Former England midfielder Jill Scott, who won 161 caps for the Lionesses and appeared at 10 major international tournaments, retired from football last year after helping her side win Euro 2022 on home soil. She has since become a household name after winning ITV reality series I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! The second series of her BBC podcast Jill Scott’s Coffee Club launched this week. This week, Scott reflected on how she has been feeling since retiring from football. She said, “This week has probably been the first time I’ve really missed football. I was waiting for it to hit me. Otherwise I have felt fine since retiring. I’m making sure I’m still speaking to people about how I’m feeling because sometimes prevention is better than cure. I know my life has changed a lot this past year. Sometimes that shift in life can hit you later on, but this past week I’ve played in two charity matches and being back on the pitch, calling for the ball and talking people through the game – I’ve missed it. I have had so many pinch-me moments this year. It’s been amazing just meeting incredible people, the whole jungle experience and obviously the Euros – which was the biggest experience of my life. My head is trying to catch up with my body. I feel so lucky that I have got to do so many amazing things.”
Scott has been taking advantage of her newfound fame by doing talks on team building and sharing stories of her journey, as well as some punditry, podcasts and TV. She said, “I can’t think of anything I’ve done where I’ve thought ‘I absolutely hated that’. The gloves are off a little bit for this series of my podcast. We have stories from the Euros which we didn’t have last time and we have some Premier League players on. That’s where I fell in love with football, following the likes of Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard and David Beckham.” Ultimately, Scott’s goal is to go back into coaching because she loves it, but she is still enjoying her new experiences. She said, “I’m one of those who likes to ‘live for the day’ but I know my inner passion is coaching. I’m hoping to sort something in the new season. I’d love to be back on the grass, even if it’s just one or two days a week.”
Scott has also been keeping in touch with her former England team-mates but has not done much punditry on the women’s game yet because it is still too fresh for her. She said, “If I’m telling Keira Walsh to play a better pass it’s probably a bit hypocritical. She’d be thinking ‘Jill, you couldn’t pass more than 15 yards’.” This summer, Scott may be doing some pitchside work in Australia for the Women’s World Cup but it will be a minimum. She said, “I always said when I was playing in tournaments how fun it would be to follow a team as a fan. Honestly, I’m just so excited for the girls. Watching them have their moments, I get a lot of joy seeing that.” Jill Scott was speaking to BBC Sport’s Emma Sanders. New episodes of Jill Scott’s Coffee Club are released every Wednesday. Find all the previous episodes here.
