Latest news with #UefaProLicence
Scotsman
28-07-2025
- Sport
- Scotsman
BBC Scotland pundit 'set' to land Rangers job in switch from SWPL rivals
Glasgow City assistant poised for Ibrox switch Sign up to our Football newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Leanne Crichton is reportedly set to be named the new head coach of Rangers Women. The former Scotland international, a respected BBC Scotland pundit across television and radio for both men's and women's football, is currently the assistant head coach at SWPL rivals Glasgow City. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad According to reports, Crichton has emerged as the front runner for the Rangers job and is expected to replace Jo Potter, who left to manage Crystal Palace last month. BBC Scotland pundit Leanne Crichton is the frontrunner to land the Rangers Women head coach role. (Photo by Craig Foy / SNS Group) | SNS Group Under Potter, Rangers won the domestic cup double in each of the past two seasons, but missed out on the SWPL title on the final day of both campaigns. Crichton, 37, had three playing spells with City and also turned out for Celtic, Hibs, Notts County and Motherwell, the latter where she also moved into coaching. She returned to Glasgow City to assist Leanne Ross in November. The midfielder also won 72 senior international caps. If appointed, the move to Rangers would represent a first step into management for Crichton after she completed her Uefa Pro Licence this summer. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad
Scotsman
28-07-2025
- Sport
- Scotsman
BBC Scotland pundit 'set' to land Rangers job in switch from SWPL rivals
Glasgow City assistant poised for Ibrox switch Sign up to our Football newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Leanne Crichton is reportedly set to be named the new head coach of Rangers Women. The former Scotland international, a respected BBC Scotland pundit across television and radio for both men's and women's football, is currently the assistant head coach at SWPL rivals Glasgow City. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad According to reports, Crichton has emerged as the front runner for the Rangers job and is expected to replace Jo Potter, who left to manage Crystal Palace last month. BBC Scotland pundit Leanne Crichton is the frontrunner to land the Rangers Women head coach role. (Photo by Craig Foy / SNS Group) | SNS Group Under Potter, Rangers won the domestic cup double in each of the past two seasons, but missed out on the SWPL title on the final day of both campaigns. Crichton, 37, had three playing spells with City and also turned out for Celtic, Hibs, Notts County and Motherwell, the latter where she also moved into coaching. She returned to Glasgow City to assist Leanne Ross in November. The midfielder also won 72 senior international caps. If appointed, the move to Rangers would represent a first step into management for Crichton after she completed her Uefa Pro Licence this summer. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad
Scottish Sun
28-07-2025
- Sport
- Scottish Sun
BBC pundit in line to take over Rangers women's head coach role – despite having NEVER been a manager before
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) LEANNE CRICHTON is set to take over as Rangers boss after Jo Potter's departure. The Glasgow City No2 and BBC pundit, who completed her Uefa Pro Licence this summer, is understood to have been the standout candidate in Gers' recruitment process, despite never being a boss in her own right before. Sign up for the Rangers newsletter Sign up 1 Leanne Crichton has been a regular on Sportscene Potter left for Crystal Palace after the Ibrox side saw the SWPL title slip from their grasp on the final day for the third season on the trot, losing to champs Hibs at home. But 72-cap Scotland star Crichton, who rejoined her old club City as Leanne Ross' assistant in November, will have work to do before the season starts in three weeks with six Gers top-team stars also leaving. Crichton had three playing spells with Glasgow City before heading to Motherwell in 2021 where she took up a player-coach role. She can also boast of playing in two Uefa quarter-finals for Glasgow City while she also represented Scotland at the 2017 European Championships and the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup. She returned to Petershill in November last year to become assistant manager to Ross following the departure of Scott Booth to Aberdeen. Rangers fly out to Italy this morning after a 6-0 friendly win over Middlesbrough yesterday. The Light Blues lost out on the SWPL title on the last three successive final days of the season with a domestic Treble slipping from their grasp on the last two occasions. Hibs' triumph this season at Ibrox on the last day meant that Glasgow City finished in the runners-up spot and so claimed the second European spot. In both of Potters' seasons as the helm at Ibrox, she delivered a cup double. Her move to Scotland came after she brought an end to a playing career that spanned two decades. Russell Martin opens up after he got sent off by John Beaton in pre-season friendly vs 'Boro She played for the likes of Arsenal, Birmingham and Reading and won 35 caps for England, starring at the World Cup and European Championships. The women's season does not kick off until mid-August and Gers will hope Crichton can settle in quickly so she can work with the players before the opening game away to Montrose. Gers travel to Links Park on August 17 and then host Hearts at Ibrox a week later. Keep up to date with ALL the latest news and transfers at the Scottish Sun football page
