England centurion Alex Scott was awarded an MBE for services to football in the New Year’s Honours list.
The Lionesses legend is the second most-capped England player of all time with 136 appearances to her name.
She helped her country win bronze at the 2015 World Cup in Canada and silver at the 2009 European Championship in Finland.
She has appeared in three World Cups and four European Championships in total as well as the 2012 Olympics in London.
Scott said: “It hasn’t sunk in yet. It’s such a proud moment.
“I’ve been on such a journey in my football career and this kind of tops it all off. I feel for my mum. I know it’s special for her, too.
“I want to say thank you to everyone for the role they have played [in my career], whether it’s a huge part or a small part, it means a lot to me. This is for them as well.”
Scott joins a growing list of Lionesses to have been honoured; a list that includes Kelly Smith, Rachel Yankey, Fara Williams, Casey Stoney, Faye White, Steph Houghton and Karen Carney.
One of the most recognisable faces in the women’s game, Scott transcends her sport.
Not only has she won countless honours with Arsenal, including the 2016 SSE Women’s FA Cup, but she is now a well-known television celebrity, most notably through her appearances on Soccer AM and Bear Grylls: Mission Survive.
And Scott recently joined UNICEF and local children on a walk, on Universal Children's day, to promote the ENDviolence campaign while she was in Papua New Guinea for the FIFA Women’s U20 World Cup.
Football is at the heart of everything she does.
Scott said: “People tell you that you’re an inspiration and a role model, but you don’t set out to be that.
“The dream was to be a professional footballer.
“To travel the world like I’ve done is just amazing and it still blows my mind, the journey that I’ve been on.
“When you get recognition like this it doesn’t sink in. I was just a girl that followed her passion. It became my profession and now I’m beginning to realise it’s my purpose as well.
“I read a quote recently that said: ‘Don’t tell your life what you’re going to do with it. Allow your life to show you who you are.’
“[My life] is showing me who I am and I get energy now from doing projects away from the field, and I realise as I transition, that stuff is huge in the part I’ve got to play to help the sport grow.”
