Who is Alex Scott, the BBC sports presenter who wore the OneLove armband banned by FIFA?

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England captain Harry Kane and Wales skipper Gareth Bale were due to wear the armband at the 2022 World Cup match. However, a joint statement from seven European nations on Monday, including England and Wales, confirmed that the armbands will no longer be worn. FIFA had threatened to issue yellow cards to players sporting the OneLove armband.

Scott, a former star for England’s national women’s team, grabbed this opportunity to show her support for the campaign.

Scott, 38, is a former Lioness defender who is now a sports presenter. She was born in London and has made 140 appearances for the England national team. Scott was part of the team that represented Great Britain at the 2012 Summer Olympics.

In 1992, Scott was signed by Arsenal at the age of eight. She played for Arsenal and Birmingham City till her retirement in 2018.

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Even while playing football, Scott appeared in media programmes such as Soccer AM. She did small stints with BBC Sport, Sky Sports, and BT Sport. Now, she is best known for presenting for the BBC and BBC Sport. In 2016, Scott won Bear Grylls’ ITV show Mission Survive, Evening Standard reported.

Scott opened up about her past relationship with fellow former Lionesses star Kelly Smith earlier this year in her book “How (Not) To Be Strong”.

Smith and Scott both played for Arsenal in 2005. In 2009, the two moved to America and played for the Boston Breakers. Three years later, they moved back to the UK to join the Women’s GB football team at the Olympics in London.

Smith later married management consultant DeAnna Dobosz and the couple have two children, HuffPost UK reported.

There has been a lot of focus on Qatar’s laws on homosexuality and its treatment of migrant workers, thousands of whom are believed to have died while constructing stadiums for the FIFA World Cup 2022. Homosexuality is illegal in Qatar and is punishable by death under some circumstances. As a result, people from the LGBTQ+ community are heavily discouraged from coming to Qatar for the World Cup 2022.

“I’m here because I love my job,” Scott said. She said four years ago she was the first female pundit for the BBC at a World Cup.

“You think how far we’ve moved in four years. Let’s hope, in the next four years, we’re never having to have these conversations again,” Evening Standard quoted Scott as saying.