Rangers W.F.C. facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Rangers Women

Full name	Rangers Women's Football Club
Nickname(s)	The Blue Belles
Founded	2008
Ground	Broadwood Stadium Cumbernauld, Scotland
Ground Capacity	8,086
Owner	The Rangers Football Club Ltd
Chairman	John Bennett
Manager	Jo Potter
Home colours Away colours Third colours

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 the female branch of Rangers.

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. In 2001–02 they played in Division 1, directly under the Premier Division, and stayed there until 2008. 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. Former Rangers youth academy coach Drew Todd was brought in to coach the team. Scotland player Jayne Sommerville was signed as the new team's first captain.

They took the place of Paisley City in the Scottish Women's First Division and many players switched too. Rangers won the league in their debut season. They also reached the final of the Scottish Women's Cup but lost 5–0 to Glasgow City; they were the first side playing in a lower division to reach the final.

Former East Stirlingshire footballer Scott Allison was appointed manager in 2010. The club reached the Cup final again but were beaten 2–1 by Hibernian.

In May 2011, Alana Marshall became the first female Rangers player to be called up by the senior Scotland team.

In February 2012, The Herald newspaper reported that the financial crisis engulfing Rangers also threatened the existence of the club's women's section. 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'. 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. 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. In January 2020 Malky Thomson was appointed joint first-team coach alongside Vignal, in June of the same year Vignal left the club Thomson was named head of the women's first team. In 2022, an arrangement was reached to play home fixtures at Broadwood Stadium in Cumbernauld, due to capacity and parking issues at the training venue.

Current squad

No. Position Player 1 GK Jenna Fife 2 DF Nicola Docherty (captain) 3 DF Rachel McLauchlan 4 DF Kathryn Hill 6 MF Tessel Middag 7 FW Brogan Hay 8 MF Rachel Rowe 9 FW Kirsty Howat 10 FW Rio Hardy 12 MF Libby Bance (on loan from Brighton & Hove Albion) 13 FW Jane Ross

No. Position Player 14 MF Mia McAulay 15 FW Lizzie Arnot 16 DF Eilidh Austin 17 MF Sarah Ewens 19 MF Chelsea Cornet 21 DF Lisa Martinez 22 GK Victoria Esson 23 MF Kirsty Maclean 24 MF Olivia McLoughlin (on loan from Aston Villa) 26 FW Jodi McLeary 28 DF Michelle Colson 30 FW Georgia Gray

Out on loan

No. Position Player 11 FW Megan Bell (at Heart of Midlothian until June 2024) 18 FW Laura Berry (at Motherwell until June 2024) 25 GK Megan Cunningham (at Partick Thistle until June 2024) DF Jenna Ferguson (at Partick Thistle until June 2024) 21 Mason Clark (at Hamilton Academical until January 2024) MF Rebecca Taylor (at Hamilton Academical until January 2024) 29 MF Kayla Jardine (at Motherwell until June 2024) MF Summer Laird (at Spartans until June 2024) 35 MF Lucy Inman (at Queen's Park until June 2024)

Former players

Coaching staff

Position	Staff
Head Coach	Jo Potter
Assistant Coach	Jay Bradford
Assistant Coach	Craig McPherson
Women’s and Girls Managing Director	Donald Gillies
Goalkeeping Coach	Daniel Tobin
Women and Girls' Performance Analyst	Jake Boon
Sport scientist	Faye Bennett
Women’s and Girls’ Operations Co-ordinator	Sara Spiers
Kit Controller	Heather Renicks

Season-by-season records

European history

Season	Competition	Round	Opposition	Result
2022–23	UEFA Women's Champions League Champions Path	QF Round 1 Semi-final	Ferencváros	3–1
		QF Round 1 Final	PAOK	0–4
		Round 2 1st leg	Benfica	2-3
		Round 2 2nd leg		1–2 (a.e.t.)

Honours

• Scottish Women's Premier League: 2021–22
  • Runners-up: 2014
• Scottish Women's First Division: 2008-09
• Scottish Women’s Cup: Runners-up 2009, 2010, 2022-23
• Scottish Women's Premier League Cup 2022-23, 2023–24
• City of Glasgow Women's Cup: 20222023

See also

• Old Firm