The Scottish FA is delighted to announce the appointment of Shirley Martin as Head of Girls’ and Women’s Football.

Shirley will lead on developing the grassroots game in this country and look to implement some of the strategic aims from Accelerate Our Game – launched in July 2021 to drive up standards across women’s football in Scotland over an initial five-year period.

She follows in the footsteps of Fiona McIntyre, who has been confirmed as Managing Director of the Scottish Women’s Premier League (SWPL).

A keen amateur player, Shirley harnessed a love of the game and turned it into a career.

After studying Sporting, Exercise and Health at Abertay University, she quickly became immersed in the grassroots scene that she will now oversee – working part-time as a coach in girls’ football to gain experience alongside a role with sportscotland partnership Sport Central.

A move to the Scottish FA followed in October 2011 as a Girls’ and Women’s Club Development Officer, then National Project Lead for Girls’ and Women’s Football in 2019.

As we kick off Scottish Women and Girls In Sport Week 2022, the Scottish FA’s Chief Football Officer, Andy Gould, was in no doubt that Shirley – who takes up her role from Fiona McIntyre on 16, October - was the stand-out candidate.

He said: “We are delighted to be able to appoint Shirley in her new role and she is ideally suited to it.

“She has years of experience – not only professionally but also as a dedicated volunteer – across the game at various levels. She’s done just about every role from administering to coaching and that breadth of experience will be a real asset.

“Shirley also recently completed UEFA’s Certificate in Football Management programme with Merit and has justifiably earned the respect of her colleagues across the association.”

Fiona McIntyre added: “Anyone who knows Shirley knows how dedicated she is to developing the women’s game, and Scottish football in general. She has been invaluable to me and is hugely respected across the game.

“I have no doubt she will take this new role in her stride and, with her track record, is ideally placed to deliver on increasing participation, reach girls who have never played the game and support coaches and volunteers alike.

“Her work in Dumfries setting up teams and league structures, in particular, was outstanding and had a major impact in the community. She recognises the frontline challenges we face and has experience of working collaboratively to overcome them.”

Shirley said: “It’s a really exciting time for women’s football in Scotland and I am delighted to take on this new role to build on the excellent groundwork done by Fiona and others within the game here.

“Being able to focus on the grassroots side of the game means we can reach those who love to play the game, at all levels, and those who haven’t discovered it yet, through excellent programmes like UEFA Disney Playmakers.

“We have some outstanding success stories and role models to inspire a new generation. We are here to help and harness the power of football.”