Rose Reilly

Rose was born in Kilmarnock and was brought up in Stewarton in East Ayrshire, Scotland, Reilly began her footballing career at age seven with local boys' club Stewarton United and at one point attracted the interest of scouts from Glasgow side Celtic. She was allowed to play in the club provided she cut her hair short and called herself "Ross". She made her debut for the women's side Stewarton Thistle Ladies in 1965 against the Johnston Red & White Rockets. She also competed in Hughie Green's Women's Football Tournament reaching the regional final, she was also part of the Stewarton side which lifted the inaugural Scottish Cup in 1971 and reached the first WFA Cup final the same year. In 1972 she moved to Westthorn United where she won the treble of Scottish Cup, League Cup and the first League championship. Westthorn also reached the WFA Cup final losing 2–0 to Southampton. A desire to play football professionally saw Reilly move to French professional ladies' side Reims in 1974. The Scottish Women's FA had reacted to criticism from Reilly and two other players, Edna Neillis and Elsie Cook, by banning them sine die. After a six-month spell with Reims, Reilly was bought by A.C.F. Milan and played for the women's professional team for four years, winning two league titles in the process (of an eventual eight she was to win with a variety of Italian sides). Following on from her initial spell with Milan, Reilly continued to play in Italian football until the age of 40,…

Reilly played for her native Scotland during the early 1970s. Despite having no formal links to Italy prior to her move to A.C.F. Milan, Reilly was selected for the Italy national team and was voted the best player in the Italian team which won the Mundialito (an unofficial precursor to the Women's world Cup) in 1984. It was reported that team captain Reilly scored in the 3–1 final win over West Germany in the northern Italian town of Caorle. At the 1985 edition of the Mundialito, Reilly featured in Italy's 1–0 win over the United States women's national soccer team, substituting in for Viviana Bontacchio on 63 minutes. It was the American team's first ever appearance at international level.

In 2001, Reilly lived in Stewarton with her Argentine husband Norberto Peralta and her daughter.

In March 2007, Reilly was inducted into the Scottish Sports Hall of Fame, with a place in the Scottish Football Hall of Fame following in November of that year. Reilly picked up a special PFA Scotland Merit Award in 2011 becoming the first female recipient. A portrait of Rose Reilly took centre stage at a new Scottish Football Museum exhibition celebrating 130 years of women's football in Scotland in July 2012. Reilly was awarded an honorary doctors degree from Glasgow Caledonian University (GCU) in November 2019. She became patron of charity, Walking Football Scotland in December 2017 and supports in attending various events as well as promoting the women’s game throughout the country. She was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2020 New Year Honours for services to women's football. On 28 December 2022, the Hampden Bar (which had closed and not re-opened during the Covid pandemic), situated on the border of the Crosshill and Govanhill districts of Glasgow, was re-opened by new owners and named the Rose Reilly. Reilly herself officially re-opened the bar on 25 March 2023. In 2023 a portrait of Rose by artist Jeremy Sutton-Hibbert was acquired by the National Galleries of Scotland. The portrait now hangs in the National Portrait Gallery. The portrait is the subject of a podcast by Professor Fiona Skillen who interviews Rose Reilly and Imogen Gibbon, Deputy Director & Chief Curator of the National Galleries of Scotland. In 2024 Rose took part in…