Jill Scott still carries ‘massive guilt’ over family’s sacrifices for her career

The former England midfielder, 36, who played for clubs including Manchester City and Everton, retired last summer after the team made history by winning the European Championship title.

Appearing on BBC Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs, host Lauren Laverne asked about the personal sacrifices that were made for Scott to play at the top level in women’s football.

Scott, from Sunderland, said: ‘I feel like the sacrifice, maybe, isn’t with me because I got to go and live my best life playing football.

‘But I feel like my family made a big sacrifice because I have been absent from a lot of things.

‘My sister’s wedding, I remember going to the wedding and the first dance was about to happen.

‘I had to leave because I had an FA Cup semi-final the next day in London, I had drive from Sunderland to London, still had the hairpins in, I think I still had my bridesmaid dress on, so for me not to be there for her first dance and to just leave the wedding.’

She argued that it was, perhaps, her family who had to make sacrifices, rather than her.

Scott also spoke about what she gave up when she first signed for Everton, making the six-hour round trip from her home in Sunderland to Merseyside three times a week.

She admitted it was ‘difficult in terms of there was a lot of sofa surfing if we had a game the next day’, but she did form ‘the best friendships’.

‘I was up and down the motorway probably three times a week just trying to find somewhere to sleep,’ she said.

‘I was working at Gateshead college, I’d finish coaching, I’d get in the car and I was just so excited to be going to football, to be seeing my friends.

‘The journeys back were hard if we finished at 10pm and get back to Sunderland. It was a slog but honestly I had the biggest smile on my face.’

The TV star played for Everton women’s team with the likes of Rachel Unitt and Fara Williams, who were England professionals that she admired.

When comparing the sacrifices she made in relation to male Premier League players who were earning top salaries, she confessed that she’s ‘never thought about the money side’.

However, she doesn’t believe that ‘money makes you happy’.

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