The ex-Manchester City player has spoken about what kept her going towards the end of her career

Jill Scott at Reddish North End FC in Stockport(Image: M&S)

Lioness star Jill Scott has revealed what ‘kept her playing for England’ towards the end of her career as she made a surprise visit to a Greater Manchester grass roots club last week.

The former England midfielder, who owns the coffee shop Boxx2Boxx in Northernden, surprised players and volunteers at Reddish North End FC in Stockport as part of a nationwide campaign to improve nutrition at grassroots football clubs.

Jill, who has long called Greater Manchester home, began her career at a grassroots level but says there wasn’t much nutritional advice when she started.

Click here to prioritise Manchester news in Google from the MEN

Instead, she thanks England manager Sarina Weigman for her advice that allowed her to keep playing at an international level until she retired in 2022.

Jill refereed a game whilst at the club(Image: M&S)

She said: “I started playing football for England in 2006. When I made my debut, we didn’t have a lot of nutritional advice back then, it was very basic. The nutritional advice that came into the game later, especially when I think about Sarina and all the advice we got, what we should and shouldn’t be eating, it’s what kept me playing for England for the last few years of my career.”

Her comments come after it was announced that she would be backing the new Eat Well Play Well Grassroots Edition initiative, alongside M&S Food, starting at community club level.

One in three grassroots football coaches (31%) say they would welcome training to offer nutritional advice to their players, with many lacking the confidence or training to provide nutritional guidance, according to new research.

The 39-year-old is trying to help the next generation of footballers coming up from grassroots clubs – something she says was ‘a massive part’ of her life growing up.

She said: “I think eating well is so important for children. It gives them the brain power to go out there, play football, enjoy it. But we need to teach them why it is important.

“They need energy, they need to recover. Grassroots football was a massive part of my life growing up. I loved playing football with my friends. I think if you can help kids at grassroot level, it just means that there’s going to be some kids that go on and play football forever.

“So the fact that we can help them to become better players or even just learn about nutrition that they can take into later life, it’s so, so important.

“I remember the managers and the coaches that really believed in me. They’d give us little bits of information, little life lessons that I’ve definitely used now that I’m an adult.”

Jill Scott with John Hargreaves, Bethany Dugdale and Chef Russell Goad(Image: M&S)

During her visit, Scott joined M&S Executive Chef Russell Goad and club volunteers to prepare a healthy meal for players, demonstrating that performance starts off the pitch. She also refereed a match, posed for photos and spoke to young footballers about the importance of balanced nutrition for performance, recovery and wellbeing.

Reddish North End FC Chairman, John Hargreaves, said: “We’re incredibly grateful for the support we receive from the Reddish community, the help we get is what allows up to carry on the work we do here. The help from M&S, from kit sponsorship to food vouchers, has been absolutely fantastic and will help the club for many years to come.”

Club cook, Bethany Dugdale, said: “The facilities have been here for 20 years to help children get into football, get them off the streets and keep them fit and healthy. Reddish is all one community, we’re there for each other. Reddish North End FC is a big part of Reddish, with lots of children involved and over 1,200 people signed up.”