Scottish Sun
25-07-2025
- Sport
- Scottish Sun
Former Scotland striker named first-ever manager of Afghan women's refugee team
They previously played Celtic, Hibs and Kilmarnock - and once coached at Rangers Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) A FORMER Scotland striker has been appointed head coach of the newly-formed Afghan women's refugee football team. Afghan women have been banned from playing sport in the country since the Taliban came to power in 2021. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 2 Girls of the Afghan National Development Squad - all of whom are refugees Credit: The Times 2 Pauline Hamill during her days as a Scotland international Credit: Les Gallagher - The Sun Glasgow Back in May, Fifa gave the green light to set up a new team for female players of Afghan nationality who had obtained refugee status abroad, allowing them to play in official matches. Fifa president Gianni Infantino has been leading the process, which will now see players gather for three "talent identification camps" in order to populate a squad. These training camps will not only decide who makes the team but they will offer players psychological care, safeguarding and better access to nutrition and physical preparation. Ex-Scotland, Hibs and Celtic striker Pauline Hamill has been chosen by Fifa to be the first-ever manager of the team. Hamill, 53, earned 141 caps for the Scotland women's national team and scored 29 goals during an illustrious international career. She played for Kilmarnock, Hibernian, Doncaster Rovers ad Celtic among others at club level before retiring in 2011. An experienced coach, she worked with the Scotland women's under-17s between 2010 and 2017 before moving up to the under-19s for six years. In 2023 she was named head coach of the Saudi Arabia women's under-20s (a first for the country). Hamill holds a Uefa Pro Licence and headed up the SFA Women's National Academy at the University of Stirling before moving to the Middle East. She made history way back in 2003 too, when she was still a player, when she became the first ever female coach at Rangers, being appointed to a youth development role at the Ibrox club. Nicolas Kuhn poses for selfies with Celtic fans as he greets team-mates and Brendan Rodgers at Como Cup Hamill described the job as a "no-brainer" and a "privilege" and that she hopes the initiative will have a long-lasting impact. She said: "I was super excited, honestly, as soon as I was offered the role. "From the very start, something about the job was really pulling me in. "So, when I had the opportunity to lead the team, for me it was an absolute no-brainer. It's a privilege to be invited into this project. "This is going to be something really special, and I think it's something that they'll remember forever. "It's more than just a football journey. This is something that will have a lasting effect on people." Infantino said upon announcing Hamill's new role: "We're proud to have Pauline Hamill guiding this team on such a meaningful journey. "Her experience, empathy and dedication will be a powerful source of strength and inspiration for these courageous players. "Fifa stands firmly with Afghan women - at home and in exile - and remains committed to creating safe, inclusive spaces where they can pursue their football dreams and be seen, heard and supported on the international stage." Keep up to date with ALL the latest news and transfers at the Scottish Sun football page
The 42
13-07-2025
- Sport
- The 42
‘Male coaches get away with a lot more on the sideline than I do'
SOME 136 PEOPLE have obtained their Uefa Pro Licence with the Football Association of Ireland since the course's inception in 2009. Of that number, three are women. Sue Ronan and Eileen Gleeson have both had stints managing the Irish national team, while Laura Heffernan is the current head coach of DLR Waves. Heffernan is the most recent graduate. Her 2024 course included former Ireland internationals Paul McShane, David Meyler, Sean St Ledger and Glenn Whelan, as well as Waterford Women's manager Gary Hunt and Bohemians men's assistant boss Stephen O'Donnell. Last December, when expressions of interest for the 2025/26 Uefa Pro Licence were sought, a press release noted: '136 coaches have completed the Uefa Pro Licence through FAI Coach Education and currently, 94 of those coaches are active within the game.' That 94 figure includes Heffernan, who was appointed manager of DLR Waves just over two years ago. But 'active within the game' does not necessarily constitute employment in the football industry. Instead, Heffernan is a full-time sales representative and administrator with Balon Sportswear. The Wexford native has been involved in senior football in Ireland for 27 years and first became a manager, with Wexford Youths, in 2017. On balancing the two, Heffernan says: 'It's quite hectic from January to October, it's a lot of hours, and not a lot of free time during that period. So, it can be a bit exhausting, but I suppose it's just the nature of where we are at the moment in women's football in Ireland; the industry just isn't there. And it's quite difficult to put work aside for a full commitment to football.' Heffernan, who turns 41 this year, works from her home in Wexford, and in the evening makes the trip up to Beckett Park three times a week for training, and then travels again for matches at the weekend. 