Scottish Women's Football

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Partick Thistle have signed former Celtic midfielder Tiree Burchill for the upcoming campaign.

The 19-year-old was part of Elena Sadiku's historic title-winning side of last season, scoring six goals in 24 appearances.

"I’m really excited to get started and looking forward to seeing how my development continues," Burchill told club media, external.

"At this point in my career I just want to play more games and develop and show what I can do.

"I think this is the right club for me to do that."

Manager Brian Graham added: "Tiree is a player who we have admired for a long time and it’s extremely exciting that she’s chosen Partick Thistle as the next step in her career.

"She’s got plenty of pace, bundles of technique and a knack for creating and scoring goals all of which will make her a real asset for us this season.

"To be getting minutes and goals in an ultra-competitive, title-winning Celtic team as a 19-year-old tells you a lot about the ability she has and we’re really looking forward to seeing what she can do in red and yellow."

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Motherwell have signed Scotland youth international Sienna McGoldrick.

The former Celtic playmaker broke into the first team at just 15years old and scored the opener in the Under-18s SWF Scottish Cup final against Hearts.

"I'm really happy to have joined Motherwell for next season," she told club media.

"Over the past few seasons other young players have come here, gained the experience of first-team football and have really developed their game.

Head coach Paul Brownlie added: "This is a very positive signing.

"We identified Sienna as a very exciting young talent who could provide vital competition for places."

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Hibs have signed US goalkeeper Noa Schumacher on a one-year deal.

Schumacher has spent the entirety of her footballing career in America, progressing through the US college system, and will now test herself in the Scottish top flight.

The keeper has already linked up with Grant Scott's side out in Alicante for their pre-season training camp.

"I’ve enjoyed my first few days here with the girls," Schumacher said.

"I’m glad that I was able to make it over to Spain as it’s a great time to get to know the squad and bond with them ahead of the competitive season starting."

Manager Scott added: "It has been a whirlwind few days for Noa but it’s great to have her here in Alicante with us.

"Coming through the US college system, Noa brings a different perspective to the squad, her addition will provide us with more depth and quality in the goalkeeping department."

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Glasgow City and Partick Thistle's opening home games of the season have been moved to accommodate works at Petershill Park.

The teams play their home matches at the Glasgow-based stadium, but because of improvement works for the duration of August, fixtures have been moved.

Thistle have two home games during the period of renovations and will now play those fixtures at Maryhill's Lochburn Park.

City also have two home matches, the first against Celtic will be reversed and played at Excelsior Stadium.

Their game against Hearts will now be played at K-Park in East Kilbride.

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Lisa Evans says she's not putting any pressure on herself to win trophies at Glasgow City following her return to the club.

After missing out on the SWPL title and a Champions League spot last year, Leanne Ross' side are eyeing up a return to the top.

The Scotland international re-joined the club this summer and was asked if she felt pressure to help the team reclaim success on the BBC's Behind the Goals podcast.

"I wouldn't say so," Evans responded.

"I wouldn't put that pressure on myself. I know if I'm fit, available and working hard then I will in some way be able to help the team.

"I'm not putting the pressure on myself to win every game because I'm there. I just want to take it week by week, giving myself the best chance to be the best I can be.

"Hopefully then I can help the team be successful whatever that may be, whether it's a league title we'll see."

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Scotland international Christy Grimshaw has been handed the AC Milan captain's for the upcoming campaign.

The midfielder joined the Italian side in 2020 and has since gone on to make 99 appearances, the most by a foreign player for the club's women's side, while scoring 14 goals.

The 28-year-old recently extended her stay in Milan until 2027.

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Glasgow City are determined to right the wrongs of last term by reclaiming silverware this season, says veteran midfielder Jo Love.

The 38-year-old put pen to paper on a one-year extension with the Glasgow outfit and is hoping for a better campaign than last year's.

City finished third in the SWPL in 2023-24 and are about to embark on their first season without European football in over 10 years.

"Hopefully we can get back to winning ways this season," Love told club media, external.

"We've signed a lot of quality, we've got a lot of existing quality. I'm just looking forward to seeing how we play this season, building on our style of play and hopefully winning trophies.

"I'm going to be doing everything in my power to be available for selection and hopefully I can push on and be at the same level as everyone else."

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Partick Thistle forward Kodie Hay has suffered a broken ankle two weeks before the start of the new season.

The 26-year-old took to social media to share the injury news, saying she's "devastated" to have been sidelined so close to the start of the new campaign.

In her debut season last term, Hay made 39 appearances across all competitions, setting up three goals and scoring once.

