Sheila Begbie inducted into Scottish Football Hall of Fame

On Friday 30th May, as the Scotland Women's National Team prepared to take on Austria at Hampden Park in the Nations League, a group of women gathered at the national stadium for a special evening of celebration. Former Scotland players, Sheila Begbie amongst them, arrived to be recognised formally by the Scottish FA, for their contribution to Scottish football and to receive a long overdue cap. They are the Trailblazers, the women who put Scottish football on the map and solidified a future for those who play today. 

Alongside her commemorative cap, Sheila Begbie was inducted to the Scottish Football Hall of Fame for her outstanding contribution to football, as a player but also as a pioneering administrator and champion of the girls and women's game. 

How it all began

Sheila Begbie's footballing career was summarised for the assembled group of former players, guests and Scottish FA and football family colleagues at Hampden Park, by Richard McBrearty, Curator of the Scottish Football Museum. Sheila started as a young girl in Edinburgh in the 1960s, stepping up a gear in secondary school when she began playing with local team Edinburgh Dynamos – the team that would be part of her whole career. At this time that Scottish Women’s Football Association (SWFA) was formed and the first official league started. As an athlete she excelled at cross-country as well as football, but when the time came to choose just one sport, her decision was football. 

Sheila has great success with the Dynamos and her experiences during those early years gave her resilience as a player but also a determination to seek to improve things for women. 

In 1973 she got the chance to play for Scotland alongside her idols Rose Reilly and Edna Neillis, cementing her place in the national team til 1980. Sheila’s most memorable game arguably came in 1977 when she captained her country to a 2-1 win against England in Dundee. Another memorable occasion was an international match against Italy at the San Siro in Milan in 1974.

Sheila got a new role at the Scottish Sports Council as Women & Girls Football Coordinator, with successes including securing an unprecedented 12 years of funding for the women's game. Gaining qualifications and working to build strong links in the girls and women's game, she became Head of Women's and Girls Football at the SFA in 1998 and was involved in establishing the Scottish FA Women’s National Performance Centre at the University of Stirling.

Appointing the first professional national team coach Vera Pauw and then working with Anna Signeul to continue to develop the game - with much admiration from coaches and players - Sheila received a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the New Year’s Honours List for her services to women’s football and she also worked with UEFA in several roles including Head of their Women’s Committee and as a Match Delegate.

Sheila left the SFA in 2014, switching sports to take up a new appointment with the Scottish Rugby Union (SRU) as Head of Women's Rugby and retired from the SRU in the summer of 2021.

Words of thanks and appreciation

Fiona McIntyre, Managing Director of the SWPL and Chair of the Hall of Fame Induction Committee, shared a heartfelt and personal thanks to Sheila for the impact that she had both on the game as a whole, but also on Fiona's own career path. The groundbreaking pathway for girls and women in football that was put in place by Sheila, and important colleagues such as Anna Signeul, allowed so many to participate at a young age regionally and nationally as Sheila laid the foundations for much of what we see today in respect of both domestic club competitions and development as well as national teams and elite pathways. SWF’s youth leagues and the Scottish FA’s NextGen programme are examples of pathyways in action that would likely not exist now if it were not for Sheila's determination to make the game accessible. 

Speaking of the importance of the work Sheila has done, Fiona said: 

"Being part of this new wave of work on the Scottish Football Hall of Fame has been a real privilege and has been a great way to find out in so much more depth about so many outstanding, pioneering women in the game.

Speaking of the new wave of change to bring the Hall of Fame into a new era, Fiona said:

"I'm delighted that the Hall of Fame has entered this new chapter to address the balance within the roster and to induct women who have made a significant and positive impact on the game."

The Scottish Football Hall of Fame 

The Hall of Fame aims to celebrate the successes of those in football who have made a significant, positive impact to the game in Scotland. The Scottish Football Museum team and its Board wish to revamp and refresh the Hall of Fame, to bring its suite of inductees into a new, modern era and to reflect a more inclusive and current view of the game.

New panels were formed in 2024 to discuss and review female candidates for potential inclusion in the Hall of Fame; these panels were formed of experts in football history, commentators, authors, football administrators, SWPL Club Captains. A shortlist of candidates was drawn up to be inducted in 2025. 

In order to be inducted into the Scottish Football Hall of Fame, a candidate must:

Be a retired Coach, Manager, Player with a minimum of 5 years’ experience.

Have made a positive contribution towards Scottish football (not necessarily being Scottish-born or of Scottish heritage themselves) based on any/all of the following 3 principles:

·       Achieved significant success with a Club, League and/or national programme

·       Changed the game for the greater good

·       Pioneered or championed inclusion and/or diversity

There is no minimum requirement of caps for players to be considered for induction to the HOF.

Plans are in place to continue to diversify and grow the Hall of Fame. For more information on the Hall of Fame, please contact: info@scottishfootballmuseum.org.uk and title your email 'Hall of Fame'.