Jen Beattie

Jennifer Patricia Beattie (born 13 May 1991) is a Scottish professional footballer who plays for Bay FC of the NWSL and formerly the Scotland national team. Beattie is a tall, strong, right-footed player. Although typically a defender or midfielder, she is also an accomplished goalscorer. She is the daughter of former Scotland and British Lions rugby union player, John Beattie, and also joins Rachel Yankey and Izzy Christiansen to run a podcast on Sky Sports Football YouTube channel, 3 Players and A Podcast.

Early life

Beattie began playing football with her brother Johnnie and his friends, while at primary school. She was eventually selected to the Glasgow Primary School select team, as the only girl, and was named captain. Beattie then played with Hamilton Academical's boys' teams.

Club career

Queen's Park

Beattie began her senior career in the Scottish Women's Premier League with Queen's Park FC Ladies as a 15-year-old. She helped the club reach the final of the Scottish Women's Premier League Cup in November 2007; Queen's Park lost 4–0 to a Hibernian Ladies team containing Beattie's future Arsenal teammate Kim Little.

Celtic

In January 2008 Beattie moved to Celtic Ladies. She spent a year and a half with the club before leaving to join Arsenal Ladies.

Arsenal

Beattie joined Arsenal in July 2009; her first goals for Arsenal came on 8 November 2009 where she scored a stunning treble to seal a comeback against Chelsea after being 2–0 down at half-time. In March 2010, Beattie played in attack during Arsenal's 2–0 defeat by FCR 2001 Duisburg in the quarter-final of the UEFA Women's Champions League. While at Arsenal, she won the 2009 Women's Premier League, the 2011 and 2012 FA Women's League Cup, now called the Continental Cup, and the 2011 and 2013 FA Cups.

Montpellier

Beattie left Arsenal in July 2013 to join French Division 1 Féminine side Montpellier HSC on a two-year contract. While at Montpellier, she made 25 regular season appearances with the side, scoring 5 goals in the process.

Manchester City

Beattie returned to England with Manchester City Women for the 2015 season. In November 2018, she became the fifth player to reach 100 appearances for the club. She played a role in City's victories in the 2016 FA WSL, the 2016–17 and 2018–19 editions of the Women's FA Cup, and the 2018–19 FA Women's League Cup.

Melbourne City (loan)

Beattie joined Manchester City's sister club Melbourne City during Manchester City's offseason, before the third round of the 2015–16 W-League season. While at Melbourne City, she helped the club during its double W-League and Grand Final wins, as well as their 100% record season.

Return to Arsenal

Beattie rejoined Arsenal in June 2019, subsequently winning the FA Women's Super League in 2019, and the 2023 Continental Tyres League Cup in a final against local rivals Chelsea.

Bay FC

Beattie left Arsenal in a transfer for an undisclosed fee to NWSL expansion club Bay FC on 2 February 2024, with her contract through the 2025 NWSL season with an option for 2026.

International career

Beattie represented Scotland at under-17 level, and made her debut for the under-19s at the age of 14.

Beattie made her debut for the senior Scotland side in March 2008, against the United States in Cyprus, as second-half substitute for Leanne Ross. She went on to establish herself in the national side during the 2009 European Championships qualifying campaign. She scored her first international goal as Scotland beat Portugal 4–1 in a European Championship qualifying game in May 2008. Beattie played in both legs of the qualifying play-off defeat to Russia in October and November 2008. After the first leg, Beattie and Kim Little were identified by football writer Graham Spiers as talented youngsters.

In March 2011, Beattie played as a striker and scored in Scotland's 2–0 win over England, the first time Scotland had beaten England since 1977. Beattie became a regular with the Scotland national team. While she was instrumental in helping Scotland reach its first major tournament, the 2017 UEFA Women's Euro Championship, she missed out on the tournament due to injury. She continued her contribution helping Scotland qualify for its first FIFA Women's World Cup, the 2019 tournament in France. On 15 May 2019 Beattie was named to the Scotland's 2019 Women's World Cup squad. At the finals, she scored in the 3–3 tie with Argentina.

On 27 January 2023, Beattie announced her retirement from international football, having made 143 appearances and scoring 24 goals.

Personal life

Beattie is the daughter of former Scotland and British Lions rugby union player, John Beattie and the sister of former Scottish rugby union international Johnnie Beattie. She attended Jordanhill School in Glasgow and on signing for Arsenal enrolled at Hertfordshire University.

In October 2020, Beattie was diagnosed with breast cancer. Despite this Beattie scored in Arsenal's 5-0 win over Brighton just three days after being diagnosed. She had surgery to remove the lump and, as the cancer had not spread, began radiotherapy instead of chemotherapy. Despite treatment Beattie continued to appear for both Arsenal and Scotland. Beattie won the Helen Rollason Award for 2021, in recognition of her work since the cancer diagnosis.

Beattie was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2023 New Year Honours for services to association football and charity. She was dating television personality and former Love Island winner Amber Gill, however they split in November 2023 due to conflicting work schedules .

Career statistics

International appearances

Scotland statistics accurate as of match played 11 April 2023.

International goals

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

Honours

Melbourne City

• A-League Women: 2015–16

Arsenal

• FA Women's Super League: 2008–09, 2009–10, 2011, 2012
• FA Women's Cup: 2010–11, 2012–13
• FA WSL Cup / FA Women's League Cup: 2012, 2022–23

Manchester City

• FA Women's Super League: 2016
• Women's FA Cup: 2016–17, 2018–19
• FA Women's League Cup: 2016, 2018–19

See also

• List of women's footballers with 100 or more international caps
• Scottish FA Women's International Roll of Honour

References

External links

• Jen Beattie at the Scottish Football Association
• Jen Beattie at Soccerway
• Profile at Mancity.com at the Wayback Machine (archived 11 February 2017)
• Profile at UEFA
• Jen Beattie on Instagram
• Jen Beattie on Twitter