Cardiff City Ladies are the only Welsh club competing in the English women’s system and were recently bought by a consortium led by multi-billion pound company Canva.
Cardiff City Ladies have confirmed the appointment of Gemma Donnelley as their new manager.
Fresh from a lucrative takeover, the Welsh club have decided to recruit the former Blackburn Rovers boss, who has previously worked with Lionesses stars Keira Walsh, Georgia Stanway and Ella Toone, in an important contract.
The independent amateur club underwent an explosive takeover earlier this month, led by Damien Singh, chief financial officer of multi-billion dollar social media graphics company Canva and entrepreneur Welshman Julian Jenkins.
Cardiff City Ladies, who are not affiliated with Championship side Cardiff City, currently compete in the Women’s National League South, the third tier of English women’s football after being promoted from tier four last season.
New majority owners Jenkins and Singh harbor big ambitions: to make the club a major contender domestically and eventually in Europe, as well as reinvigorating the club’s crop of top talent (the club’s historic runners include OL Reign’s Jess Fishlock and Sophie de Chelsea).
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The new owner took an important step toward his goal when he hired Donnelley.
A member of Blackburn Rovers Ladies for 16 years, Donnelly is widely credited with the development of Euro 2022 champions Walsh, Stanway and Toone as she oversaw Rovers’ center of excellence from 2007.
Walsh told has since become one of the game’s best midfielders and was the subject of a world-record transfer to Barcelona last summer.
Meanwhile, Bayern Munich’s Stanway and Manchester United’s Toone have also established themselves as household names in England and around the world.
Donnelley took charge of Rovers in July 2014 after half a season as caretaker manager.
Under her leadership, Rovers won the FA Women’s Premier League Northern Division three years in a row, reached the Championship play-off final in 2019, the Premier League Cup two years in a row and won the Lancashire FA Challenge Cup five times.
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Donnelley was recognized for her efforts with the 2019 FA Women Manager of the Year award.
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In any case, Donnelley withdrawn the club in April by shared assent in arrange to “pursue other opportunities”, clearing out Meanderers moment from foot within the table. Cardiff City Women have been without a head coach since Jamie Phillip’s flight at the begin of the season and their return to life within the third level has demonstrated an difficult errand, having claimed fair two focuses from their final five matches.
The club have been watchful in their interest of a unused supervisor, with strategic nous and Championship encounter major staying focuses for the unused proprietors. Donnelley speaks to the club’s first-ever full-time supervisor and her arrangement is seen as a outstanding step towards professionalization.
The women’s diversion has seen exponential venture in later a long time, with a number of level three and four sides presently working on upwards of six-figure budgets. Upon her arrangement, Donnelley said:
“The takeover news caught my consideration since I’ve continuously respected the energy and commitment of everybody at Cardiff City Women, particularly Karen and Michele. Julian’s call, specifying the vision he offers with Damien and recognizing the work as of now in put, persuaded me this can be the correct way.”
Co-owner Singh included:
“These past weeks have been nothing brief of transformational. Gemma joining us isn’t fair an arrangement; it’s a confirmation to where we’re headed. Her two decades of involvement will without a doubt control us towards a brighter, more competitive future.”