"A Scottish heart beating under an Italian Jersey" — The Story of Rose Reilly

This is a dispatch from Nuala Neary,Global Ambassador for Project: Wander Bra, based in Scotland. Our ambassadors provide global perspectives on the impact of sports, in partnership with the Women’s Sports Foundation. Follow Nuala’s adventures @ncneary

When we think of the icons of women’s football, names such as Marta, Mia Hamm, Kelly Smith, and Christine Sinclare are a few examples of players that have a lasting impact on the women’s game. There is one name people may not have heard of, a Scottish icon who I believe should be known worldwide for her incredible determination and achievements: Rose Reilly

Rose Reilly was born in 1955 and raised with a love for football in a town not far from Glasgow. She ate, slept, and breathed football from an early age when she would sneak out the house to the football park, sleep with her football, kick the ball on her way to the shops, and sneak off to football matches. Rose has a remarkable story. She had a dream, and despite everyone telling her no, she made that dream a reality. 

Rose’s first opportunity to play football came with her local boy’s club when she was seven. The manager spotted her and, impressed by her abilities, invited her to play—on one condition: she had to cut her hair short and go by Rose. Eager to play, Rose went straight to the barber’s for a short back and sides then was right into football. Her incredible goal-scoring abilities brought attention from football scouts with Celtic wanting to sign her after she scored eight goals in one game. The manager had to explain to scouts that Ross was in fact Rose, causing their excitement to cool At that young age she did not understand why they would not sign her if she was good enough. When Rose turned just nine she began playing with her local women’s team who went on a seven-year undefeated run with Rose as a key player.

She was invited to join the Scotland team for their first-ever international game against England in 1972. This was a dream come true for Rose. To put on the Scotland jersey and represent her country was such an honor. She embraced the experience and scored directly from a corner, a triumph despite England’s victory in the match.

After this game, Rose wanted to take the next step in her career and play professional football. At age 17, Rose was given a trial at semi-professional French side Reims, where after one half they gave her a contract. Her time in France did not last long, as she was soon scouted by AC Milan—her first professional team.  During this time, the Italian Federation was very forward-thinking when it came to women’s football. They provided funding and sponsorships for professional women’s teams, and access to facilities and stadiums even though women’s football was not yet officially recognised around Europe. Rose excelled in Italy, becoming the captain of every team she played for and earning the respect of her teammate, coaches and fans. She was widely regarded as the best player in the league. In Italy, her teams won eight titles for the six Italian clubs she played for, and she scored the winning goal in the Scudetti title- winning match in her first season at the Rossoneri. Remarkably, Rose won two league titles in two different countries within a single  season, after she was granted permission to play in both Italy and France. She played for Lecce on a Saturday afternoon, then flew to Paris and played for Reims on Sunday evening. 

Back in Scotland, women’s football was barely progressing, when an opportunity arose for the Scottish National team to go play against teams in the Italian league. This was an incredible opportunity for the Scotland players to test themselves against professional footballers, including their old friend Rose. Shortly after the games in Italy, Rose and her teammate, Edna Neillis  received devastating news from the Scottish Football Association:  they were banned for life for playing for the Scottish National Team. They were never contacted directly nor given a clear reason why they were banned.

Rose’s hopes of playing international football were still alive, though. After five years of living in Italy she was called to Rome to speak to the President of the Federazione Calcio Femminile (Women’s Football Federation). He had heard about the Scotland ban, welcomed her and (without asking) declared that she would play for Italy. Rose then started her application for Italian citizenship, and the country waived the marriage requirement that other women faced.  At first, many of the Italian players were not too happy about her joining the side because she was not Italian. Rose quickly won them over after she invited them to a meeting where she spoke in Italian to all the players explaining she was honored by the opportunity to play with them, and that she was not there to take anyone's spot. She was a formidable player for Italy. With every game she was a goal scoring threat, and her teammates loved playing alongside her. 

Just as Rose started to make her mark in international football, she fell ill, prompting her doctors to advise her to hang up her boots. In true Rose Reilly fashion, she defied their expectations and worked until she was fully recovered—and then won the World Cup! The World Cup was played in Jesolo, Italy, on August 24, 1984, between Italy and West Germany. The Italians completely dominated the game and fed off the energy of the crowd with Rose contributing an assist and a goal. During the second half Rose was subbed off and the manager was met by boos from the fans—a sign of how much the Italian people loved Rose Reilly. As the final whistle blew, Rose was overcome with emotion, thinking about everything that got her to that moment, every barrier that was thrown in her way and that she had just become the first and only Scottish person (male or female) to win the World Cup 

“It was a Scottish heart beating under an Italian jersey.” 

After the World Cup, she continued to bring success to her adopted country as they made their way to China in 1984 to partake in an international tournament where Rose stunned the opposition, scoring ten goals in just five games. At the end of that season Rose was named the best female football player in the world. That’s when she stopped and thought, “I’ve made it, I’ve done it!”

Rose retired at 40 and opened up a sports shop, then met her husband and had a daughter Family reasons prompted a return to Scotland where she finally received acclaim and recognition from her home country. Decades after being banned by Scotland, Rose received an honorary doctorate from the University of the West of Scotland, was inducted into the Scottish Sports Hall of Fame, and saw the football pitch she used to sneak onto as a child renamed the Rose Reilly Sports Centre. Celtic Football Club apologised for not signing her back when she played for the boys’ team and invited her to become the Celtic Women’s Ambassador. There is even a pub named after her in the southside of Glasgow. The biggest honour of all was in 2007, when she was the first woman to be inducted into the Scottish Football Hall of Fame in the national stadium. During the ceremony she was asked if she was jealous of all the men in the audience who made massive amounts of money from football, to which she answered, “I’m the richest one in this room, trophy-wise!” 

During her career, Rose Reilly earned a French title, eight Scudetti in Italy, four National Cups, two  Golden Boots in Serie A, a World Cup, and the title of Best Female Footballer in the World. Despite the obstacles, Rose never gave up on her dream and achieved all she set out to do. She is an inspiration. and women’s football in Scotland would not be where it is today without her. She changed people’s perceptions of the game and she should be known worldwide as a legend of football. If you would like to learn more about Rose Reilly there is a great documentary on YouTube along with some interesting interviews, and I hope you will all love her now as much as I do!