Latest news with #SWPL
Yahoo
11 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Hayley Lauder named player-assistant coach at Glasgow City
Glasgow City have announced that club legend Hayley Lauder has taken on a new role as player-assistant coach ahead of the 2025/26 SWPL season. Following the departure of former assistant coach Leanne Crichton, the club moved quickly to find a suitable successor. Chief Executive Officer Laura Montgomery and head coach Leanne Ross identified Lauder as the ideal candidate. Her wealth of experience and deep connection with the club make her a standout choice. The 35-year-old midfielder joined City in December 2014 and has since made 252 appearances for the club. The No. 4 has won seven SWPL titles, two Scottish Cups, and one League Cup. She also played a pivotal role in the squad that reached the quarter-finals of the UEFA Women's Champions League. On the international stage, Lauder represented Scotland 106 times, including appearances at the 2017 Euros and the 2019 World Cup. 'It is a move that makes sense for me' Speaking on her appointment, Lauder said: 'I'm very excited. The stage that I'm at, playing-wise, it is a move that makes sense for me. I can continue providing that support as a player to the team, but also as a member of staff to Leanne'. 'We have always had a good relationship and one that is really honest. We can challenge each other, but always have that respect there. I'm looking forward to continuing that.' Embed from Getty Images Head coach Leanne Ross added: 'I'm absolutely delighted to have Hayley stepping into the role of player-assistant coach. She is someone who knows this club inside out, having been here for over a decade, has strong and genuine relationships within the team, and is someone I have complete trust in'. 'Her knowledge of the game is exceptional, and moving into coaching feels like a natural progression for her at this stage of her career. She's been a leader on the pitch for years, and now she'll bring that same insight and passion to the coaching side. I'm delighted to have her working with the team in this role.' Related articles from Her Football Hub: EE highlights powerful mental health benefits of football for teenage girls The importance of educational football and why we should be helping it grow Euro 2025: ITV audio descriptive commentary of England win monumental for visually impaired fans
Daily Mail
a day ago
- Sport
- Daily Mail
'I'm not going to lie ... I look at the Lionesses with jealousy'... SWPL supremo McIntyre admits Scotland needs a national team to capture the imagination
As she pursues her own 'Utopia' for women's football in Scotland, Fiona McIntyre can't help but steal an envious glance at the paradise being built in England 's green and pleasant land. An inspiration, yes, but also a reminder of the miles still to be covered if this proud footballing nation is to realise McIntyre's dream of a completely full-time top flight. The SWPL managing director, rightly proud of a product unrivalled for drama at the business end of the table, is confident that every piece of available data points to continued growth in the women's game north of the border. But it's only natural to feel that our nearest neighbours — in this case an English game guaranteed to take another stratospheric leap as a result of the Lionesses defending their European Championships title — should produce mixed emotions for anyone trying to keep up with the Kellys and the Hamptons. 'I look at them, the Lionesses, with jealousy; I'm not going to lie,' admits McIntyre. 'When Scotland qualified for the Euros and the World Cup, we saw the biggest uplift ever in the number of women playing football in Scotland. That's the impact, it's massive. 'Having a national team competing on the world stage or the European stage is hugely important, but also, from a league perspective, it does so much for the credibility of your country. 'I look at the national team and I see the talent there, and I know they're more than capable of qualifying. The new manager is in, and it feels like a sort of fresh momentum is coming with her, so I genuinely hope they can kick on, get some results and that we'll be sitting here again soon talking about a Scotland team going to the Euros or the World Cup.' International aspirations are, of course, elements beyond the control of the people working so hard to modernise Scotland's elite domestic competition. But 'Prem One', as those in the game call an SWPL1 division which has just been cut from 12 teams to 10 in pursuit of greater competition across the board, is more than contributing to the wider growth of the sport. McIntyre feels that the top tier, with its dramatic final-day title deciders, its landmark partnership with ScottishPower and its growing profile across the country, is already delivering in one very important sphere of public life. Perception, in this age of optics and vibes, is everything. 'People have now got a far greater understanding that, as a professional women's football league in Scotland, we have real high-quality calibre elite professional athletes both in our country and those who have left, such as Erin Cuthbert and Caroline Weir. 'Women's football for a long time was viewed as almost quite amateur and part of that would be down to the resource that was in it, and the visibility of it, and that impacted how players were able to prepare. 'What you see now is a growing respect for the fact that women's football is an elite sport, attracting national brands like ScottishPower, and there's an aspirational element to it now. 'That's probably the biggest shift that I've seen, particularly around the younger generations when you see young girls waiting for items to get autographed and they've got kits with names of the female players on the back. That really shows you have created these real genuine role models.' Not content to rest on achievements to date, McIntyre is eager to see improvement — across all metrics — as the new SWPL kicks off on Sunday August 17. When it come to dramatic tension, the last few campaigns will be hard to beat. Hibs will defend the title they won last season on a final day when any one of four teams could have taken the crown. Previous to that, Celtic won on goal difference and, before that, Glasgow City triumphed with the last kick of the campaign. For a game looking to attract new fans and commercial partners, that's the stuff of dreams. 'It's huge,' says McIntyre. 'We speak a lot about everything around the game and what we're trying to achieve off the pitch, but fundamentally what happens on the pitch is the most important thing. 'Football is at its most exciting when it's competitive and there's a real uncertainty of the outcome. We've been really fortunate in the last three seasons that people were genuinely not sure which way it was going to end until the very last kick of the ball. 