Rangers Women
Full nameRangers Women's Football Club
Nickname(s)The Blue Belles
Founded2008
GroundBroadwood Stadium
Cumbernauld, Scotland[1]
Capacity8,086
OwnerThe Rangers Football Club Ltd
ChairmanJohn Bennett
ManagerJo Potter
LeagueSWPL 1
2022–23SWPL 1, 3rd of 12
WebsiteClub website

Rangers Women's Football Club is a women's football team that plays in the Scottish Women's Premier League, the top division of women's football in Scotland. The team is the female branch of Rangers.

History

Paisley City Ladies F.C., formerly Arthurlie Ladies F.C., was founded at the start of the 1999–00 season. As a new club they started in the lowest division, the third.[2] In 2001–02 they played in Division 1, directly under the Premier Division, and stayed there until 2008.[3] In the 2007–08 season they suffered financial problems, and began to search for a partnership with another club.

Rangers L.F.C. was founded in 2008, as Rangers followed the example of Celtic, Hibernian and Aberdeen in developing a women's section. The formation of the team involved a partnership with Paisley City Ladies.[4][5][6] Former Rangers youth academy coach Drew Todd was brought in to coach the team. Scotland player Jayne Sommerville was signed as the new team's first captain.[7]

They took the place of Paisley City in the Scottish Women's First Division and many players switched too.[8] Rangers won the league in their debut season.[9] They also reached the final of the Scottish Women's Cup but lost 5–0 to Glasgow City;[10] they were the first side playing in a lower division to reach the final.[11]

Former East Stirlingshire footballer Scott Allison was appointed manager in 2010.[12] The club reached the Cup final again but were beaten 2–1 by Hibernian.[13]

In May 2011, Alana Marshall became the first female Rangers player to be called up by the senior Scotland team.[14]

In February 2012, The Herald newspaper reported that the financial crisis engulfing Rangers also threatened the existence of the club's women's section.[15] The team continued to operate, and ended the 2014 SWPL season with a second place finish, the club's best result so far.

Ahead of the 2018 season, the official name of the team was changed to 'Rangers Women' from the previous 'Rangers Ladies'.[16] In July 2019, the club announced a significant commitment to women's football by integrating their teams more fully into its operations and providing further financial support with the aim of becoming professional. To this end, the incumbent coach Amy McDonald was installed in a new position as Women's Manager, with former player and youth trainer Grégory Vignal appointed as head coach of the senior team.[17][18] A few months later the team moved their home fixtures to the Rangers Training Centre in Milngavie following improvements made to its facilities, having previously been using New Tinto Park (home of Benburb F.C.) in the Govan area of Glasgow, near to the club's Ibrox Stadium.[19] In January 2020 Malky Thomson was appointed joint first-team coach alongside Vignal,[20] in June of the same year Vignal left the club Thomson was named head of the women's first team.[21] In 2022, an arrangement was reached to play home fixtures at Broadwood Stadium in Cumbernauld, due to capacity and parking issues at the training venue.[1]

Current squad

As of 17 September 2023[22]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK Scotland SCO Jenna Fife
2 DF Scotland SCO Nicola Docherty (captain)
3 DF Scotland SCO Rachel McLauchlan
4 DF Scotland SCO Kathryn Hill
6 MF Netherlands NED Tessel Middag
7 FW Scotland SCO Brogan Hay
8 MF Wales WAL Rachel Rowe
9 FW Scotland SCO Kirsty Howat
10 FW England ENG Rio Hardy
11 FW Northern Ireland NIR Megan Bell
12 MF England ENG Libby Bance (on loan from Brighton & Hove Albion)
13 FW Scotland SCO Jane Ross
No. Pos. Nation Player
14 MF Scotland SCO Mia McAulay
15 FW Scotland SCO Lizzie Arnot
16 DF Scotland SCO Eilidh Austin
17 MF Scotland SCO Sarah Ewens
18 FW Scotland SCO Laura Berry
19 MF Scotland SCO Chelsea Cornet
21 DF France FRA Lisa Martinez
22 GK New Zealand NZL Victoria Esson
23 MF Scotland SCO Kirsty Maclean
26 FW Scotland SCO Jodi McLeary
28 DF Belgium BEL Michelle Colson
30 FW Scotland SCO Georgia Gray

Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
25 GK Scotland SCO Megan Cunningham (at Partick Thistle until June 2024)
— DF Scotland SCO Jenna Ferguson (at Partick Thistle until June 2024)
21 FWD Scotland SCO Mason Clark (at Hamilton Academical until January 2024)
— MF Scotland SCO Rebecca Taylor (at Hamilton Academical until January 2024)
29 MF Scotland SCO Kayla Jardine (at Motherwell until June 2024)
— MF Scotland SCO Summer Laird (at Spartans until June 2024)
35 MF Scotland SCO Lucy Inman (at Queen's Park until June 2024)

Former players

Coaching staff

PositionStaff
Head CoachEngland Jo Potter
Assistant CoachEngland Jay Bradford
Assistant CoachScotland Craig McPherson
Women’s and Girls Managing DirectorScotland Donald Gillies
Goalkeeping CoachScotland Daniel Tobin
Women and Girls' Performance AnalystEngland Jake Boon
Sport scientistScotland Faye Bennett
Women’s and Girls’ Operations Co-ordinatorScotland Sara Spiers
Kit ControllerScotland Heather Renicks

Season-by-season records

Rangers Women F.C. seasons
Season League division P W D L F A Pts Pos Scottish Woman's Cup SWPL Cup Champions League
2008-09 Scottish Women's First Division 18 18 0 0 89 12 54 1st RU n/a did not qualify
2009 Scottish Women's Premier League 11 4 0 7 20 27 12 7th RU Semi-final did not qualify
2010 22 8 4 10 52 53 28 8th Third Round Quarter-finals did not qualify
2011 20 7 5 8 51 50 26 7th Quarter Final Semi-final did not qualify
2012 21 7 3 11 37 41 24 9th Semi-final Quarter-finals did not qualify
2013 21 10 3 8 55 35 33 5th Quarter Final First Round did not qualify
2014 21 13 4 4 71 24 43 2nd Semi Final First Round did not qualify
2015 21 8 0 13 30 57 24 6th Third Round First Round did not qualify
2016 Scottish Women's Premier League Division One 21 9 0 12 35 57 27 5th Semi-final Semi-final did not qualify
2017 21 6 2 13 33 51 20 6th Second Round Quarter-finals did not qualify
2018 21 8 1 12 33 46 25 4th Semi-final Quarter-finals did not qualify
2019 21 11 1 9 35 57 34 4th Quarter Final Semi-final did not qualify
2020[23] 1 1 0 0 3 0 3 x no competition no competition did not qualify
2020-21 21 16 0 5 76 10 48 3rd no competition no competition did not qualify
2021-22 27 25 2 0 97 11 77 W Fourth Round Quarter-finals did not qualify
2022-23 32 24 6 2 111 9 102 3rd RU Winners Round 2
2023-24 did not qualify

European history

Season Competition Round Opposition Result
2022–23 UEFA Women's Champions League
Champions Path		 QF Round 1 Semi-final Hungary Ferencváros 3–1
QF Round 1 Final Greece PAOK 0–4
Round 2 1st leg Portugal Benfica 2-3
Round 2 2nd leg 1–2 (a.e.t.)

