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Celtic Women

Full name	Celtic Football Club
Founded	2007
Ground	New Douglas Park, Hamilton
Capacity	6,018
Patron	Elaine C. Smith
Manager	Elena Sadiku
League	SWPL 1
2023–24	SWPL 1, 1st of 12 (champions)
Website	https://celticfcwomen.celticfc.net
Home colours Away colours

Celtic Football Club Women is a Scottish professional association football team, the women's section of Celtic Football Club. They play in the Scottish Women's Premier League, the top division of women's football in Scotland. They compete as Celtic FC, and are normally called the 'women's first team' within the club. In December 2018 they announced their intentions to become the first professional women's football team in Scotland with the transition completed in January 2020.

History

For the first 120 years of its existence, Celtic only fielded male football teams. In the early 1960s, Rose Reilly was noticed by a Celtic scout who wanted to sign her, but the scout found out she was female and withdrew the offer. A women's section was established in June 2007 when Celtic took over Arsenal North L.F.C., founding a Girls and Women's Football Academy at the same time.

Celtic reached the 2008 Scottish Women's Cup final (doing so in their inaugural season, as the men's team had done 119 years earlier), losing 3–1 to Hibernian after extra time. The team's first silverware arrived two years later as Spartans were beaten 4–1 in the final of the 2010 Scottish Women's Premier League Cup.

Celtic were ejected from the 2012 Scottish Women's Cup: they had tried to force the postponement of a quarter final with Glasgow City, but the SWF did not accept Celtic's reason and instead awarded the tie to Glasgow. In August 2013, Celtic faced being thrown out of the national Cup for the second successive season, following a complaint from beaten second round opponents Forfar Farmington: Celtic won the match 5–2, but had named former player Emily Thomson as a substitute in a bid to cup-tie her for the season at her new club, rivals Glasgow City.

At the end of the 2014 season, Celtic saw an exodus of established first team players and promising young prospects, with a number of players making apparent their frustration at the lack of ambition on Celtic's part, as the club had been looking to cut back their involvement in the women's game. Having already lost players of the calibre of Leanne Crichton, Jen Beattie, Christie Murray and Joanne Love, that year the likes of Gemma Fay, Rhonda Jones, Chloe Arthur and Heather Richards also headed for the exit door, while Scotland legends like Julie Fleeting and Suzanne Grant had not committed for the following season (the latter pair did both stay on, but left in 2015).

Celtic reached their second SWPL Cup final in 2017 and their third in 2018, but were beaten by Hibernian on both occasions; the latter match at Falkirk Stadium finished 9–0, and head coach David Haley said of his beleaguered players: "I'm sure they're as embarrassed as I am". Later that month Haley stood down from first team coaching to concentrate on running the girls' academy. Former Glasgow City coach Eddie Wolecki Black was appointed from Motherwell as his replacement.

Celtic announced in December 2018 that their women's team players would be employed as full-time professionals, with the transition beginning in the 2019 season. In doing so, they became the first ever professional women's football team in Scotland. Among Wolecki Black's first three signings for the team was his wife, Emma Black. Wolecki Black left his position at the end of the 2019 season, with the club stating in January 2020 they would make further investment to bolster the team's now confirmed status as a fully professional operation.

Fran Alonso was appointed head coach in January 2020, having previously worked under Ronald Koeman at Everton and Mauricio Pochettino at Southampton. In June 2021, Celtic achieved their best showing in the SWPL to date by finishing in runners-up for the third time, but by a margin of only three points to Glasgow City. This saw them qualify for the following season's Champions League for the first time; Celtic were subsequently eliminated from the Champions League at the first qualification round, losing 2–1 to Levante. In December 2021, Celtic won the SWPL Cup by defeating Glasgow City 1–0 in the final, their first trophy since winning the same competition in 2010. Caitlin Hayes scored the winning goal with a header from a Sarah Harkes free-kick, in a match that Celtic dominated and were unlucky not to score more. This was followed by a first ever Scottish Cup victory, beating Glasgow City again, this time 3–2 after extra time.

At the end of the 2022–23 season, Celtic came close to winning their first Scottish title. In a three-way decider on the final day of the SWPL, Celtic had to defeat Hearts while hoping their rivals Rangers could hold Glasgow City to a draw at Ibrox. A Rangers victory would also have been enough for Celtic to clinch the championship, assuming they won their match by a margin larger than Rangers. With Celtic defeating Hearts 2–0 in front of a record attendance of 15,822 at Celtic Park, Glasgow City scored a 92nd-minute winner, taking the trophy away from Parkhead. The following week, Celtic claimed the Women's Scottish Cup for a second time, beating Rangers 2–0 in front of a crowd of 10,446 at Hampden Park thanks to goals from Natasha Flint and Claire O'Riordan.

Celtic won their first Scottish Women's Premier League title in the 2023–24 season in dramatic style on the last day of the campaign, when Amy Gallacher scored a 90th-minute winner to give them a 1–0 victory over Hibernian that put them level on points with Rangers but ahead of their Glasgow rivals thanks to having a superior goal difference.

