Claire Emslie (born 8 March 1994) is a Scottish professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who plays as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People *Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Smal ...

for

Angel City FC Angel City Football Club is an American professional Association football, soccer team based in Los Angeles, California, that competes in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). The formation of the team was announced on July 21, 2020; it beg ...

in the American

National Women's Soccer League The National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) is a women's professional Association football, soccer league and the highest level of the United States soccer league system#Women's leagues, United States soccer league system (alongside the USL Supe ...

(NWSL) and the Scotland national team. Emslie made her senior international debut for Scotland in 2013. At the

2019 FIFA Women's World Cup The 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup was the eighth edition of the FIFA Women's World Cup, the quadrennial international Women's association football, football championship contested by 24 List of women's national association football teams, women's ...

, she scored Scotland's first ever goal in the competition, becoming the first woman to score in a World Cup for Scotland. She previously played professionally for Hibernian,

Bristol City Bristol City Football Club is a professional football club based in Bristol, England. The team compete in the , the second level of the English football league system. Founded in 1894, the club competed in the Southern League and Western L ...

Manchester City Manchester City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Manchester, England, that competes in the Premier League, the English football league system, top flight of Football in England, English footbal ...

Orlando Pride The Orlando Pride are an American professional Association football, soccer team based in Orlando, Florida, that competes in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). The Pride began play in the 2016 National Women's Soccer League season, 2016 ...

, Melbourne City, and Everton.

College career

Between 2012 and 2015, Emslie attended

Florida Atlantic University Florida Atlantic University (Florida Atlantic or FAU) is a Public university, public research university with its main campus in Boca Raton, Florida, United States. The university is a member of the State University System of Florida and has s ...

and played for the

Florida Atlantic Owls The Florida Atlantic Owls are the athletics teams of Florida Atlantic University. The Owls participate in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)'s Division I as members of the American Athletic Conference. On October 21, 2021, Flori ...

. She ended her college career with 29 goals and 10 assists in four seasons. Emslie majored in

exercise physiology Exercise physiology is the physiology of physical exercise. It is one of the allied health professions, and involves the study of the acute responses and chronic adaptations to exercise. Exercise physiologists are the highest qualified exercise ...

Club career

Hibernian, 2011–13

Emslie began her senior career in 2011 with

Scottish Women's Premier League The Scottish Women's Premier League (SWPL) is the highest level of league competition in women's football in Scotland. Its two divisions are SWPL (previously styled as ''SWPL 1'') and SWPL 2. The league was formed when the Premier Division of th ...

team Hibernian, making her debut in a league game against

Falkirk Falkirk ( ; ; ) is a town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland, historically within the county of Stirlingshire. It lies in the Forth Valley, northwest of Edinburgh and northeast of Glasgow. Falkirk had a resident population of 32,422 at the ...

on 24 April. In total, Emslie made thirty-five appearances and scored eighteen times in three seasons with Hibernian, winning the

Scottish League Cup The Scottish League Cup, also known as the Premier Sports Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a football competition open to all Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) clubs. First held in 1946–47, it is the oldest national League cup in ...

in her debut year.

Bristol City, 2016–17

On 16 June 2016, Emslie returned to the UK and joined

FA WSL 2 The Women's Super League 2, also known as Barclays Women's Super League 2 for sponsorship reasons, is a professional football league in England, operated by WSL Football. It is the second-highest division of women's football in England. The div ...

side

. She went on to score ten goals in twelve matches for Bristol, leading her team to promotion into the

FA WSL The Women's Super League (WSL), also known as the Barclays Women's Super League for sponsorship reasons, and formerly the FA WSL, is a professional association football league and the highest level of women's football in England. Currently oper ...

. She signed a new contract with Bristol in February 2017.

Manchester City, 2017–19

On 1 July 2017, following the end of the shortened

FA WSL Spring Series The FA WSL 1 Spring Series was an interim edition of the FA WSL between the sixth and seventh full seasons. The Spring Series ran from February to May 2017 to bridge the gap from the 2016 FA WSL season which ran from March to September as a summer ...

, Emslie joined

. She scored her first goal for the team in an FA WSL Cup group stage win over

Oxford United Oxford United Football Club () is a professional association football, football club based in Oxford, England. The club compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football league system, English football. Founded as Headingto ...

on 2 November 2017. She won a domestic cup double with City during the 2018–19 season, lifting both the League Cup and

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

Orlando Pride, 2019–20

On 30 May 2019, Emslie agreed a move to

of the

, joining the team after Scotland's involvement at the

which ended on 19 June with a dramatic 3–3 draw against Argentina in the group stage. She was the only one of the Prides' nine players at the World Cup to not progress to the knockout round. She made her debut for the team on 20 July 2019, coming on as a substitute for

Rachel Hill Rachel Morgan Hill (born April 17, 1995) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a forward for Bay FC of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). Early life Hill has two brothers, Zach and Jake, and played indoor soccer with th ...

in a 1–0 win over

Sky Blue FC Gotham Football Club is an American professional soccer team based in the New York metropolitan area that competes in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). Founded in 2006 as Jersey Sky Blue, the team was known as Sky Blue FC from 2008 un ...