'It's probably an hour, 20, up and back,' she says of the journey to Cherrywood. 'It is quite a big commitment, but not as bad as Northside with Shelbourne [Heffernan had a stint coaching the Reds' underage team]. So it seems a lot closer when you've done that journey for three years.' While it is far from ideal for a pro licence holder managing in the top division in the country, Heffernan understands it is the reality of working in women's football in Ireland. When asked whether there would ever come a point where she might become fed up with the lack of resources and limitations, and end her involvement in sport, she responds: 'I've said that at the start of every season for the last 10 years. 'But it's a labour of love. And that's whether you're a coach or a player. And I see the girls, we do three pitch sessions a week. We have our game at the weekend. They're doing their extra one-to-ones or gym sessions on the alternate days, they're getting up at six, seven o'clock in the morning to go to college, leaving college, to come straight to training, and home late and up early the next morning. And that's 10 months of the year. 'And they're giving up their Saturdays to travel all over the country, and they get practically nothing to do it so, you have to wonder how much more we can push all these players and how much more we can ask from them when, on top of that, they're probably trying to fit in part-time jobs just to make ends meet. 'And so we have to seriously start asking the questions of how much more we can professionalise the game and keep pushing these players if we don't have anything to offer them.' Advertisement It has been a difficult start to the season for DLR Waves. Leah Scholes / INPHO Leah Scholes / INPHO / INPHO The fact that DLR Waves are rooted to the bottom of the Women's Premier Division with four points from 11 games does not make it any easier. 'The reality is we're working off a budget that's probably a quarter of the teams in the top half of the table. So it's always going to be difficult, the other side of that is when you look at the names of the clubs, sometimes it's hard to attract players when you're competing against the clubs in Dublin with those big names, players will always tend to veer towards the Shamrock Rovers or Shelbournes.' Despite the disappointing results of late, Heffernan says progress has been made at the club as a whole in recent times, pointing to success at underage level and the development of their academy, with the promotion of young footballers key to DLR Waves' strategy. Keeping hold of players is a recurring issue, however. Heffernan recalls a particularly challenging season in 2023, the year she was appointed manager. 'We lost 15 of the squad of 20 or something like that. It was pretty colossal. So when I took the job, it was a lot of trying to stabilise what was there.' Heffernan is one of only two female managers in the Women's Premier Division — the other being Peamount's Emma Donoghue. She acknowledges that the lack of Irish female representatives in coaching is not ideal. 'I still think there is a level of or a lack of respect there at times,' she says. 'Even in terms of games, I think some of the male coaches get away with a lot more on the sideline than I do. 'And I think there is an in-between, of course. A lot of the guys in the league this year are really good guys. I have a really good relationship with a lot of the coaches. 'But it hasn't always been that way over the years either, and I do still think there is a lack of respect there for female coaches, and it's something that we just have to keep pushing and trying to change. 'You have to have a bit of a hard skin at times, and let some things brush off and not let it affect you.' Asked to elaborate on her point about sideline behaviour, Heffernan adds: 'A lot of the time, the lads can be fairly animated and get away with saying certain things to officials and whatnot. And I find a lot of the time that if I question something, it's not taken as seriously. That's just the way it is. 'And I think with the lads, especially anyone who has played in the League of Ireland or whatever, they just seem to get a lot more respect. And that's been the way for many years. 'I don't know how you change that, other than just keep trying to do what we're doing and keep plugging away and doing the job — the easy thing to do, I suppose, would be just to walk away. 