# Pauline Hamill

Pauline Hamill (born 18 December 1971) is a Scottish football coach and former international footballer, who is currently head coach of the Saudi Arabia women's national under-20 team. She retired in 2011 while playing for Celtic in the Scottish Women's Premier League. A left–sided winger or forward, Hamill enjoyed a long career at club level with spells in Iceland and England.
Hamill made her senior Scotland debut in 1992 and amassed 141 appearances. She was the first woman to reach 100 caps for Scotland and her total was the highest by any Scottish player, male or female, at the time of her retirement.

## Club career

Brought up in Airdrie, Hamill played for Craigburn Boys U-12s and Coltness Ladies before commencing her senior career with 13 years at Cumbernauld Ladies.
Playing for Stenhousemuir in 1999–00, Hamill failed to score in a 9–0 Scottish Women's Cup final win over Clyde.
After switching to Kilmarnock Ladies, Hamill spent the 2001 summer season in Iceland with ÍBV and scored 16 goals in the Úrvalsdeild. Back with Kilmarnock for the following season, Hamill scored in the Ayrshire club's 2-0 Women's Scottish Cup final win over local rivals Ayr United.
Hamill then joined Hibernian Ladies and, in July 2004, made her debut in European club competition with the Hibees. In summer 2005 Hamill signed for English Premier League team Doncaster Rovers Belles, where she impressed as a goalscoring midfielder. After a short spell back with Hibernian, Hamill returned to England in January 2008 and finished 2007–08 with Blackburn Rovers Ladies.
Hamill joined Spartans ahead of the 2010 Scottish Women's Premier League season. She had been playing for Celtic in the intervening period. Hamill returned to Celtic for season 2011.

## International career

Hamill made her senior Scotland debut in a 1-0 Euro 1993 qualifier defeat to England in Walsall on 17 April 1992. In August 2007 Hamill became the first female player to win 100 caps for Scotland, in a friendly against Belgium at McDiarmid Park. Two months later Hamill won her 103rd cap, scoring in a 3–0 away win over Slovakia, overtaking Kenny Dalglish's record of 102 and becoming Scotland's most capped footballer of all time. Her 141st and last cap for the national team was in an away draw versus Denmark in 2010; her 29th and final goal against Bulgaria two months earlier had set a record as Scotland's oldest goalscorer (aged 38 years, 183 days) which still stands.

### International goals

| # | Date | Venue | Opponent | Result | Competition | Scored |
| 1 | 27 October 2007 | Slovakia, NTC Stadion, Senec | Slovakia | 3–0 | UEFA Women's Euro 2009 qualifying | 16' |
| 2 | 10 March 2008 | Cyprus, Alpha Sports Center, Larnaca | Canada | 2–0 | Friendly | 80' |
| 3 | 28 September 2008 | Scotland, McDiarmid Park, Perth | Slovakia | 6–0 | UEFA Women's Euro 2009 qualifying | 38' |
| 4 | 26 October 2008 | Scotland, Tynecastle Stadium, Edinburgh | Russia | 2–3 | UEFA Women's Euro 2009 qualifying | 3', 13' |
| 5 | 30 October 2008 | Russia, Spartak Stadium, Nalchik | Russia | 2–1 | UEFA Women's Euro 2009 qualifying | 64' |
| 6 | 12 March 2009 | Cyprus, GSP Stadium, Nicosia | Russia | 2–1 | 2009 Cyprus Women's Cup | 27' |

## Coaching career

In July 2003 Hamill became the first ever female coach at Rangers FC, when she was appointed to a youth development role at the Murray Park training complex.
In 2010, while still playing at club level, Hamill was appointed head coach of the Scotland women's under-17 squad, a position she held until 2017 when she moved up to the same role with the under 19s. She also headed up the SFA Women's National Academy at the University of Stirling, and holds a UEFA Pro Licence as a coach.
In December 2023, Hamill was appointed as the first head coach of the newly-formed Saudi Arabia women's under-20 team.