In December 2020, Howat returned to Rangers[3] on a pre-contract arrangement agreed six months earlier;[4] her teammate Sam Kerr made the same switch,[5] soon followed by Rachel McLauchlan[6] while Nicola Docherty had made the move across the city some months previously. In her first full season back with the Gers, 2021–22, Howat was part of the squad that won the SWPL for the first time in club history;[7] in the second season they won the Scottish Women's Premier League Cup for the first time (she was among the scorers in the final),[8] and in the third season they retained the SWPL Cup[9] and won their first Scottish Cup,[10] also narrowly missing out on the league title in both years.
International career
Howat was called up to the Scotland national under-16 team for a friendly tournament in Portugal,[11] where she made appearances in games against Portugal, Netherlands and Austria, scoring her first goal in the match against Austria. A few months later she was drafted into the under-17 team by coach Pauline Hamill for two friendly games against Wales, scoring on her debut. Howat was a member of the squad that contested the qualifiers for the 2014 European Championship in England; these games were played before the end of 2013 to serve as qualification for the Costa Rica World Cup which was scheduled for spring 2014. She was then named in the squad for the 2013 European Championship and played in all three matches: Scotland lost against France 1–0 and Germany 4–2, and drew in the final game against Spain.
In 2014 she was named in the under-19 team and played in the 2014 European Championship; Howat featured in two of the three matches, a 2–0 victory against Belgium and 3–2 defeat against Netherlands, missing the 5–0 loss to Norway. She also played in the 2015 and 2016 European Championship qualification games.[12]
Howat was added to the full Scotland squad for the first time in September 2023, as a replacement for the injured Emma Watson.[13] She was an unused substitute on several occasions before making her debut from the bench against Slovakia in a UEFA Women's Euro 2025 qualifying fixture in Nitra on 13 July 2024.[14]
^Frith, Wilf (18 January 2018). "Glasgow City sign Howat and Paterson". shekicks.net. She Kicks. Retrieved 25 September 2022. "I am looking forward to a new challenge and to surround myself and play alongside some of the best players in the country."
^"Kirsty Howat Delighted To Sign For Rangers". rangers.co.uk. Rangers F.C. 6 January 2021. Retrieved 25 September 2022. "To be a professional footballer is a dream come true but to do it here at Rangers is amazing and I can't quite get my head round it"
^"Gers Sign Kirsty Howat". Rangers F.C. 7 July 2020. Retrieved 25 September 2022. We are looking forward to welcoming Kirsty to the club when her contract ends with Glasgow City.
^"Report | Rangers 4-1 Partick Thistle". Rangers FC. 24 March 2024. Retrieved 27 May 2024. Rangers retained the Sky Sports Cup with a commanding 4-1 win over Partick Thistle at Tynecastle this afternoon.
^Canavan, Amy (26 May 2024). "Rangers 2-0 Hearts". BBC Sport. Retrieved 27 May 2024.