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.[1] 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.[2] A women's section was established in June 2007 when Celtic took over Arsenal North L.F.C.,[3] founding a Girls and Women's Football Academy at the same time.[4][5]
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.[9] 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.[10]
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,[11] 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).[12][13]
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".[14] Later that month Haley stood down from first team coaching to concentrate on running the girls' academy.[15] Former Glasgow City coach Eddie Wolecki Black was appointed from Motherwell as his replacement.[16][17][18]
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.[19] Among Wolecki Black's first three signings for the team was his wife, Emma Black.[20] 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.[21][22]
Fran Alonso was appointed head coach in January 2020, having previously worked under Ronald Koeman at Everton and Mauricio Pochettino at Southampton.[23] 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.[24][25][26][27] This saw them qualify for the following season's Champions League for the first time;[24][28] Celtic were subsequently eliminated from the Champions League at the first qualification round, losing 2–1 to Levante.[29] 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.[30]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.[31] This was followed by a first ever Scottish Cup victory, beating Glasgow City again, this time 3–2 after extra time.[32]
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. [33] 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.[34]
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.[35]
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.[37][38][39][40]
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.[41]
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.[42]
Former Dundee United player John Holt was the team's manager in their inaugural 2007–08 campaign.[53]Robert Docherty took charge between 2008 and 2012 and was succeeded by Peter Caulfield, who spent six months in position.[54] David Haley was then head coach for five years until stepping down in 2018 to head the club's women's academy.[55] 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.[21]
