Perth Glory can confirm that defender Scott Wootton is set to end his illustrious 16-year playing career and step immediately into a new role as Technical Director of the PGFC Senior Academy.
The 34-year-old joined Glory in 2025 having been in the Academy system at both Liverpool and Manchester United as a youngster and then starting his senior career at Old Trafford.
He subsequently played for a number of English clubs, including Leeds United, Nottingham Forest, Plymouth Argyle and Wigan Athletic and eventually headed overseas to Wellington Phoenix where he duly established himself as one of the A-League’s leading centre-backs.
After moving to Glory Wootton was appointed co-captain and started every A-League game last season.
He is now looking forward to starting a new stage on his football journey.
“It probably hasn’t fully sunk in yet,” he said, “but looking back on my career, I can safely say that I gave everything I could and got the maximum out of what I had.
“I represented some big clubs and experienced some real highs and some tough lows as well.
“Making the decision to come over to the A-League was one of the best I made in my career because I’ve met some of the best lads that I’ve played with here and I’ve loved every minute.
“I’d like to thank every player and coach that played a part in shaping my career, but in particular, I want to thank my family for the love, support and sacrifices they made to allow me to live out my football dream since I was a young kid.
“Overall, I’m content to go out having been relatively successful from a personal point of view.
“Even though it was only for one season, I’d like to think the Glory Members and fans saw me give everything for the club and I’m proud to go out having played every game and skippered the team on occasion as well.
“I’m extremely grateful to [Vice Chairman] Jason Bontempo, [Football Director] Stan Lazaridis, [CEO] Ben Leaver, [Head Coach] Adam Griffiths and everyone at the club for trusting me with this new role.
“Player development is something I’ve always been extremely passionate about and I felt that it was simply too good an opportunity for me to turn down at this stage of my career.
“Having gained my UEFA ‘B’ Licence, I’m ready now to fully focus on the next chapter of my career, to pass on my knowledge and experience and help provide a platform for as many young Western Australian players as possible to fulfil their potential.
“This is an exciting role which I will be taking very seriously and I can’t wait to get started.”
Lazaridis, meanwhile, is delighted that Wootton will have a key role to play in the club’s future.
“Scott has decided that this is the direction that he wants to go in as his playing days come to an end,” he said.
“He has enjoyed a fantastic playing career both in England and in the A-League and is now ready to step into a new, exciting and vital role here at Glory.
“Scott is the perfect figure to help bring our talented youngsters through.
“He has first-hand experience of two of the best youth set-ups in world football at Liverpool and Manchester United, along with a deep knowledge of the game and the respect of all the players, coaches and staff at Glory.
“His values also very much align with the culture we are building here and he will be a huge asset for us as we look to further improve our player development pathway.
“Scott is very appreciative of the opportunity and we’re looking forward to helping him grow into the role and begin nurturing future generations of local WA players via a fully connected and holistic Academy system.”
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