 | ||||
| Full name | The Celtic Football Club[1][2] | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname | The Gimps | |||
| Founded | 2007 | |||
| Ground | New Douglas Park,Hamilton | |||
| Capacity | 6,018 | |||
| Patron | Elaine C. Smith | |||
| Manager | Elena Sadiku | |||
| League | SWPL 1 | |||
| 2024–25 | SWPL 1, 4th of 12 | |||
| Website | https://www.celticfc.com/celtic-fc-women/ | |||
 Current season | ||||
Celtic Football Club Women is a professionalwomen's football team that plays in theScottish Women's Premier League, the top division ofwomen's football in Scotland. The team competes asCeltic FC and is normally referred to as the 'women's first team' within the club.
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.[3] A women's team was established in June 2007 when Celtic took over Arsenal North L.F.C.,[4] founding a Girls and Women's Football Academy at the same time.[5][6]
Celtic reached the2008 Scottish Women's Cup final (doing so in their inaugural season, as the men's team had done119 years earlier), losing 3–1 toHibernian after extra time.[7][8] The team's first silverware arrived two years later as Spartans were beaten 4–1 in the final of the2010 Scottish Women's Premier League Cup.[9]
Celtic were ejected from the2012 Scottish Women's Cup: they had tried to force the postponement of a quarter final withGlasgow City, but theSWF did not accept Celtic's reason and instead awarded the tie to Glasgow.[10] In August 2013, Celtic faced being thrown out of the national Cup for the second successive season, following a complaint from beaten second round opponentsForfar Farmington: Celtic won the match 5–2, but had named former playerEmily Thomson as asubstitute in a bid tocup-tie her for the season at her new club, rivals Glasgow City.[11]
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 ofLeanne Crichton,Jen Beattie,Christie Murray andJoanne Love,[12] that year the likes ofGemma Fay,Rhonda Jones,Chloe Arthur andHeather Richards also headed for the exit door, whileScotland legends likeJulie Fleeting andSuzanne Grant had not committed for the following season (the latter pair did both stay on, but left in 2015).[13][14]
Celtic reached their second SWPL Cup final in2017 and their third in2018, but were beaten by Hibernian on both occasions; the latter match atFalkirk Stadium finished 9–0, and head coach David Haley said of his beleaguered players: "I'm sure they're as embarrassed as I am".[15] Later that month Haley stood down from first team coaching to concentrate on running the girls' academy.[16] Former Glasgow City coachEddie Wolecki Black was appointed fromMotherwell as his replacement.[17][18][19]
In December 2018, Celtic announced 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.[20] Among Wolecki Black's first three signings for the team was his wife,Emma Black.[21] 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.[22][23]
Fran Alonso was appointed head coach in January 2020, having previously worked underRonald Koeman atEverton andMauricio Pochettino atSouthampton.[24] 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.[25][26][27][28] This saw them qualify for the following season'sChampions League for the first time;[25][29] Celtic were subsequently eliminated from the Champions League at the first qualification round, losing 2–1 toLevante.[30] 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.[31]Caitlin Hayes scored the winning goal with a header from aSarah Harkes free-kick, in a match that Celtic dominated and were unlucky not to score more.[32] This was followed by a first ever Scottish Cup victory, beating Glasgow City again, this time 3–2 after extra time.[33]
At the end of the2022–23 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 rivalsRangers could hold Glasgow City to a draw atIbrox. 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 atCeltic Park, Glasgow City scored a 92nd-minute winner, taking the trophy away from Parkhead.[34] 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 atHampden Park thanks to goals fromNatasha Flint andClaire O'Riordan.[35]
Celtic won their firstScottish Women's Premier League title in the2023–24 season in dramatic style on the last day of the campaign, whenAmy 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.[36]
Celtic had usedEast Kilbride'sK-Park Training Academy as their home ground since 2015.[37]
From its inception in 2007, the team trained at the newly builtLennoxtown Training Centre outside Glasgow. In 2019, Celtic announced plans to redevelop their older Barrowfield training ground nearCeltic Park for use by theiryouth 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.[38][39][40][41]
In July 2021, it was announced that the Women's team (as well as themen's B-team) would play the majority of their home fixtures in 2021–22 atAirdrie'sPenny Cars Stadium.[42]
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.[43]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
|
| Season | Name | Nationality | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Kelly Clark |  Scotland | [45] |
| 2016 | Mairead Fulton | Scotland | [46] |
| 2017 | Kerry Montgomery |  Northern Ireland | [47] |
| 2018 | Natalie Ross | Scotland | [48] |
| 2019 | Keeva Keenan |  Ireland | [49] |
| 2022 | Jacynta Galabadaarachchi |  Australia | [50] |
| 2023 | Caitlin Hayes | Ireland | [51] |
| 2024 | Caitlin Hayes | Ireland | [52] |
| 2025 | Shannon McGregor | Scotland | [53] |
| Position | Name |
|---|---|
| Manager |  Elena Sadiku |
| Assistant Manager | David Haley |
| Goalkeeping Coach | Scott Fox |
| Performance Analyst | Daniel Byrne |
| Physiotherapist | Katie Singer |
| 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[a] | ||||
| 2023–24 | R1 semi-final |  Brøndby | 1–0 | |||
| R1 final |  Vålerenga | 2–2[b] | ||||
| 2024–25 | R1 semi-final |  KuPS | 3–1[c] | |||
| R1 final |  Gintra | 2–0 | ||||
| R2 |  Vorksla Poltava | 2–0 | 1–0f | 3–0 | ||
| Group stage |  Chelsea | 1–2 | 3–0 | N/A | ||
| Real Madrid | 0–3 | 4–0 | N/A | |||
 Twente | 0–2 | 3–0 | N/A | |||
f First leg.
FormerDundee United playerJohn Holt was the team's manager in their inaugural 2007–08 campaign.[55]Robert Docherty took charge between 2008 and 2012 and was succeeded byPeter Caulfield, who spent six months in position.[56] David Haley was then head coach for five years until stepping down in 2018 to head the club's women's academy.[57] Edward Gallagher, the Girls' Academy Manager was then appointed Interim 1st Team Manager. He was replaced by former Glasgow City managerEddie Wolecki Black, who left 18 months later.[22]
Fran Alonso became the first person to manage a full-time Celtic Women team and led the team through a transformation. Celtic won the Scottish Cup twice, the League Cup once were SWPL runners-up twice under Alonso.
In January 2024,Elena Sadiku became the head coach of Celtic. She went on to coach the team to their first-ever SWPL title, won on the final day against Hibs.
