Ali McCann

Alistair McCann

Personal information
Full name	Alistair Edward McCann [1]
Date of birth	(1999-12-04) 4 December 1999 (age 25)
Place of birth	Edinburgh, Scotland
Height	1.76 m (5 ft 9 in) [2]
Position(s)	Midfielder
Team information
Current team	Preston North End
Number	8
Youth career
	Hutchison Vale Boys Club
2012–2017	St Johnstone
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2017–2021	St Johnstone	71	(6)
2019	→ Stranraer (loan)	13	(1)
2021–	Preston North End	125	(2)
International career‡
	Northern Ireland youth
2019–2020	Northern Ireland U21	6	(0)
2020–	Northern Ireland [3]	31	(1)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 15:58, 20 September 2025 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals as of 22:29, 7 September 2025 (UTC)

Alistair Edward McCann (born 4 December 1999) is a professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for EFL Championship club Preston North End. Born in Scotland, he represents Northern Ireland at international level.

Early and personal life

Born in Edinburgh, ^[4] McCann and his brothers Lewis (who is also a footballer) and Ross (who is Scotland and GB 7s player) were born and raised in Scotland to a Northern Irish father and an English mother. ^[5]

Club career

McCann moved from Hutchison Vale Boys Club to St Johnstone in 2012. ^[4] He made his senior debut on 29 January 2018. ^[6]

McCann joined Stranraer on loan in February 2019. ^{[7] [8]}

In May 2021 he was monitored by Celtic. ^[9] He moved to Preston North End on 31 August 2021. ^[10]

International career

McCann has played youth football for Northern Ireland, including at under-21 level. ^{[2] [11]}

On 15 November 2020, McCann made his senior international debut, against Austria. ^{[2] [12]}

In October 2023 he pulled out of the Northern Ireland squad due to injury. ^[13]

Career statistics

As of match played 20 September 2025

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National cup [a]		League cup [b]		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
St Johnstone	2016–17 [14]	Scottish Premiership	0	0	0	0	0	0	1 [c]	0	1	0
	2017–18 [6]	Scottish Premiership	3	0	1	0	0	0	1 [c]	0	5	0
	2018–19 [15]	Scottish Premiership	1	0	0	0	1	0	1 [c]	0	3	0
	2019–20 [16]	Scottish Premiership	29	4	3	0	3	0	0	0	35	4
	2020–21 [17]	Scottish Premiership	34	2	5	0	4	0	0	0	43	2
	2021–22 [18]	Scottish Premiership	4	0	0	0	1	0	4 [d]	0	9	0
	Total		71	6	9	0	9	0	7	0	96	6
Stranraer (loan)	2018–19 [15]	Scottish League One	13	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	13	1
Preston North End	2021–22 [18]	EFL Championship	28	1	1	0	2	0	0	0	31	1
	2022–23 [19]	EFL Championship	31	0	2	0	2	2	0	0	35	2
	2023–24 [20]	EFL Championship	31	0	1	0	1	0	0	0	33	0
	2024–25 [21]	EFL Championship	29	1	3	0	2	0	0	0	34	1
	2025–26 [22]	Championship	6	0	0	0	1	0	—		7	0
	Total		125	2	7	0	8	2	0	0	140	4
Career total			209	9	16	0	17	2	7	0	249	11

1. Includes Scottish Cup, FA Cup
2. Includes Scottish League Cup, EFL Cup
3. Appearances for the U20 team in Scottish League Challenge Cup.
4. Appearances in UEFA Europa League

Honours

St Johnstone

• Scottish Cup: 2020–21 ^[23]
• Scottish League Cup: 2020–21 ^[24]

References

1. Ali McCann at WorldFootball.net
2. "Alistair McCann". IFA.
3. "Ali McCann". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
4. "Profile". St Johnstone F.C. Retrieved 2 April 2019.
5. "Meet the McCanns: Ross, Ali, Lewis (and Scott) uphold family tradition". 20 April 2020.
6. "Games played by Ali McCann in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 26 September 2021.
7. "McCann joins Stranraer on-loan". St Johnstone FC. Retrieved 10 April 2019.
8. "Win or bust for Ali". www.stranraerfc.org.
9. "McCann impresses Celtic's Kennedy" – via www.bbc.co.uk.
10. "PNE Seal Deal For McCann". www.pnefc.net.
11. "Who is Ali McCann? Northern Ireland's newest call-up aiming to make a major impact in senior squad" – via www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk.
12. "NI lose to two late goals in Austria" – via www.bbc.co.uk.
13. "McCann out of Northern Ireland home double-header" – via www.bbc.co.uk.
14. "Games played by Ali McCann in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 26 September 2021.
15. "Games played by Ali McCann in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 26 September 2021.
16. "Games played by Ali McCann in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 26 September 2021.
17. "Games played by Ali McCann in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 26 September 2021.
18. "Games played by Ali McCann in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 26 September 2021.
19. "Games played by Ali McCann in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
20. "Games played by Ali McCann in 2023/2024". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
21. "Games played by Ali McCann in 2024/2025". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 22 September 2024.
22. "Games played by Ali McCann in 2025/2026". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 29 August 2025.
23. Lindsay, Clive (22 May 2021). "Perth side complete domestic cup double". BBC. Archived from the original on 22 May 2021. Retrieved 22 May 2021.
24. "St Johnstone beat Livingston to clinch their first League Cup". BBC. 28 February 2021. Retrieved 28 February 2021.