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Dundee United W.F.C.

Coordinates: 56°28′27″N 2°58′02″W / 56.474254°N 2.967182°W / 56.474254; -2.967182
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Full nameDundee United Football Club Women
Founded2015
GroundFoundation Park, Dundee
Coordinates56°28′27″N 2°58′02″W / 56.474254°N 2.967182°W / 56.474254; -2.967182
ChairpersonColin Stewart
Head coachSuzy Shepherd
LeagueSWPL 1
2023–24SWPL 1, 11th of 12

Dundee United Football Club Women is a Scottish women's association football club based in Dundee that is affiliated with the professional men's club Dundee United F.C. Founded in 2015, they play in Scottish Women's Premier League 1, the first tier of the national league system, after winning promotion from the second tier in 2021–22 and third tier in 2018. They had previously been promoted from the fourth tier in their 2016 debut season.

History

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Scottish Premiership club Dundee United announced in April 2015 that they were going to launch a women's team to compete in the Scottish Women's Football League (SWFL) from the following year.[1] Club co-owner and director Justine Mitchell was instrumental in the decision.[2] There were over fifty applicants for the position of head coach, none of whom were women.[3] Gavin Beith was appointed as the team's first head coach in June 2015, with player trials commencing later that month.[4] Ahead of the 2016 season, Fiona Mearns was chosen as the team captain.[5]

United played their first competitive match on 6 March 2016, a 5–0 win over Dunfermline Athletic Development in SWFL Division 2 East at Gussie Park in Dundee.[6] The same teams met again in June to contest the SWFL Division 2 Cup final. United lifted their first trophy with a 9–0 win, having led 7–0 at half time.[7] The league title was secured with a 6–0 win over Edinburgh Caledonia on 9 October 2016.[8] The club ended their first season having won all 16 league matches with a goal difference of +134.[9]

In October 2018, Dundee United secured the SWFL Division 1 North title with a 7–2 win over Cove Rangers. United finished top of the league by a four-point margin, winning promotion to the second tier of the national Scottish Women's Premier League (SWPL) for the 2019 season.[10]

United came under the auspices of the senior men's club in May 2022,[11] changing their name from Dundee United Women's Football Club to Dundee United Football Club Women.

Colours and badge

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Dundee United wear similar colours to the men's team, with tangerine shirts and black shorts. Change colours are white and black. The club uses the same badge as the men's team.

Stadium

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The team play their home matches at Foundation Park (formerly Gussie Park), which is owned by Dundee United F.C. and situated opposite the club's main Tannadice Park stadium. They played at Gussie Park, then known as the GA Arena due to sponsorship, from when the team was founded in 2015.[1] Between 2020 and 2022, the team mainly played at the Regional Performance Centre at Caird Park.,[12] and also used the Dundee International Sports Centre on occasion during this period. Following the completion of the first phase of redevelopment work on the Gussie Park facilities, it once again became the team's regular ground from 2022 onwards.[13] In August 2023, a new 200-seat spectator stand was opened at the same time as the ground was formally renamed Foundation Park, in recognition of the contribution to its redevelopment by the Dundee United Supporters' Foundation.[14]

The team has also occasionally played matches on Tannadice Park itself, with the first being he match against Cove Rangers that clinched the SWFL Division 1 North title on 21 October 2018. This match was watched by an attendance of over 400.[10] In May 2022, a new club record crowd of 726 watched them lift the SWPL2 trophy after a 3–2 win against St Johnstone.[15] The team's first top flight match at Tannadice was against Aberdeen in November 2022.[16][17]

Squad

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As of 21 August 2024[18]

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 Beth Mowatt
2 DF Scotland SCO Katie Frew
3 DF Scotland SCO Amilie Martindale
4 DF Scotland SCO Abbie Cusack
6 MF Scotland SCO Ashley Robertson (on loan from Heart of Midlothian)
7 MF Scotland SCO Leah Sidey
8 MF Scotland SCO Summer Christie
9 FW Scotland SCO Robyn Smith
10 DF Scotland SCO Ellie Cowie
11 MF Scotland SCO Alix Moodie
12 FW Scotland SCO Stacey McFadyen
No. Pos. Nation Player
13 FW Scotland SCO Morgan Steedman
14 FW Scotland SCO Ellie Osborne (on loan from Hibernian)
16 FW Scotland SCO Alex Logan
17 DF Scotland SCO Megan Burns
18 DF Scotland SCO Amy Taylor
19 MF Scotland SCO Maya Knight
20 FW Scotland SCO Freya Brien (on loan from Heart of Midlothian)
21 GK Scotland SCO Beth Rennie (on loan from Heart of Midlothian)
22 DF Scotland SCO Sophie Timlin (on loan from Celtic)
23 DF Scotland SCO Daisy Hutchison
24 DF Scotland SCO Laura Steedman

Managers

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Coaching Staff

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  • Head coach: Suzy Shepherd
  • Assistant coaches: Duncan Donald and Drew Myles

Honours

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Dundee United Women's Team". Dundee United F.C. 16 April 2015. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
  2. ^ "Dundee United: Love, grief and spirit united in Justine Mitchell". BBC Sport. 10 November 2015. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
  3. ^ Keenan, Amanda (5 June 2015). "Female coaches urge others to help with teaching girls about beautiful game". Daily Record. Glasgow. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
  4. ^ "Former Dee Gavin Beith appointed head coach of Dundee United women's team". Evening Telegraph. Dundee. 10 June 2015. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
  5. ^ Duthie, Tom (25 February 2016). "Dundee United women's captain aiming high". Evening Telegraph. Dundee. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
  6. ^ "Dundee United vs. Dunfermline Development – 6 March 2016". Soccerway. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
  7. ^ Oliver, Tim (24 June 2017). "Dundee United romp to #SWFL2 Cup win". Scottish Women's Football. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
  8. ^ "Women's team wins league". Dundee United F.C. 12 October 2016. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
  9. ^ "Summary – SWFL 2 – Scotland – Results, fixtures, tables and news". Soccerway. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
  10. ^ a b "Dundee United ladies win league with thumping victory at Tannadice". Evening Telegraph. Dundee. 22 October 2018. Retrieved 27 October 2019.
  11. ^ "Dundee United Women reach landmark agreement with club". Dundee United Football Club. Dundee United F.C. 26 May 2022. Retrieved 8 October 2023.
  12. ^ "Dundee United". Scottish Women's Premier League. Retrieved 22 August 2020.
  13. ^ "Gussie Park funding update". Dundee United F.C. 29 June 2022. Retrieved 3 August 2022.
  14. ^ "Foundation Park naming and spectator stand opening ceremony". Dundee United F.C. 17 August 2023. Retrieved 29 August 2023.
  15. ^ "Dundee United Women lift SWPL2 title in front of record crowd". Dundee United F.C. 4 May 2022. Retrieved 29 August 2023.
  16. ^ "DUFC Women to make history at Tannadice". Dundee United F.C. 18 November 2022. Retrieved 29 August 2023.
  17. ^ Britton, Ruaraidh (25 November 2022). "Tannadice set to welcome Aberdeen Women for Dundee United clash". AberdeenLive. Retrieved 29 August 2023.
  18. ^ "Dundee United Squad". Scottish Women's Premier League. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
  19. ^ "Club Statement: Gavin Beith". Dundee United F.C. 23 July 2021. Retrieved 23 July 2021.
  20. ^ "Graeme Hart appointed DUWFC Head Coach". Dundee United F.C. 29 September 2021. Retrieved 3 August 2022.
  21. ^ "Dundee United name Shepherd head coach". BBC Sport. Retrieved 9 April 2024.
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