Aberdeen Women 'to go full-time within five years'

Aberdeen aim to have a full-time women's team within the next five years.

Celtic and Rangers have in recent seasons started to challenge Glasgow City's dominance after moving to full-time professional set-ups.

Scottish Women's Premier League rivals Heart of Midlothian and Hibernian are also working towards becoming full-time, while Aberdeen this season appointed their first full-time women's head coach - Clinton Lancaster.

Now the Scottish Premiership club say they are "undertaking a fresh, strategic review of the women's and girls' programme, which will culminate in a five-year plan with the goal of having a full-time professional women's team in place within that period".

Announcing a £1.1m net profit for the club as a whole in their annual accounts to July, they add: "Investment in the Aberdeen FC women's team has also increased, with more players now on professional contracts.

"This, along with the addition of loan players and the appointment of the club's first full-time women's head coach, is already having a positive impact on performances this season."

Aberdeen currently sit seventh in the SWPL having finished 10th last season.