Women’s football set to shine during summershowdown
GET BEHIND GLASGOW CITY FC GIRLS AT THIS YEAR’S
GLASGOW City teammates Leanne Ross and Hayley Lauder have yet to kick a ball at UEFA European Women’s Championship, but already they have reason to celebrate.
Not only have the squad recently reached an agreement with the Scottish Football Association over their terms and conditions, they have made history by qualifying for the European championships.
This year, Scotland’s team represents a whole range of talent with a wealth of experience playing at home and abroad.
Among those chosen for the squad is Leanne Ross, a 36-year-old midfielder from Stenhousemuir in Falkirk, and 27-year-old Hayley Lauder from Livingstone.
Both women currently play for Glasgow City FC and have experienced the highs and lows that their sport has gone through over the last decade.
Plans laid by Sheila Begbie, head of girls’ and women’s football at the Scottish Football Association from 1998 to 2014, have meant that as young women they had the chance to nurture their talent and pursue a career in the sport.
Ross, who has been capped for Scotland more than 100 times, started out playing for a boys’ team in her hometown before going on to Falkirk Girls, Newburgh and finally Glasgow City, where she has played for 10 years.
“It was a bit of a struggle getting started because there was not that many opportunities for me to play and I had to join a mixed team,” she explains.
“So when you turned up to play another team, the boys would always assume we were going to be rubbish because there were girls in the team.
“My teammates were supportive and my friends and family were always really supportive - it was more other people that didn’t get it.
“I’m quite envious that there’s so many opportunities for young girls coming through to play now.
“Not just at grassroots levels but in club football and international opportunities as well. There’s opportunities to play football as your job. They weren’t available to me but it’s certainly gotten better and better.”
Ross is one of many female footballers juggling their passion for the sport with a career.
Despite Glasgow City FC dominating the domestic game in Scotland, a lack of investment means only a handful of players can dedicate their careers to the game full-time.
The midfielder went through university and secured a j ob as an active schools co-ordinator in Clackmannanshire.
“I’ve sacrificed my social life 100 per cent, there hasn’t been any space for that. It has been difficult. People say sacrifices but I don’t see it that way because I’m doing something I love. It’s been hard work but it’s been worth it.”
Playing alongside Ross will be Glasgow City teammate Hayley Lauder, who is described as a ‘creative midfielder’.
Growing up in Livingstone, the 27-year-old played football throughout primary and secondary school before joining local girls’ club Murieston United when she was 14.
Since then, she has played for Edinburgh Ladies, now known as Spartan, Apollon Ladies in Cyprus and gone full-time in Finland and