Stadium and facilities

Celtic had used East Kilbride's K-Park Training Academy as their home ground since 2015.

From its inception in 2007, the team trained at the newly built Lennoxtown Training Centre outside Glasgow. In 2019, Celtic announced plans to redevelop their older Barrowfield training ground near Celtic Park for use by their youth academy and the women's team, including an indoor pitch and a matchday venue, augmenting the Lennoxtown base which would continue to be used by the men's first team squad.

In July 2021, it was announced that the Women's team (as well as the men's B-team) would play the majority of their home fixtures in 2021–22 at Airdrie's Penny Cars Stadium.

In September 2024, the club announced the permanent move for the women’s team from the Albert Bartlett Stadium in Airdrie to New Douglas Park in Hamilton. This move comes after the women’s team qualified for the UEFA Women’s Champions League and their home in Airdrie did not meet the UEFA requirements. The club also explained this move is a pivotal step in the continued development of the women’s team. The move also presents a great opportunity for the club to enhance the match day experience.

Players

Current squad

As of 9 August 2024

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

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK  SCO Chloe Logan 2 DF  FRA Celya Barclais 3 DF  WAL Amy Richardson 5 MF  SCO Natalie Ross 6 DF  SCO Chloe Craig 7 FW  SCO Amy Gallacher 8 MF  SCO Jenny Smith 9 MF  DEN Signe Carstens 10 MF  DEN Mathilde Carstens 11 MF  SCO Colette Cavanagh 12 FW  USA Murphy Agnew 14 MF  SCO Shannon McGregor 15 DF  SCO Kelly Clark (captain)

No. Pos. Nation Player 16 DF  USA Hana Kerner 18 DF  IRL Caitlin Hayes 19 GK  SCO Lisa Rodgers 20 FW  IRL Saoirse Noonan 21 FW  USA Kit Loferski 22 MF  ENG Lucy Ashworth-Clifford 24 DF  POR Bruna Lourenço 30 GK  USA Kelsey Daugherty 41 MF  SCO Clare Goldie 43 MF  SCO Lucy Barclay 67 DF  ARG Luana Muñoz 73 MF  SCO Maria McAneny

Out on loan

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

No. Pos. Nation Player 46 FW  SCO Amy Sharkey (at Motherwell until 30 June 2025)

Player of the Year

Season	Name	Nationality	Ref
2015	Kelly Clark	Scotland
2016	Mairead Fulton	Scotland
2017	Kerry Montgomery	Northern Ireland
2018	Natalie Ross	Scotland
2019	Keeva Keenan	Ireland
2022	Jacynta Galabadaarachchi	Australia
2023	Caitlin Hayes	Ireland
2024	Caitlin Hayes	Ireland

Technical staff

Position	Name
Manager	Elena Sadiku
Assistant Manager	David Haley
Coach	Michael Tuohy
Goalkeeping Coach	Scott Fox
Performance Analyst	Daniel Byrne
Physiotherapist	Katie Singer

Achievements

• Scottish Women's Premier League
  • Winners: 2023–24
  • Runners-up: 2009, 2010, 2020–21, 2022–23
• Scottish Cup
  • Winners: 2021–22, 2022–23
  • Runners-up: 2007–08
• SWPL Cup
  • Winners: 2010, 2021–22
  • Runners-up: 2017, 2018

European history

Season	Competition	Round	Opposition	Home	Away	Aggregate
2021–22	UEFA Women's Champions League	R1 semi-final	Levante	1–2
		R1 third-place play-off	FC Minsk	2–3
2023–24		R1 semi-final	Brøndby	1–0
		R1 final	Vålerenga	2–2
2024–25		R1 semi-final	KuPS	3–1
		R1 final	Gintra	2–0
		R2	Vorksla Poltava	2–0	1–0	3–0
		GS	Chelsea
			Real Madrid		4-0
			Twente	0-2

First leg.

1. Lost after extra time
2. Lost on penalties
3. Won after extra time

Managers

Former Dundee United player John Holt was the team's manager in their inaugural 2007–08 campaign. Robert Docherty took charge between 2008 and 2012 and was succeeded by Peter Caulfield, who spent six months in position. David Haley was then head coach for five years until stepping down in 2018 to head the club's women's academy. Edward Gallagher, the Girls' Academy Manager was then appointed Interim 1st Team Manager. He was replaced by former Glasgow City manager Eddie Wolecki Black, who left 18 months later.

• John Holt: 2007–2008
• Robert Docherty: 2008–2012
• Peter Caulfield: 2013
• David Haley: 2013–2018
• Edward Gallagher (Interim): 2018
• Eddie Wolecki Black: 2018–2019
• Fran Alonso: January 2020–December 2023
• Elena Sadiku: January 2024–present

See also

• Old Firm#Women's football

References

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External links

• Official website
• Soccerway

• Celtic F.C. Women
• Women's football clubs in Scotland
• 2007 establishments in Scotland
• Football clubs in Glasgow
• Football in South Lanarkshire
• Scottish Women's Premier League clubs
• Celtic F.C.
• Association football clubs established in 2007