Scotland’s only world cup-winning footballer is to be honoured for her contribution to the beautiful game after made a doctor of a Glasgow university.

Pioneering star Rose Reilly captained Italy to the Women’s World Cup in 1984 after being banned from representing her homeland on the international stage as punishment for speaking out against the disparity between the men’s and women’s game.

READ MORE: 'I am just pleased that Scotland's women footballers can finally achieve their goals'

Reilly, who won eight Serie A titles with the likes of AC Milan and Napoli, played ten times for Scotland before joining French side Reims while still a teenager - including in a win over England in Greenock when the women’s game was still outlawed in 1972.

The trailblazing forward was inducted into the Scottish football Hall of Fame in 2011, but only received her cap commemorating her international achievements earlier this year.

Reilly began her career with Stewarton Thistle in her native Ayrshire by pretending to be a boy so she could take part in the game, before moving on to Westhorn United, winning the league championship, alongside the League and Scottish Cups.

At 18, she joined French side Reims but also represented Italian side Lecce, often flying between the two countries over the weekend to take part in matches for both.

Reilly was quickly snapped up by Serie A giants Milan after less than six months playing in Europe, however, despite earning ten caps for Scotland, she was barred from representing the national side by the SFA along with fellow players Edna Neillis and Elsie Cook for criticising the ‘amateur’ national team coach.

Instead, she was recruited for the Italian national side, despite having no formal links with the country prior to moving there, quickly being named captain.

Reilly scored in the 1984 Mundialito Femminile final win over Germany, becoming the first, and only, Scottish international to lift a World Cup.

She later overcame a ‘career-ending’ diagnosis of hepatitis to prolong her career until the age of 40, when she retired to open a sports shop in Bari with her Argentine husband.

Speaking ahead of the ceremony in Glasgow on November 26, Reilly described the doctorate as a “massive honour”.

READ MORE: Great Scot Rose Reilly marks 390th anniversary of women's football in Europe

She added: “Most of my awards have been in Italy, as that is where my career was based, so it is wonderful to be recognised in Scotland too, and my GCU honorary award is certainly up there with my induction into the Scottish Football Hall of Fame.”

“I’ve had to overcome many hurdles in my career and my advice to anyone, particularly women and girls, facing barriers in any area of life, is not just simply to jump over them or get around them, but to smash them down if you can.”