Casey Stoney is the new head coach of Manchester United Women

Casey Stoney has been appointed as the head coach of the new Manchester United women's team.

The 36-year-old secured her coaching badges earlier this year after retiring from football. Stoney spent 19 seasons as a professional - winning 12 major trophies and earning 130 international caps for England.

Stoney, who represented Great Britain at the London Olympics in 2012, played for Arsenal, Charlton, Chelsea, Lincoln and Liverpool.

An absolute honour and privilege to be the head coach on this exciting journey with the biggest club in the world #MUFC pic.twitter.com/LUlfXRcLMw — Casey Stoney MBE (@CaseyStoney) June 8, 2018

Speaking about the appointment, Stoney said: "I am delighted to have joined Manchester United. This the biggest club in the world.

"The fact that we are going to have a women's team and I'm going to be able to introduce that from scratch, to build a team, build a philosophy, with the biggest club in the world, means that, for me, there is no more exciting opportunity.

My ultimate aim is to grow this team so that every little girl growing up dreams of playing for Manchester United when she’s older, because they’re the most successful team in women’s football. Casey Stoney

"My ultimate aim is to grow this team so that every little girl growing up dreams of playing for Manchester United when she's older, because they're the most successful team in women's football."

Executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward added:"Appointing Casey shows the desire we have to succeed and her experience and knowledge of the game, both as a coach and as a player, made her a stand-out candidate for the role."

United have been granted a place in the FA Women's Championship next season. They are relaunching a women's team ahead of the 2018/19 season, having scrapped their squad back in 2005.