CELTIC'S defence of what is now known as the Sky Sports Cup starts at lunchtime when they play Partick Thistle at Petershill Park. Today's second round fixtures follow Tuesday's announcement that the broadcaster had agreed an unprecedented seven season television and sponsorship deal with the SWPL.
While the value wasn't divulged, credible sources have assured me it is worth just under £4m. That's a phenomenal sum in the context of previous commercial deals for the domestic game in Scotland – and it will benefit all 20 clubs as well as raising the profile of the sport and making it easier to attract further partners.
In addition to their League Cup sponsorship, Sky will have the rights to a minimum of five live matches each season. The deal supplements the existing broadcasting agreements with BBC Alba and BBC Scotland.
It doesn't take a genius to work out that one of this season's five live games is almost certain to be the Sky Sports Cup final. Nor would it be widely speculative to suggest that the historic first match is likely to be between Rangers and Celtic on November 27 – it ticks all the boxes for the broadcaster, especially if the game is played at Ibrox.
Given the level of the sponsorship, Fiona McIntyre was obviously very upbeat about Tuesday's landmark announcement. “It's the start of a new era for us,” the SWPL chief executive confirmed.
“It also very much vindicates the clubs' decision earlier this year that the SPFL was the correct place for them to go. A big driver of that was the belief they could get better commercial revenue and better visibility.
“What this deal does is reset in people's minds what's possible for women's football in Scotland. We know countries like England are making a lot of progress and we don't want to be left behind.”
PARTICK Thistle got their first league win at the sixth time of asking in emphatic style last Sunday, beating Glasgow Women 8-1. They will have a more testing afternoon against Celtic today.
Thistle are a well organised, in-your-face side under manager Brian Graham and held Celtic to just 2-0 when the sides met at Petershill Park in August. As central defender Cheryl McCulloch, who was suspended for that match, points out, it took an own goal and a penalty to deliver the three points for Celtic.
McCulloch, who won two League Cup winners' medals during three very successful seasons at Glasgow City – she was in the side which reached the Champions League quarter final against Paris Saint-Germain in 2014-15 – works as a firefighter. The 32-year-old was previously with Celtic and decided to keep the day job when today's opposition offered their players full time terms.
“I realised how difficult it was to stay in a professional environment,” McCulloch, who is one of a surprising number of current and previous women footballers working in the fire service, said. Today she and her team-mates will face the top scorer in Scotland, Clarissa Larisey (nine), and Jacynta Galabadaarachchi, who has eight.
Recalling the 1-0 win over Glasgow City in last season's League Cup final at Firhill, Jacynta said: “Going into the game we said to ourselves no matter what we're going to walk away with this Cup, and that's exactly what we did.”
That was only Celtic's second trophy, but they went on to beat City again in the Scottish Cup final at Tynecastle. With Larisey and Jacynta rattling in the goals, the departure of last season's SWPL top scorer Charlie Wellings to Reading has not, as yet, had any negative impact on the side.
IT wasn't to be for Rangers in the second leg of their Champions League tie against Benfica in midweek. The Portuguese side could have ensured their progress into the group stage in a one-sided first half, but instead 16-year-old Emma Watson's late goal forced the tie into extra time.
Four Rangers players have the opportunity to quickly put the disappointment of the 5-3 aggregate defeat behind them as they are in the Scotland squad for Thursday's World Cup play-off match against Austria at Hampden. It's the biggest game for the women's team since the 2019 tournament in France.
Euro quarter finalists Austria have held England to tight scorelines three times in the last eleven months and are also above Scotland in the FIFA rankings. Just as Benfica did against Rangers, they're entitled to view themselves as favourites.
Scotland will need to build on the recent improvement under Pedro Martinez Losa if they are to win on what promises to be an emotionally charged night at the national stadium.
