Kim Little

Hibernian L.F.C., 2006–2008

At the age of 16, Little made her debut for Hibernian of the Scottish Women's Premier League (SWPL) during a UEFA Women's Cup match against Espanyol at Almondvale Stadium on 8 August 2006. Hibs had signed Little and other players from their youth team to replace veterans Pauline Hamill, Nicky Grant and Debbie McWhinnie who all left the club that summer. On her league debut, she scored a hat trick against Hutchison Vale. During the 2006–07 season, Hibs won every match to win the SWPL championship and also lifted the Scottish Women's Cup, with Little scoring 55 goals in her 30 appearances in all competitions. In the first part of the following season, she again appeared in the UEFA Women's Cup, completed her set of domestic honours by winning the SWPL Cup and scored 33 goals in 18 appearances prior to her 20-month spell with Hibernian coming to an end. She later attended the 2008 Scottish cup final as a spectator, and was invited to collect a medal by her former teammates as she had played in an early round of the competition three months earlier.

Arsenal, 2008–2013

FA Women's Premier League, 2008–2010

In March 2008 at the age of 17, Little joined Arsenal in the FA Women's Premier League National Division. She scored her first goal for the club in April, during a 4–1 win over Chelsea before 5,000 fans at Emirates Stadium. Arsenal manager Vic Akers told reporters: "Make a note of this kid, she's going to be a big…

Scotland

Little made her debut for the Scotland national team in February 2007 at the age of 16 in a match against Japan, coming in as a second-half substitute for Megan Sneddon. National coach Anna Signeul had no hesitation in promoting Little into the senior team at 16: "Kim is an exceptional talent. There's no limit to how far she can progress. She has technique, speed and power, and she reads the game extremely well." She scored her first international goal as Scotland lost to Russia in March 2008. During her 50th cap, Little scored the game-opening goal in Scotland's 2–0 victory against rival England at the Cyprus Cup in March 2011. It was only the second time Scotland had ever defeated their rivals, and was the first time since 1977 – 13 years before Little was born. On 16 June 2012, Little scored Scotland's first hat trick during the team's 8–0 win against Israel. In October 2012, she scored in both legs of Scotland's UEFA Euro 2013 qualifying play-off against Spain. In the second leg Verónica Boquete scored in injury time of extra time to make the score 3–2 to Spain and eliminate the Scots, who were left "utterly disconsolate" at missing out on qualification for their first ever final tournament. In February 2013, Little scored Scotland's only goal during a friendly match against the United States in which the U.S. won 4–1. During the 2013 Cyprus Cup, Little scored a goal and served an assist in Scotland's 4–4 draw against England during the group stage of…

Little typically played as the advanced midfielder in Laura Harvey's 4–3–3 formation, but occupied a deeper role when playing for Scotland. Little transitioned to a deeper midfield role at Arsenal. In an interview with FIFA.com in July 2012, Little said: "Nearly all my goals come from midfield. That's my natural position. But I'm a player who always tries to make forward runs, be positive and to create and score goals."

Born in Aberdeen, Scotland and raised in Mintlaw, Aberdeenshire, Little began playing football at a young age with her father and brother. She played football for her primary school, Mintlaw Primary School and Mintlaw Boys Club as a youth. From age 10 to 14, she played at the youth level for Buchan Girls before joining the Hibernian Girls in 2005. At age 13, she attended and played for Mintlaw Academy. During her time with Hibernian Girls, Little would travel about three and a half hours each way from Aberdeenshire to Edinburgh for training. Of her youth, Little said, "Football gave me opportunities from a young age. Having the chance to travel, to play in different environments and to come up against really good players from all over Europe was fantastic and made me more determined to keep playing." Little attended the University of Hertfordshire, where she obtained a degree in Sports Studies while playing for Arsenal.