GOLD COAST has appointed Fiona McLarty as its head of women's football as the club prepares its team to enter the NAB AFL Women's competition in 2020. 

McLarty has worked in a variety of roles in football development both for the AFL and AFL Queensland, most recently spending three years as Gold Coast regional manager for AFL Queensland.

McLarty told goldcoastfc.com.au she had been involved in women's football since its formal beginnings in Queensland in 2001.

"I played that year, but since then, I've coached and been an administrator and I've got a really good handle on [the] talent with the young girls coming through, and it's a great opportunity to see what we're going to develop over the next couple of years," McLarty said. 

"High on the list of priorities is recruiting a head coach [and] the rest of the support staff for the program as well.

"We're working with the AFL on our list build, when we can start signing players and how we're going to go about doing that and also working closely with the AFLW Academy and the program's local talent, including North Queensland." 

Gold Coast AFL general manager of list and strategy Craig Cameron will be working with McLarty on the inaugural team’s list build.

McLarty was an assistant coach of the Suns side which played in the women's winter series against Brisbane and Greater Western Sydney and was also involved in the club’s bid for an AFLW licence.

"I'm thrilled to welcome Fiona to the newly created position," Gold Coast CEO Mark Evans said.

"This is a significant appointment for our club as we build towards our first AFLW team taking the field in 2020."