordshire University.
Early Career
Alex’s sports abilities were clear from an early age. When she was eight years old, she signed with Arsenal, an English professional women’s football club based in Islington, London. She started as striker/right winger in 2003 and then moved to full-back. She played a key role in Arsenal’s “quadruple” in 2006-2007, winning all four trophy competitions.
Alex had brief stints playing for Birmingham City and in the US as part of the Boston Breakers. She ultimately returned to Arsenal in 2012 and was captain for the 2014-2015 season. Her last game was against Manchester City Women in 2017.
Achievements
Alex is one of four players to have played football for England more than 140 times. In the 2002 FIFA U-19 Women’s World Championship, she competed at the U19 and U21 levels. In 2004, she debuted internationally against the Netherlands. She played in several editions of the UEFA Women’s Championship and three FIFA Women’s World Cups. In 2009, she won silver at the 2009 UEFA Women’s Euros, and in 2015, she won bronze at the FIFA Women’s World Cup. In the 2013 and 2014 Women’s FA Cup Finals, she collected two winner’s medals.
Following a successful football career, Alex shifted her focus to broadcasting. She became a co-presenter on the British children’s program, Match of the Day Kickabout. In 2018, she became the BBC’s first female football pundit to cover the FIFA World Cup. She then became the first female pundit on Sky Sports to join the Super Sunday team, and later became co-host of Sky Sports’ Goals on Sunday program. She has been a regular presenter on the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Awards since 2020.
Recognition
In 2017, Alex was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE).
In 2019, Alex was inducted into the English Football Hall of Fame.
In 2021, she received an honorary doctorate from the University of Hertfordshire.
In 2023, she won The Sport Award in the 2023 Virgin Atlantic Attitude Awards.
Additional Facts
- In 2016, she appeared on ITV’s Mission Survive and won.
- In 2019, she participated in the British contest Strictly Come Dancing and came in fifth place.
- In 2021, she participated in the British genealogy series, Who Do You Think You Are?
- In 2022, Alex published a memoir in which she revealed she had been a victim of domestic abuse at the hands of her father as a child. She pledged the proceeds of her book to abused women.
- In 2023, she appeared in advertisements for WhatsApp.
- Alex has been outspoken about the sexist abuse she receives online as a female football pundit.
