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Reading FC Women have appointed Emma Mukandi as the club’s new captain.
Mukandi, formerly known as Mitchell, will take over the club captaincy for the upcoming campaign after former skipper Natasha Harding departed the Royals in the summer.
She has been in Berkshire since July 2020 after a seven year spell at Arsenal.
After coming through the ranks at St Johnstone, Mitchell made 35 appearances for Glasgow City between 2008-2012 before a move to German Club SGS Essen.
A one year stint in Germany was followed by seven years at Arsenal where Mukandi made 74 league appearances for the Gunners, winning a Women’s Super League title, two FA Cups and three WSL Cups.
She joined Kelly Chambers’ side in 2020/21 and played 14 league games that campaign.
Mukandi also has great experience at international level and has made 67 caps for Scotland, scoring seven goals.
“It’s an honour to have asked to be captain of the team,” said Mukandi.
“Having just returned from having a baby, I was of course shocked when Kelly (Chambers) sat me down to give me the news, but to be asked by the coaches means they’ve clearly seen something in me that they trust me to do the job and lead the team out.
“We’ve got a great bunch of girls here, and we will all have an important role to play throughout the season, and I can’t wait to walk out on Sunday infront of the fans.”
Reading were due to open their WSL campaign last weekend at home to Liverpool, but the match was postponed as was the rest of the football calendar in England.
The Royals are scheduled to play Manchester United away from home on Saturday to begin the new WSL season.
