Sport / Teenager becomes first Shetland girls’ footballer to earn Scotland cap
A TEENAGE footballer has become the first Shetland girls’ player to represent Scotland.
Fourteen-year-old Lori Smith was selected from a pool of around 170 players to play for the Scotland under-15s girls’ side against Wales in Aberystwyth earlier this month.
She was handed an international cap after proudly pulling on the dark blue in the fixture, and told Shetland News it was a “privilege to play for them”.
“It was a very good experience,” she said.
“I got told at the end of May. I was quite shocked but very excited.
“It was definitely a big step up, I was playing with a lot of Aberdeen, Hibs and Kilmarnock players.”
Lori, who plays for Shetland Girls and Lerwick Rangers, was put forward for the Scottish trials by Shetland Girls and Women’s coach Adam Priest along with three other players earlier this year.
Her mother Elaine said her Scottish experience started in April, with Lori selected for the final trials and attending four training sessions in Kinross.
“It was quite full on, a lot of travel,” Elaine said.
“The game was in Aberystwyth, which was a long journey.
“But it was definitely worth it. It was quite a moment hearing the national anthems and seeing them line up at the start.”
She said Lori “didn’t look out of place at all”, and “did amazing”.
“It was an honour to see her play,” Elaine said.
“Her coaches were delighted with how she played. They said the team was not necessarily picked on the best players but on their attitude and effort, and Lori has a great attitude towards the team.
“She’s very much a team player and she was complimented on that. She’s quite a modest player.”
The Scotland coaches organised good luck messages for the junior players from their family and friends before the game, which Lori said was a big boost before the match.
In training with Scotland, Lori came up against the under-17 team – saying it had been “hard” but that her and her team-mates had “linked together as a team well” to take them on.
She has her sights set on trying again for the Scotland team next year, this time for the under-17 side when she moves up a level.
And Smith also has thoughts of being part of the Shetland senior women’s team when they go to the Faroe Islands in 2027 for the next Island Games.
Her mam thanked everyone who sent Lori good luck messages before her game against Wales, and gave a special thanks to Jordan and Gemma Thomason at Heima for their sponsorship.
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