Maria McAneny
Maria Christine McAneny is a Scottish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Celtic of the Scottish Women's Premier League and the Scotland national team. She has also played for Heart of Midlothian.
Club career
Raised in East Kilbride where she attended St Andrew's and St Bride's High School, McAneny first played football in her hometown alongside boys a year older than her. She joined Celtic at the age of 14 and joined the club's modern apprenticeship programme, making her first team debut in April 2021. For the 2021–22 season she joined Heart of Midlothian on loan and performed strongly, being among the nominees for the inaugural Scotland Women's Young Player of the Year award.After returning to Celtic she became a well-used squad member noted for her versatility, with the signing of her first full-time professional contract with the club in May 2023 – running to 2026 – followed two days later by victory in the 2022–23 Scottish Women's Cup in which she was in the starting XI against Rangers at Hampden Park.
A member of the group which won the 2023–24 Scottish Women's Premier League title, McAneny was involved less frequently compared to the previous campaign. In Celtic's 2024–25 UEFA Women's Champions League campaign she featured seven times, coming off the bench on each occasion, as the club qualified for the group stages for the first time but then lost all six matches. She was named as the SWPL Player of the Month for February 2025, with the highlight of her performances being a long-range goal against Glasgow City which was also awarded as the league's best of the period.
On 22 December 2025, McAneny scored from the kick-off of an SWPL fixture away to reigning champions Hibernian, with the goal from the halfway line timed as among the fastest ever at 4 seconds.
International career
McAneny featured for Scotland at schoolgirl, under-16 and under-19 youth levels. In 2024 she was selected for the Scotland under-23 team, which plays only friendly matches.She scored on her senior debut for Scotland in a 1–1 draw away to Ukraine on 28 November 2025.