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Rangers W.F.C.

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Rangers Women
Full nameRangers Women's Football Club
Nickname(s)The Blue Belles
Founded2008
GroundRangers Training Centre
Milngavie, Scotland[1]
OwnerThe Rangers Football Club Ltd
ChairmanDave King
ManagerGrégory Vignal and Malky Thomson
LeagueScottish Women's Premier League
2019SWPL 1, 4th
Websitehttps://rangers.co.uk
Current season

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 affiliated with Rangers F.C. in Glasgow, use the club's training facilities, and wear the club's colours.

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 women's national football team 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] Also in 2011, Rangers owner Craig Whyte allowed women into the Rangers directors' room for the first time, angering fellow board member John Greig in the process.[15]

In February 2012, The Herald newspaper reported that the financial crisis engulfing Rangers also threatened the existence of the club's women's section.[16] 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'.[17] 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.[18][19] 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.[1]

Current squad

As of 1 March 2020.[20]

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 MF Scotland SCO Nicola Docherty
3 DF France FRA Daïna Bourma
4 DF Scotland SCO Emma Brownlie
5 MF Northern Ireland NIR Demi Vance
6 MF Venezuela VEN Sonia O'Neill
7 FW Scotland SCO Brogan Hay
8 MF Scotland SCO Kirsten Reilly
9 FW Scotland SCO Zoe Ness
10 FW India IND Ngangom Bala Devi
11 MF Northern Ireland NIR Megan Bell
No. Pos. Nation Player
14 DF Scotland SCO Carly Girasoli
16 FW Scotland SCO Rosie Mcquillan
17 MF Scotland SCO Clare Gemmell (captain)
18 MF Scotland SCO Chelsea Cornet
19 MF Scotland SCO Laura McCartney
21 GK Scotland SCO Megan Cunningham
23 DF Scotland SCO Freya Macdonald
25 DF France FRA Lisa Martinez (on loan from Montpellier)
— DF Scotland SCO Hannah Cunningham
— FW Scotland SCO Nicole Pullar

Achievements

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "New Academy Stand Opens". Rangers.co.uk. Rangers FC. 2 August 2019. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
  2. ^ http://www.freewebs.com/paisley-city-ladies/
  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.[permanent dead link]
  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.[permanent dead link]
  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.[permanent dead link]
  15. ^ Whyte, Craig (14 February 2020). Into The Bear Pit - The Explosive Autobiography. Arena Sport. pp. 83–84.
  16. ^ Campbell, Alan (18 February 2012). "Arsenal come calling for Glasgow City". The Herald (Glasgow). Retrieved 18 February 2012.
  17. ^ "McDonald Excited At Progression". Rangers F.C. 6 February 2018. Retrieved 15 February 2018.
  18. ^ "Rangers Women: Gregory Vignal made head coach as club aim to add pro players". BBC Sport. 8 July 2019. Retrieved 9 July 2019.
  19. ^ "Rangers Women's Programme Investment Increased". Rangers F.C. 8 July 2019. Retrieved 9 July 2019.
  20. ^ "RWFC v Queen's Park Programme". Rangers Football Club. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
  21. ^ Schoggl, Hans (24 September 2010). "Scotland (Women) - List of Cup Winners". RSSSF. Retrieved 20 February 2011.
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