Cliftonville Ladies announce 12 players sign professional contracts
The Reds become the first club from Northern Ireland to sign women on professional terms since such contracts were implemented in December.
Marissa Callaghan, Kelsie Burrows, Abbie Magee, sisters Caitlin and Kirsty McGuinness, alongside Louise McDaniel – who all represented Northern Ireland at last year’s European Championships – have all agreed two-year deals with the reigning Women’s Premiership champions.
Furthermore, Daniel Maxwell, Toni Leigh Finnegan, Fi Morgan, Yasmin White, Vicky Carleton and Hannah Doherty have all signed contracts to remain at Solitude until the end of the 2025 campaign.
The registration portal for professional players opened on February 6 and will close at the end of April.
In an interview with BBC Sport NI last year, NIFL CEO Gerard Lawlor believes many teams will have a mixture of professional and amateur players in their squads for the upcoming campaign.
The new Danske Bank Women’s Premiership season gets underway in April, with Ballymena United and Larne joining the ranks for a ten team league.