Loan to Melbourne City, 2019–20

Emslie was loaned to Australian club Melbourne City in November 2019 following the end of the

2019 NWSL season The 2019 National Women's Soccer League season was the seventh season of the National Women's Soccer League, the top division of women's soccer in the United States. Including the NWSL's two professional predecessors, Women's Professional Soccer ...

. Emslie scored four regular-season goals as Melbourne successfully defended their Premiership title and beat

Sydney FC Sydney Football Club, commonly known as Sydney FC, is a professional association football, soccer club based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. They compete in the top-tier men's league in Australia, the A-League Men. Established in 2004, ...

in the 2020 Grand Final in February 2020.

Everton, 2020–22

With the

2020 NWSL season The 2020 National Women's Soccer League season was the eighth season of the National Women's Soccer League, the top division of women's soccer in the United States. Including the NWSL's two professional predecessors, Women's Professional Soccer ( ...

suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and Orlando withdrawing from the

2020 NWSL Challenge Cup The 2020 NWSL Challenge Cup was a tournament during the 2020 National Women's Soccer League season to mark the league's return to action from the COVID-19 pandemic. It was the first professional team sports event to return to play in United States ...

after positive COVID-19 tests among players and staff, Emslie joined

club Everton on loan in August 2020, ahead of the 2020–21 season. She made the move permanent on 31 December 2020, signing an 18-month contract with Everton.

Angel City FC, 2022–

acquired the rights to sign Emslie in the 2022 NWSL Expansion Draft in December 2021, and then officially signed with her on 7 July 2022. During the club's inaugural season, Emslie competed in 10 matches recording 784 minutes on the pitch and scoring three goals. During her debut on 9 July, she scored the game-winning goal against the

San Diego Wave San Diego Wave Fútbol Club is an American professional soccer team based in San Diego, California, that competes in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). The team plays its home games at Snapdragon Stadium. Founded on June 8, 2021, the Wav ...

. On 28 August, she scored Angel City's third goal in a 3-1 win against

Gotham FC Gotham Football Club is an American professional Association football, soccer team based in the New York metropolitan area that competes in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). Founded in 2006 as Jersey Sky Blue, the team was known as Sk ...

. The club finished their first season in eighth place with a record. During the 2023 season, Emslie started in 17 of the 20 games she played and scored three goals. She scored the game-opener during the club's 2-1 win against

on 2 April. On 7 May, she scored a goal and provided an assist during Angel City's 3-2 win against

Kansas City Current The Kansas City Current are an American professional Association football, soccer team based in Kansas City, Missouri, that competes in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). It was founded as an NWSL expansion, expansion team in 2021 NWSL ...

. She scored Angel City's lone goal, an olympico, in a 4-1 loss to

Seattle Reign FC Seattle Reign FC is an American professional soccer team based in Seattle, Washington, that competes in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). Founded in 2012, it is one of eight inaugural members of the NWSL. Since June 2024, the Reign ar ...

on 27 May. Angel City finished in fifth place during the regular season and advanced to the

playoffs The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

for the first time where they were eliminated by Seattle in the quarter final match. At the end of the 2023 season, Emslie was Angel City's second highest all-time goal scorer with 7 goals in all appearances. Emslie scored Angel City's first goal of the 2024 season, a penalty kick against her former club

on 22 March 2024, which ended as a 1-1 draw. On 21 April 2024, Emslie recorded her first brace for Angel City in a 2-1 victory against

North Carolina Courage The North Carolina Courage are an American professional Association football, soccer team based in Cary, North Carolina, that competes in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). It was founded on January 9, 2017, after Stephen Malik acqui ...

to secure Angel City's first home win of the season. On 18 August 2024, after scoring a brace in a friendly match against

FC Juárez Fútbol Club Juárez, also known as Bravos de Juárez or simply Juárez, is a Mexican professional Association football, football club based in Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, that currently competes in Liga MX, the top division of Mexican football ...

, Emslie overtook

Savannah McCaskill Savannah Elizabeth McCaskill (born July 31, 1996) is an American professional Association football, soccer player who plays as a Midfielder (association football), midfielder for San Diego Wave FC of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). Sh ...

as the all-time goal scoring leader for Angel City with 16 goals across all competitions. Emslie made her 50th regular-season appearance for Angel City on September 23, 2024, and scored the equalizing goal to secure a 2-2 draw against

Portland Thorns FC Portland Thorns FC is an American professional Association football, soccer team based in Portland, Oregon, that competes in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). Established in 2012, the team began play in 2013 in the then-eight-team NWSL ...

