Wolves make new appointment for women's football

A new head of women and girls' football has been appointed at Wolverhampton Wanderers following the team's promotion last season.

Wolves Women secured their place in the Barclays Women's Super League 2, (WSL2) for the first time, with a victory over Plymouth Argyle Women in May.

The club said that Russ Fraser has worked at the top of the women's system with Reading, West Ham United, Leicester City and Liverpool, and has history of transitioning clubs into the professional game.

He will manage all aspects of the women's operation at Wolves, including player and staff recruitment and academy planning, the club added.

He has joined the club for its first season as a professional outfit, having also spent time with Al-Qadsiah in Saudi Arabia as women's sporting director.

Technical director, Matt Jackson said: "Russ has been really successful at this level and above with high profile clubs. He's got a top understanding of the women's game and demonstrated that in his interview process.

"He has brilliant contacts and knows the level of quality which is required to be successful when recruiting", he added.

With the club's recent success under manager Dan McNamara and growth in the past 18 months, women and staff "deserve to have someone of the experience of Russ guiding them through the next stage of the journey", he said.

Fraser said he was excited about the opportunity and the first season was the biggest challenge.

"There are a lot of similarities with Liverpool in that the club's really important to what goes on in the city, and there's good people here, so I think we can develop a really good football programme here over the next three to five seasons," he said.

"Macca [Dan McNamara] and I seem very aligned in the way we see things, and the players we're looking at, and I was really pleased with Compton Park as a facility, because there's real interaction between the men's and women's groups – it's a pack mentality, and that is massive when you're trying to build an environment."

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