Honours

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Rangers: SWPL1 champions to host games at Broadwood Stadium, BBC Sport, 2 August 2022
  2. ↑ "Paisley City Ladies Football Club | Womens Football".
  3. ↑ "Index of /NicsSeniorTimelines". scottish-football-historical-archive.com. Retrieved 10 May 2015.
  4. ↑ "Gers Launch Women's Team". Rangers FC. 15 July 2008. Retrieved 2 August 2011.
  5. ↑ "Rangers Womans Team - Rangers Football Club - Info and club news". wordpress.com. Retrieved 10 May 2015.
  6. ↑ dailyrecord Administrator (15 July 2008). "Rangers launch women's team as female Old Firm clash looms". dailyrecord. Retrieved 10 May 2015.
  7. ↑ Spiers, Graham (15 July 2008). "Rangers dip their toes into women's game". The Times. Retrieved 2 August 2011.
  8. ↑ Steve Dinneen (28 June 2008). "Exclusive: Female Old Firm clash on cards as Rangers set to launch woman's team". dailyrecord. Retrieved 10 May 2015.
  9. ↑ "Rangers Ladies & Rangers Girls - Archiv - Qiumi - Das Fußballforum von Fans für Fans". qiumi.de. Archived from the original on 29 November 2014. Retrieved 10 May 2015.
  10. ↑ "Ladies Lose Final". Rangers FC. 17 May 2009. Retrieved 2 August 2011.
  11. ↑ "Rangers Ladies & Rangers Girls - Archiv - Qiumi - Das Fußballforum von Fans für Fans". qiumi.de. Archived from the original on 29 November 2014. Retrieved 10 May 2015.
  12. ↑ Dixon, Andrew (14 April 2010). "Spotlight on new Rangers Ladies Head Coach". SFA. Retrieved 2 August 2011.
  13. ↑ "Women's Scottish Cup glory for Hibernian". BBC Sport. 14 November 2010. Retrieved 20 February 2011.
  14. ↑ "Scotland Call Up For Marshall". Rangers FC. 6 May 2011. Retrieved 2 August 2011.
  15. ↑ Campbell, Alan (18 February 2012). "Arsenal come calling for Glasgow City". The Herald (Glasgow). Retrieved 18 February 2012.
  16. ↑ "McDonald Excited At Progression". Rangers F.C. 6 February 2018. Retrieved 15 February 2018.
  17. ↑ "Rangers Women: Gregory Vignal made head coach as club aim to add pro players". BBC Sport. 8 July 2019. Retrieved 9 July 2019.
  18. ↑ "Rangers Women's Programme Investment Increased". Rangers F.C. 8 July 2019. Retrieved 9 July 2019.
  19. ↑ "New Academy Stand Opens". Rangers.co.uk. Rangers FC. 2 August 2019. Archived from the original on 28 August 2019. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
  20. ↑ shaw, louise (28 January 2020). "malky intrigued by challenge". rangers.co.uk. rangers football club. Retrieved 4 October 2022.malky Thomson said the intrigue of a new challenge attracted him to becoming Joint Head Coach of Rangers Women
  21. ↑ thomson, nick (24 June 2020). "vignal to vacate role". rangers.co.uk. rangers football club. Retrieved 4 October 2022.gregory vignal will today vacate his role as Joint Head Coach of Rangers Women’s first team
  22. ↑ "Women's Team". Rangers Football Club. Retrieved 15 February 2022.
  23. ↑ Lewis, Jane (29 July 2020). "SWPL season declared null and void after one round of games". BBC Sport. BBC. Retrieved 29 July 2020.
  24. ↑ Rangers end 14 years of Glasgow City dominance with historic SWPL title win, Rangers News, 8 May 2022
  25. ↑ Schoggl, Hans (24 September 2010). "Scotland (Women) - List of Cup Winners". RSSSF. Retrieved 20 February 2011.
  26. ↑ "Rangers claim first-ever City of Glasgow Women's Cup with win over Celtic". Glasgow Times. 24 July 2022.
  27. ↑ "Rangers mount late comeback to win Glasgow Cup over Celtic". heraldscotland.com. The Herald. 30 July 2023. Retrieved 31 July 2023. Rangers put down an early season marker after retaining the Glasgow Cup with a last gasp winner at Broadwood yesterday afternoon.
  28. ↑ "Rangers stun Celtic to lift Glasgow Cup with dramatic stoppage time comeback at Broadwood". dailyrecord.co.uk. daily record. 29 July 2023. Retrieved 31 July 2023. Gers trailed their city rivals on the 90 minute mark but turned it around in time added on
  29. ↑ "Rangers mount late comeback to win Glasgow Cup over Celtic". glasgowtimes.co.uk. glasgow times. 30 July 2023. Retrieved 31 July 2023. Rangers put down an early season marker after retaining the Glasgow Cup with a last gasp winner at Broadwood yesterday afternoon
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