'I've openly spoken about some courses that I didn't feel overly comfortable on. I've had the same situation as a lot of other female coaches that I've spoken about, where you're asked if you're the physio when you arrive at the games and things like that — a few years back, not as much now.' Then-Ireland manager Giovanni Trapattoni speaks to coaches as part of their Pro Licence in 2012. Donall Farmer / INPHO Donall Farmer / INPHO / INPHO Heffernan does not regret undertaking the Uefa Pro Licence course. It has at least raised her profile in the game and means she is less likely to get mistaken for the physio. She also speaks highly of the people running it, describing the experience as 'one of the most enjoyable things that I've ever done'. But at the same time, the opportunities she has been afforded since then do not seem significantly greater — she took over the head coach role at DLR Waves before graduating. 'As proud as I am to have the pro licence, I would still say, for me, it probably doesn't hold as much weight to other people as what any of the lads that got it, it doesn't hold the same kind of perception, than if one of the males who have their pro licence have, so it can be a challenge, it can be difficult, but it's something that we buy into, and we're wanting to change.' She continues: 'I do genuinely feel that it doesn't hold as much weight as it would for the other 19 candidates that were in the room at the time. 'As great as it is to have, I'm not sure right now where we are with women's football in this country, it's changed opportunities here within Ireland.' Even for male coaches, having a pro licence is far from a guarantee of full-time employment, while being without one is not necessarily an impediment. Irish national team manager Carla Ward and Joey O'Brien, who has just been appointed Shelbourne's permanent manager, are among those without one, though the latter has confirmed he is enrolled on the 2025-26 course, which begins later this year, and Ward is also working towards gaining one. Given this state of affairs, it seems understandable why many women would be reluctant to pursue the pro licence. 'There are a lot of female coaches who are working full time. They've got kids. They're juggling everyday life. It's not as easy to give up your time to go on and commit to something like that, because it's 18 months of really, really hard work. Obviously, there's a cost involved as well. 'The problem is the football industry for women is just not here at the moment, and for the time and investment that goes into getting to that point, there are practically no full-time jobs available to make use of it. 'And so I can understand why a lot of females, especially, don't put that final bit of commitment in to go and finish the A licence or the B or the pro licence, because there's very little that you can do when you come out of it that's going to pay to be a football coach.' Regardless of whether they have a pro licence, Heffernan believes 'we're still quite a bit off' appointing female coaches to top jobs in the men's game and says she 'wouldn't begrudge any of the lads working in the Premier Division,' adding: 'A lot of them are ex-players that have come through, and they've given their time, and they've helped build the league to where it is for probably a lot less than what the players are on now. 'I suppose the thing for me is, if you flip it to the women's game, I'd be under no illusions that if somebody with an A licence or a B licence male was to apply for a job in the women's game, the chances are they probably would get it before I would.' Former Ireland boss Eileen Gleeson is one of three women to secure a Uefa Pro Licence through the FAI course. Ryan Byrne / INPHO Ryan Byrne / INPHO / INPHO In addition to her application, Heffernan had to come through two 'intense' interviews to gain one of the 20 spots on the 2024 course. As well as the low number of places available and the fact that courses only take place every two years, another prohibitive factor is the cost. The FAI have been reluctant to publicly disclose the fee for taking the course, but the equivalent FA-run course in England is listed as £13,700, and that only accounts for the pro licence. Such figures are pocket money for a recently retired footballer who has played in the Premier League, but it is a substantial sum for people like Heffernan who have devoted their careers to the far less lucrative women's game. 'I don't think we're the most expensive,' she says. 'I don't think we're the cheapest either across Europe. It does vary from country to country. 'But it is a big investment, from your first badge to your last badge, when the employment opportunities aren't where we'd like them to be.' Still, though, while football may not have made her rich, Heffernan has no regrets about the life she has pursued. 'As many challenges as I faced over the last 10 years, I wouldn't change a day of it. As much as there have been hard sides to it, I've had some unbelievable experiences through football, whether that's been travelling away to Champions League [games] or winning titles. And some of those are days that you remember for the rest of your life.'
