Emslie’s Aiming High

Carrie Dunn interviews Manchester City’s Claire Emslie the day after a 7-1 win over West Ham that she hopes marks a turning point in a slow start, City having gone out of the Champions League to Atletico Madrid. The 24-year-old is also aiming for Scotland’s World Cup squad, delighted by qualification under Shelley Kerr but wary of looking too far ahead. Emslie traces her path from kicking a ball with her father and older brother, through a boys’ team at eight and Hibernian from twelve, to a first-team debut at sixteen; she recalls leaving a Scottish Cup final early to revise for a chemistry exam. A scholarship at Florida Atlantic University brought a degree in exercise physiology, Student Athlete of the Year and a record 29 goals, before Willie Kirk brought her to Bristol.