. On November 22, 2024, after the conclusion of the 2024 season, Angel City announced that they had signed a new two-year contract with Emslie, keeping her with Angel City until 2026.

International career

Emslie has represented Scotland internationally on the senior national team as well as the under-19 and under-17 national teams. She scored goals in consecutive

UEFA Women's Under-19 Championship The UEFA European Women's Under-19 Championship or simply UEFA Women's Under-19 Championship, is an annual competition in women's football for European national teams of players under 19 years of age. National under-19 teams whose countries belon ...

tournaments in

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

and

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

respectively. In June 2013, Emslie made her senior debut against

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

in an international friendly. After it became clear that she would be based in the United States for a long period, Emslie was not considered for international selection until her studies in Florida concluded and she moved to England. Her second cap came in a friendly against

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

in January 2017. In August 2017, She was named to the national team when new manager

Shelley Kerr Michelle Kerr (born 15 October 1969) is a Scottish football manager and former player who is currently the English Football Association's technical lead for women's national teams. As a player Kerr was a powerful centre back, who captained and ...

called her up for a friendly against

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

. Emslie subsequently scored her first senior international goal against Hungary in a 3–0 win at the Telki Training Centre in Pest County.

2019 FIFA Women's World Cup

Kerr selected Emslie to represent Scotland at the

in France, the first time the nation had ever qualified for the tournament. Emslie scored Scotland's first-ever World Cup goal on 9 June 2019 in a

group stage A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses: # One or more competitions held at a single venue and concentr ...

defeat to

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. Emslie earned her 50th cap for Scotland during the

2023 Pinatar Cup The 2023 Pinatar Cup was the third edition of the Pinatar Cup, an international women's association football, football tournament. It was held in San Pedro del Pinatar, Spain from 15 to 21 February 2023. Iceland won the tournament for the first ...

in Spain during the final match of the tournament against

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

on 21 February 2023.

Personal life

Emslie was born in

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

to parents Neil and Anna before being raised in

Penicuik Penicuik ( ; ; ) is a town and former Police burgh, burgh in Midlothian, Scotland, lying on the west bank of the River Esk, Lothian, River North Esk. It lies on the A701 road, A701 midway between Edinburgh and Peebles, east of the Pentland Hil ...

. She counts former Hibernian teammate

Caroline Weir Caroline Elspeth Lillias Weir (born 20 June 1995) is a Scottish professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or forward for Spanish Liga F club Real Madrid CF and the Scotland national team. She began her career in Scotland wit ...

and Bristol teammate

Chloe Arthur Chloe Susan Arthur (born 21 January 1995) is a Scottish footballer who plays as a midfielder for Crystal Palace in the Women's Super League and the Scotland national team. Club career Arthur broke into the Celtic first team aged 17, coming th ...

among her close friends, both of whom also play for Scotland.

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list Scotland's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Emslie goal.''

Honours

Hibernian *

Scottish Women's Premier League Cup The Scottish Women's Premier League Cup, currently known as the Sky Sports Cup due to sponsorship and commonly shortened to the SWPL Cup, is a league cup competition in women's football in Scotland. The cup is open only to the teams in the Scottis ...

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

Manchester City *

FA Women's League Cup The Women's League Cup, also known as the Subway Women's League Cup due to sponsorship reasons, is a league cup competition in English women's association football. The competition was originally open to the eight teams in the FA WSL, but since t ...

: 2018–19 *

Women's FA Cup The Women's FA Challenge Cup is the top annual cup tournament for women's clubs in English football. Founded in 1970, it has been named the WFA Cup, FA Women's Cup, and now Women's FA Cup (currently known as the Adobe Women's FA Cup for sponso ...

: 2018–19 Melbourne City * W-League Premiership: 2019–20 * W-League Championship: 2019–20

References

External links

*
Claire Emslie
at

Scottish Football Association The Scottish Football Association (; also known as the Scottish FA and the SFA) is the governing body of football in Scotland and has the ultimate responsibility for the control and development of football in Scotland. Members of the SFA incl ...

Claire Emslie
at

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Emslie, Claire 1994 births Living people Sportspeople from Penicuik Footballers from Edinburgh Florida Atlantic University alumni Scottish women's footballers Scotland women's international footballers Scotland women's youth international footballers Women's association football forwards Scottish expatriate women's footballers Expatriate women's soccer players in the United States Scottish expatriate sportspeople in the United States Scottish Women's Premier League players Women's Super League players Hibernian W.F.C. players Florida Atlantic Owls women's soccer players Bristol City W.F.C. players Manchester City W.F.C. players Orlando Pride players 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup players National Women's Soccer League players Expatriate women's soccer players in Australia Scottish expatriate sportspeople in Australia Melbourne City FC (women) players Footballers from Midlothian Everton F.C. (women) players Angel City FC players 21st-century Scottish sportswomen