The 1991–92
WFA National League Premier Division was the inaugural season of nationalised
women's league football in England. The
Women's Football Association
The Women's Football Association (WFA) was the governing body of women's football in England. It was formed in 1969 and was disbanded in 1993, as responsibility for overseeing all aspects of the game of women's football in England passed to Th ...
(WFA) obtained a grant from
the Sports Council in order to launch the league, described by
Jean Williams as "a crucial step in adopting the structures of the male game."
Manager
Brian Broadhurst guided
Doncaster Belles
Doncaster Rovers Belles Ladies Football Club, previously Doncaster Belles, is an English women's football club that currently plays in the , the fourth tier of women's football in England. The club's administration is based at the Eco Power St ...
to the
Women's National League championship with a 100% record. The Belles also avenged their defeat in the previous year's
Women's FA Cup
The Women's FA Challenge Cup Competition is the top annual cup tournament for women's clubs in English football. Founded in 1970, it has been named the WFA Cup, FA Women's Cup and now Women's FA Cup (Vitality Women's FA Cup for sponsorship rea ...
final to win a League and Cup
double
A double is a look-alike or doppelgänger; one person or being that resembles another.
Double, The Double or Dubble may also refer to:
Film and television
* Double (filmmaking), someone who substitutes for the credited actor of a character
* ...
.
Red Star Southampton finished in second place, with
player-manager
A player-coach (also playing coach, captain-coach, or player-manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. A player-coach may be a head coach or an assistant coach. They may make changes to the s ...
Pat Chapman
Patrick Lawrence Chapman (20 December 1940 – 22 July 2022) was an English food writer, broadcaster and author, best known for founding The Curry Club.
Early days
Chapman was born in London during the Blitz. His grandfather had achieved seni ...
amongst many players who boasted
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
caps and FA Cup winners' medals from their days with the defunct
Southampton WFC. Veteran 47-year-old
goalkeeper
In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...
Sue Buckett had a record eight winners' medals from her 10 Cup final appearances, as well as 30 outings for England (1972–81, 1984).
Friends of Fulham, Women's FA Cup winners in 1985 and runners-up in 1989 and 1990, came under the auspices of
Wimbledon F.C.
Wimbledon Football Club was an English football club formed in Wimbledon, south-west London, in 1889 and based at Plough Lane from 1912 to 1991. Founded as Wimbledon Old Centrals, the club were a non-League team for most of their history. ...
and played their Premier Division home fixtures at
Plough Lane
Plough Lane – named The Cherry Red Records Stadium for sponsorship reasons – is a football stadium in Wimbledon, south-west London, which has been the home of AFC Wimbledon since 3 November 2020. A groundshare with rugby league side London ...
, recently vacated by the male team. The squad included England internationals
Theresa Wiseman,
Marieanne Spacey
Marieanne Spacey-Cale (née Spacey), (born 13 February 1966) is an English former international women's footballer. Having played 91 times for England, Spacey is considered one of the greatest English footballers of all time. She is currently He ...
,
Brenda Sempare
Brenda Sempare (born 9 November 1961) is an English former international women's footballer. She played in all four games of England's 1995 FIFA Women's World Cup appearance.
Club career
Sempare helped Friends of Fulham win the 1985 FA Women's ...
,
Terri Springett (daughter of
Ron Ron is a shortening of the name Ronald.
Ron or RON may also refer to:
Arts and media
* Big Ron (''EastEnders''), a TV character
* Ron (''King of Fighters''), a video game character
*Ron Douglas, the protagonist in ''Lucky Stiff'' played by Joe ...
) and
Debbie Bampton
Deborah Bampton, MBE, (born 7 October 1961) is an English former international footballer who played as a midfielder. During her career Bampton won a treble at Arsenal and two doubles with Croydon. She also was capped a sum of 95 times for Englan ...
.
Newton Ladies, a Merseyside club formed by former England midfielder
Liz Deighan in May 1989, linked up with
Knowsley United F.C. to join the league as Knowsley United WFC. Deighan, also the WFA's
England Under-21 team boss, led Knowsley to a fourth-place finish.
Millwall Lionesses had beaten Doncaster Belles in the previous season's FA Cup final but suffered a subsequent exodus of players.
Lou Waller remained and
Pauline Cope
Pauline Cope (born 16 February 1969), whose married name is Pauline Cope-Boanas, is an English former Women's football (soccer), football Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper. She won 60 Cap (sports), caps for the England women's natio ...
rejoined from
Arsenal, to buttress a youthful squad.
National Division
Final table:
''No relegation as league expanded to 10 teams for 1992–93.''
Northern/Southern Divisions
The Northern Division champions were
Bronte L.F.C. and the Southern champions were
Arsenal L.F.C. Both joined the expanded Premier Division for
the 1992–93 season.
See also
*
1991–92 WFA Women's National League Cup
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:1991-92 WFA National League Premier Division
Premier League
The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Fo ...
FA Women's National League seasons
Wom
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