'I think we're the most competitive (league) in Europe. We absolutely want to capitalise on that in terms of using that narrative, that story. I think that's created media interest — or additional media interest — and that's something we absolutely try and capitalise on to get people into stadiums.' McIntyre is keen to talk about perception and is working hard to ensure the game in Scotland is respected accordingly. This season is one of change in the SWPL. The top league has been reduced from 12 to ten teams. There is a reason for that, obviously, and it has all to do with quality and competitiveness. The SWPL was matched only by Spain in the number of games players were being asked to play, so that had to be reduced. Also, a UEFA study showed that, post-split, the SWPL was by far the most competitive but, pre-split, it was at the other end of the spectrum with at times particularly high, one-sided scorelines. That needed to change, but all the teams had to be on board. When the SPFL touted cutting the Premiership to ten teams, there was outcry. In the SWPL, it was different. McIntyre says: 'I guess women's football is still earlier in its journey and, from the outset, when we set up the SWPL, there was definitely a real sense of collective identity. All the clubs were coming together for the greater good of women's football. 'It's never a popular decision to reduce the top league. Essentially, we relegated three teams and not everyone necessarily liked that but, to their credit, they all understood because we presented the data, we presented the why, and even the clubs that were impacted by that negatively were very understanding because we presented the reasons and the rationale behind it.' It takes a lot for clubs to commit to full professionalism. Even champions Hibs don't pay all of their full-time players what you would call a proper living wage. That won't change overnight. But a completely full-time top flight? An entire league full of female footballers who have earned the right to call themselves professionals? 'I hope so — that's certainly what we are trying to deliver,' says McIntyre. 'That's the Utopia.' ■ ScottishPower is dedicated to energising women's football at every age and stage of the game through its exclusive Principal Partner for the Scottish Women's Premier League (SWPL) and Scottish Women's Football (SWF).
BBC News
3 days ago
- Sport
- BBC News
'Leader' Lauder takes up player-assistant coach role at City
Hayley Lauder says it "makes sense" to take on a player-assistant coach role at Glasgow City. The 35-year-old midfielder fills the position after former assistant Leanne Crichton joined Rangers as their new head has made 252 appearances since joining City in December 2014 and has won seven SWPL titles, two Scottish Cups and one League Cup."I'm very excited," Lauder said. "The stage that I'm at playing wise, it is a move that makes sense for me."I can continue providing that support as a player to the team, but also as a member of staff to Leanne [Ross]."We have always had a good relationship and one that is really honest. We can challenge each other, but always have that respect there. I'm looking forward to continuing that."City head coach Leanne Ross added: "I'm absolutely delighted to have Hayley stepping into the role of player-assistant coach."She is someone who knows this club inside out having been here for over a decade, has strong and genuine relationships within the team, and is someone I have complete trust in."Her knowledge of the game is exceptional, and moving into coaching feels like a natural progression for her at this stage of her career."She's been a leader on the pitch for years, and now she'll bring that same insight and passion to the coaching side. I'm delighted to have her working with the team in this role."
BBC News
4 days ago
- Sport
- BBC News
New boss Crichton on second being 'unacceptable', mentality shift & Ibrox factor
New Rangers head coach Leanne Crichton has been speaking to the media after being officially unveiled at are the key points:Crichton insists the immediate focus will be on winning, with the SWPL campaign starting on 17 August, adding that "you need to win and being second best is ultimately unacceptable".Rangers have narrowly missed out on the league title in each of the past three seasons and the former Scotland international is keen to find solutions as to why they've not managed to get over that line."That's the detail I need to find," she tells BBC Scotland. "It's about the one per cents, the mentality shift to really focus on that."Crichton adds: "I think everybody in Scottish women's football and beyond has enjoyed that level of competition, but for us it would be about ultimately getting over the line and we know with that comes the lure of European football as well."The former Motherwell and Glasgow City assistant described her appointment as an "unbelievable opportunity" given "the magnitude of the job and the club" and said her coaching journey to this point comes off the back of progress over a "long, long time".She also believes that playing at Ibrox more consistently in the upcoming season will be "huge" and is really "proud to be the head coach that takes that forward".
STV News
4 days ago
- Sport
- STV News
Leanne Crichton aiming to deliver league title as Rangers head coach
New Rangers women's team head coach Leanne Crichton has set her sights on winning the SWPL title and making an impact in Europe. The former Scotland international has replaced Jo Potter in the dugout for the new season, which kicks off in ten days time. Rangers won both cup competitions last campaign, but fell just short in the league and eventually finished third behind Hibernian and Glasgow City despite taking it to the final day. Potter then departed for Crystal Palace and Rangers turned to Crichton to lead the side into the 2025/26 season, and she is determined to deliver success in the SWPL. She said: 'There was some contact between the club and myself a number of weeks back, obviously the approach was there and the conversations after that were really positive. 'To win, is the short-term plan, and ultimately for us, the long-term plan. The league title is the one thing that's been missing. 'It's a really successful team that I am taking over, in terms of four trophies from six, but the league title is the one trophy that every Rangers team wants to win. 'With that it would guarantee Champions League football, and for me that would be the ultimate aim to deliver the league title and then get a shot at Europe. 'That is what we will set out to do, I am very realistic regarding how competitive the league is, so the margins will be tight, but it will be up to us as a group to find that 1% extra that will make the difference.' Rangers gets their SWPL season under way with a trip to Montrose on Sunday, August 17. Get all the latest news from around the country Follow STV News Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country
