A YEAR of unprecedented gains ended on another high when Celtic confirmed their first team squad are to go full time next season.

The details will be forthcoming shortly but the development has the potential to completely alter the domestic landscape, because, as in men’s football, Celtic have the resources to dominate the game.

Founded in 2007, and winners of the League Cup three years later, the women’s side have spent this decade as distant observers watching Glasgow City and, latterly, Hibernian, hoover up all the trophies.

The 9-0 defeat to Hibs in this year’s League Cup final seems to have been the final straw. Celtic’s commercial director Adrian Filby has long taken an interest in the women’s side, no doubt having identified the fast growing potential of the sport.

As well as sponsorship opportunities and the expected introduction of compensation for developing players, the Women’s Champions League will provide ever increasing revenue streams for the top European clubs. The appointment of Eddie Wolecki Black as manager in the wake of the League Cup defeat was confirmation that Celtic are no longer content to be third best.

Hearts, too, will be announcing ambitious plans next month, and my understanding is that a well-known figure has been recruited to head up the operation.

Both developments have been welcomed by Scotland head coach Shelley Kerr, and come following her side’s first qualification for a World Cup.

“We’ve had two massive announcements – the Celtic one and the Hearts one,” she said. “Without knowing the model Celtic are going to use, it’s a huge statement of intent. I hope other clubs follow suit.

“For a club like Celtic, who are renowned worldwide, to want to invest like this is a huge step forward. And Hearts is absolutely fantastic. They have taken time to research it and look at what model is going to fit their club.

“I would imagine their first priority is to get a structure in place that can take them back to the top league. I would foresee the investment will go towards that.”

With Aberdeen and Rangers having also committed to giving more resources, and importantly status, to their women’s teams, the days of two clubs – and in particular Glasgow City – having a stranglehold on the domestic honours look to be ending.

It will be very hard, as a stand-alone women's club, for record 12-times Scottish champions City to compete on a level playing field with professional men's clubs. Founded 20 years ago, they raised the standards of women's football in Scotland to new levels and even this year reached the last 16 of the Champions League with a squad lacking the depth and quality of its heyday.

For the past three seasons they have been knocked off their perch in the knock-out competitions by Hibs, and the Edinburgh club must now decide how to respond to the new developments.

A spokesman pointed out that while the women's first team is operated through the Hibernian Community Foundation, the communication and marketing support comes from the club itself.

“The long-term aims are to become the country's most successful side, building on previous achievements, and to grow participation,” he said. “The club and foundation have shared ambitions, and this joint approach has seen significant resources invested in women's football by both at academy and first-team level.”

While this model has worked well for Hibs in recent seasons, will it do so in the future?

“I'm sure everyone at the club will watch with interest to see what is entailed with the changes at the likes of Hearts and Celtic,” the spokesman said. He added that discussions are ongoing about the team's name. Unlike the vast majority of the top clubs, Hibs still use the term “Ladies”.