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Hearts head coach Eva Olid hopes the club's warm-weather training camp will help their summer signings bed in.

Olid's side are in Pinatar in the south of Spain as they prepare for the start of the new SWPL season, and Olid believes the camp can help players grow in confidence.

"The main intention of the camp is so the players can get to know each other.," Olid told club media, external.

"We can train in Oriam but for us it's so important that we see a difference in the new players after the camp, that they're more confident and more open.

"That is the main objective of the camp but also it's a good opportunity to train hard."

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Saoirse Noonan says she will give everything for her childhood club Celtic after signing from Durham last week.

The Irish forward has been a fan of the Glasgow club all her life and says it's a dream come true to put on the green and white hoops.

"It’s the highest level you can play at in club football," the Republic of Ireland international said.

"To wear the Celtic jersey and go out and play at that level is something any young kid aspires to.

"Seeing the girls win the league and going on to play in the Champions League, it’s something I’ve always dreamt of.

"It’s everyone’s dream and it’s something that I can’t wait to do.

"I’m Irish. I play with my heart on my sleeve. I bleed green. I’ll give my all, work as hard as I can and hopefully get plenty of goals."

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Midfielder Jo Love has signed a one-year contract extension with Glasgow City.

Love, 38, first arrived at the club back in 2011 and established herself as a key member of City's hugely successful squad, winning 11 SWPL titles, six Women's Scottish Cups and four SWPL Cups.

Still Scotland's most capped outfield player, she featured in numerous Women's Champions League campaigns.

"It was an easy decision at the end of the day," Love said.

"I had shown an interest in wanting to stay at Glasgow City and they’ve been more than willing to extend my contract.

“I wanted to be surrounded by the right people and here is the exact place for that.

"The fact that we play good football and aspire to be serial winners is important but first and foremost it’s about what the club believes in and they believe in me as well.

"I’ve got a deep rooted association with the city that I’m looking forward to continuing."

Head coach Leanne Ross added: "Jo’s contract extension is great news.

"Her record at the club more than speaks for itself but probably doesn’t quite do justice to the impact she has made both on and off the pitch.

"To have someone with her expertise and leadership on the pitch and in our dressing room is huge, she is a born winner and her competitive mentality is infectious amongst the group."

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Celtic have signed Irish forward Saoirse Noonan from English side Durham.

The forward becomes Elena Sadiku's sixth summer addition, putting pen to paper on a three-year deal in Glasgow.

Noonan has also gained experience with Cork City and Shelbourne in her homeland and has been capped three times by the Republic of Ireland.

Amy Canavan
BBC Sport Scotland

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So, Scotland now know who stands between them and a place at next summer's European Championships in Switzerland.

After sailing through their Group B2 qualifying campaign, the Scots knew they would be seeded for Round One of the play-offs taking place later this year.

Earlier on today they were drawn against Hungary - an appealing draw for a couple of reasons.

Firstly, the travel, and therefore recovery. Due to the tight turnaround in fixtures - the first leg is on Friday, with the second leg on Tuesday - Pedro Martinez Losa and his side will be delighted to avoid a trek to Azerbaijan or Turkey.

A shorter trip to Hungary, one they took just last month when they played Israel, will allow for a recovery day on Saturday, before attention turns to the home tie at Hampden.

Secondly, the Scots have a decent record against Hungary in recent times.

Three years ago they were in the same qualification group for the 2023 World Cup, and Scotland twice came out on top.

Add in that Hungary finished third in Group B1 with two wins, one draw and three defeats, there will be plenty of optimism among the Scotland ranks they can negotiate their way into Round Two.

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From excitement to revenge.

Should Scotland get by Hungary, they'll then face either Montenegro or Finland, and if it's the latter, there would no need to get the girls hyped up for it.

Finland, managed then by former Scotland head coach Anna Signeul, ended the Scots' hopes of reaching Euro 2022 with a 1-0 win at Easter Road back in 2020.

Since then, they've faced each other twice.

Last summer, Scotland won a friendly 2-1; Caroline Weir marked her 100th cap with a goal and Emma Watson netted her third international goal in four games. Both are still out with ACL injuries, but they will be pushing to make the play-offs.

The Finns also pipped Scotland on penalties to edge this year's Pinatar Cup, but the Scots have improved drastically since then.

Clean sheets are being kept, goals are being scored and smiles are back on faces.

There will no doubt be a few grins looking at these games, knowing Scotland have a serious chance of dining once again at Europe's top table.

