Last night, Barclays Hampden hosted a networking event to mark International Women's Day 2026 ahead of the Scotland Women’s National Team’s FIFA Women’s World Cup qualifier against Luxembourg.
The event kicked off with Scottish Gas, title sponsors of the Women's Scottish Cup, presenting their strategy to drive growth in the women’s game in Scotland. This was followed by a session from creative agency ThinkAlt who lead the discussion around turning interest into fandom and commercial growth.
The Scottish Football Hall of Fame was the backdrop for this year’s event with guests enjoying the faces and stories that built our game.
One of the pioneers of Scotland’s domestic game, Laura Montgomery was part of the pre-match panel session, alongside Celtic Women’s Head Coach, Grant Scott and Scotland’s very own Gladiator and championship weightlifter, Sheli McCoy aka Sabre.
Host Iona Ballantyne also welcomed Scotland Women’s National Team, Melissa Andreatta to the stage ahead of kick-off with a few words of inspiration for the room.
Laura Montgomery, Chief Executive, Glasgow City: "It was a wonderful event to be a part of.
"I think events like this are important because even though we're all from different organisations, we're all pulling in the same direction.
"We can achieve a lot when we come together and International Women's Day gives us a another reason to be connected."
Grant Scott, Celtic Women Head Coach: "I really enjoyed really part of the panel and I'm very passionate about being involved in the women's game, as most people know.
"Nights like this just highlight the strength in the group of people working on and off the pitch. There's so many people pushing the game forward and it's refreshing to hear that everyone's on the same page.
"Single feature events are hugely important but the day-to-day work has to be there as well, and that was the overwhelming message about this International Women's Day."
