A TRIO of West Fife footballers are bidding to play their part in sending their country towards a major championship next week.

Robyn McCafferty, Tegan Bowie and Alicia Yates have all been named in the Scotland women's under-17 squad that will kick-off the qualifying round of the UEFA Women's Under-17 Championship this afternoon.

They have been selected in a 20-strong pool by head coach Pauline McDonald for matches with Northern Ireland, Montenegro and Italy that will be played over the course of six days in Edinburgh.

Eleven groups of four teams will begin the road to the finals, with the top two in each, plus the four best third-placed teams, advancing to the elite round stage of the qualification process.

Spartans centre back Robyn, 16, has previously skippered the under-17s and has been included having been part of the under-19 pool that competed at the European Championships, held in Scotland, in July.

Hibernian goalkeeper Alicia, a pupil at Dunfermline High School, and Queen Anne High's Celtic Academy midfielder Tegan, also retain their places in the squad having, alongside Woodmill High pupil Robyn, been involved in two friendlies with Slovenia last month.

Scotland won one and lost one of those matches but Robyn commented: "It was the first time that a lot of the players have played together, so there were a lot of positives to take from the two games.

"It was a good starting point and we just need to keep working hard individually and collectively.

"This is my third year with the under-17s but, for some of the players, it was their first-ever game for Scotland. But eight players played in the elite rounds last year so we know what to expect now.

"We've got a tough few games coming up but we have to focus on one game at a time; it gives us the best chance to do well. We'll work hard and try to make the most of the three games.

"Our main goal is qualify for the elite rounds so we're looking forward to it."

She added: "It's good to see three local girls in the team. I think it's good for women's and girls' football in Dunfermline, and hopefully we can inspire others.

"No-one is here to make up the numbers; everyone here deserves to be here."

Robyn, Tegan, Alicia and their team-mates begin their campaign against Northern Ireland at the Oriam performance centre, at Heriot-Watt University, at 5.30pm, before tackling Montenegro on Thursday (October 17) at the same venue and time.

Scotland conclude their matches against Italy, at Spartans' Ainslie Park, on Sunday, October 20, at 12.30pm.

Entry to all matches is free.