SOURCE: Rangers Football Club / https://rangers.co.uk
RANGERS are delighted to announce that the Women’s first-team and Academy have become fully integrated within the club’s football department.
The club’s board committed to increased investment in the Women’s and Girls’ Programme at November’s AGM and the promised changes to structure and investment have now been made.
The exciting move means Rangers will have the opportunity to recruit professional players, as well as turn some of our existing players professional.
Director of Football Mark Allen will now see women’s football fall under his remit, along with all other aspects of football performance within the club. Head of Academy Craig Mulholland will oversee the programme with current Head Coach Amy McDonald promoted to the role of Women’s and Girls’ Football Manager.
The changes mean the women’s footballing department will move from one full-time member of staff to three and first-team and academy players will have access to the club’s medical and sports science departments.
Rangers Women will now play all their home games at the Hummel Training Centre, when the second half of their season resumes in August, following a break for the summer’s World Cup.
The new stand at the club’s training facility has been developed in line with Scottish Women’s Premier League requirements for this purpose.
Gregory Vignal, who had previously been working as an Academy coach with the club, will become the Rangers Women Head Coach, starting with immediate effect. Sara Speirs also moves from her existing academy role to take up the post of Women’s and Girl’s operations co-ordinator.
New Women’s and Girls’ Football Manager Amy McDonald commented: “This is a truly significant move for Rangers and women’s football within Scotland.
“As one of the leading clubs in the UK on the men’s side of the game, this commitment now means we can start to bring the Women’s and Girls’ programme in line with that.
“The Academy has seen tremendous success of late after similar investment in recent years and I am excited by the potential we now have here.
“This gives us the opportunity to recruit better players who are established within the game, which in turn helps Rangers improve performances and results on the pitch.
“We recently saw three former Academy graduates in Scotland’s World Cup squad and we are now in a position to develop a structure and team attractive enough to keep those players longer. All these are positive moves.”
Director of Football Mark Allen continued: “I am incredibly proud to be integrating the Women’s and Girls’ Programme at Rangers with the rest of the football department, creating a one club philosophy.
“There is so much scope for us to grow and develop a successful Academy and first-team. Rangers, historically, are a club which wins trophies and the women’s team should be no different.
“This is an incredible opportunity for the club to bring the women’s football up to the same standard as the men’s game.
“Women’s football has been thrust into the global consciousness with the World Cup this summer and now we have the chance to grow Rangers’ brand globally within the women’s game.
“This is a positive time for the whole football club, from top to bottom and to now have the chance to build another winning Rangers team, playing the Rangers way, is something I am greatly looking forward to the challenge of.”