Heart of Midlothian Women Football Club, commonly known as Hearts Women, is a Scottish women's football club based in Edinburgh. The club is affiliated with Heart of Midlothian F.C. and competes in the Scottish Women's Premier League. Hearts won the league for the first time in 2025–26 and qualified for European competition, making their UEFA Women's Champions League debut the following season.
History On 11 August 2009, Hearts announced the launch of Heart of Midlothian Women's Football Club as a fully affiliated women's division. The new side entered the Scottish Women's Football First Division after the group behind it had won the Division Two title the previous season as Musselburgh Windsor Ladies Football Club. Hearts described the arrangement as a partnership in which the group was licensed to use the Hearts brand. By January 2019, the team was being referred to as Hearts Women.
At the December 2018 AGM, Hearts owner Ann Budge announced a "six-figure investment year on year" into Hearts Women, alongside an expansion to their girls' academy in order to integrate the women's team further into the club. Hearts intended to "invest significantly in women and girls' football in 2019 and beyond". This included the recruitment of Kevin Murphy as First Team Manager, who previously oversaw all football operations within Manchester City's Academy Department. Hearts Women hosted two games at Tynecastle in 2019 and clinched the SWPL 2 title with a 3–0 win against Partick Thistle on the final day of the season, gaining promotion to SWPL 1.
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the SWPL 2020 season was declared null and void. The league reverted to winter football in the 2020–21 season. On 14 July 2020, Kevin Murphy stepped down as First Team Manager to join Rangers as First Team Assistant Coach and Girls Academy Manager, being replaced by previous Hearts Men's first team coach Andy Kirk in August 2020.
In June 2021, Kirk left the club to join Highland League side Brechin City as first team manager. A month later, Eva Olid was appointed first team manager. Hearts had finished bottom of the SWPL in 2020–21 but avoided relegation after the league was expanded to ten teams. They finished eighth in Olid's first season before moving from amateur to semi-professional status for 2022–23.
Hearts finished fourth in both 2022–23 and 2023–24. During the latter season they recorded their first victory over one of the established top three sides when they beat Rangers 1–0, and reached the Scottish Women's Cup final for the first time. Hearts lost the final 2–0 to Rangers at Hampden Park.
Hearts finished fifth in the 2024–25 season. The following season they challenged for the league title, and on 9 April 2026 Hearts announced that Olid would leave at the end of the campaign by mutual agreement, shortly after a first victory over Glasgow City had taken the club to the top of the table.
On 24 May 2026, Hearts won their first Scottish Women's Premier League title. They lost 2–0 to Hibernian on the final day, but Rangers' 6–0 defeat by Glasgow City left Hearts two points clear at the top of the table. The title also secured the club's first qualification for European competition.
After leaving Hearts, Olid said that she had wanted to remain if the project continued to progress, but that the club was not open to the additional investment she believed was necessary to compete effectively in European competition.
On 1 June 2026, Hearts appointed Andy Thomson as Olid's successor on a three-year contract. He joined from Rangers, where he had been assistant manager.
Hearts made their European debut in the 2026–27 UEFA Women's Champions League second qualifying round on 5 August 2026, coming from behind to beat Lithuanian side Gintra 2–1 in Denmark. Ellen Dolan scored Hearts Women's first goal in European competition, with Kayla Jardine scoring the winner. Three days later they lost the qualifying-round final 2–1 to hosts HB Køge, despite taking the lead through Jardine, and transferred to the second qualifying round of the UEFA Women's Europa Cup.
Ground Hearts Women played their home matches at Oriam, Riccarton, until the end of the 2025–26 season. In June 2026, the club announced that its SWPL home matches would move to Ainslie Park, known for sponsorship purposes as the Vanloq Community Stadium, from the 2026–27 season.
Honours Scottish Women's Premier League (1) 2025–26
Scottish Women's Premier League 2 (1) 2019
Players
Current squad
On loan
Coaching staff
Position Name Head Coach Andy Thomson Assistant Coach Nathan Wallace Assistant Coach Lauren Johnstone Goalkeeping Coach Derek Gaston
References
External links