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Captain Rachel Corsie is delighted that Scotland have restored "pride" with a storming run to the Euro 2025 play-offs.

The Scots secured promotion to Nations League A and will be seeded in Friday's Euros play-off draw after finishing top of their qualifying group.

They won five out of six qualifiers, the only dropped points coming in a draw away to Serbia.

"I can't remember the last time we had five wins in a row and went six games unbeaten," Corsie told the BBC's Behind the Goals podcast.

"It's what we wanted to do but it's not easy in international football and it's a long time since we've had these feelings.

"I think the team has stepped up. To finish the group in a really confident manner with two good results and two good performances, it was an enjoyable experience.

"The Nations League was difficult but defensively we exposed ourselves too often. "e wanted to try and put a little bit of focus on that and take a bit of pride back and I think we did that."

Erin Cuthbert is relishing the return of Real Madrid midfielder Caroline Weir from an ACL injury for Scotland's Euro 2025 play-off in October.

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Aberdeen have completed a triple signing as they prepare for the upcoming SWPL season.

Defenders Niamh Noble and Nicola Jamieson and goalkeeper Megan Sidey have made the switch to the north east.

Noble joins the Dons from Glasgow City having spent last season on loan at Dundee United.

Jamieson and Sidey also make the move from United.

"I’m delighted to further bolster the squad with the arrivals of Niamh, Nicola and Megan," head coach Colin Bell told club media, external.

"All three have SWPL experience under their belts and will add to the blend of experience and young, emerging talent we have within our squad.

"I’m sure all three will excel in this new environment and I look forward to seeing their continued development and contribution in the season ahead."

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Erin Cuthbert says now is the time for Scotland to "step up" after winning promotion back to Nations League A and earning seeded status for Friday's Euro 2025 play-off draw.

Pedro Martinez Losa's side finished top of their Euro 2025 qualifying group after Kirsty Hanson's goal secured a 1-0 win over Serbia on Tuesday night.

The victory means the Scots are back in Nations League A having been demoted to League B last time out after failing to win any of their six games.

"From here on in it gets harder," Chelsea forward Cuthbert said.

"The opposition gets harder, the pressure gets harder. Now it’s time for us all to step up and it’s about how we handle pressure.

"There’s going to be moments where we need to sit in and defend for our lives and there’s going to be moments where we have to be really clinical because we may not get as many chances as we’ve had in this campaign.

"We’re going to have to be a really ruthless Scotland and front-footed as well. We do best when we high press teams.

"We don’t do well defending our own goal, we don’t have a team that wants to sit in and defend, we have front-footed players so whoever we play we need to impose our game on them."

Amy Canavan
BBC Sport Scotland at Firhill Stadium

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Job done. Every job done.

Play-offs secured, undefeated campaign and promotion to League A confirmed.

Not without another challenge at Firhill with Serbia, as expected, getting up into Scotland's face but as the players and staff have said post-match, it's the sort of attitude they'll come against later in the year.

Martinez Losa's side had to dig deep and defend more than they have done in the four games against Slovakia and Israel respectively, and did so fairly soundly.

There was the odd scary moment, but given the time of season for the bulk of these players, a little slowness can be expected.

There was no such trait in the celebrations after the final whistle, though, which shows how morale-boosting this unbeaten campaign has been.

This squad are in a far better place than they were at the beginning of the year, on and off the pitch.

The mood is different, the togetherness is even more evident and the confidence is brimming.

Six games, five wins, one goal conceded. Bring on the play-offs.

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Scotland head coach Pedro Martinez Losa: "We have a run that not many teams have in Europe at the moment.

"We want to encourage the fans to connect with the team. It has been a long time for us to sing with the fans.

"It was about fighting for the future of the women’s game. More than the outcome of this group, it is about the ultimate ambition is to make fans identify with this team."

And the Scotland manager also believes his side are better placed now to cope with the play-offs than they were two years ago when they headed into the World Cup play-offs, a run that ended with defeat to the Republic of Ireland at Hampden.

"100% [we are in a better place]," he said. "100%. The mentality is different. We know there are areas we need to improve to reach the next level.

"What we expect now is the draw. We celebrate now and then we will prepare for the first play-off. We have to keep the feelings on the floor. It is a good moment for the players to feel proud.

"The last three or four games we have shown we are at a good level. We believe we can beat everyone at this moment.

"We knew how difficult it was going to be and Serbia were the hardest opponents in League B and they proved that.

"The game was much more tactical than anything. We felt it was our opportunity after a run of good results and our objective was to take the group to the next level.

“I am so pleased for the group. They give everything in every game and every camp."