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Charlton Athletic Women's Football Club (CAWFC) play in the . Founded in 1991 as Bromley Borough, later under the name Croydon Women's F.C., between 2000–2007 as Charlton Athletic, the club was one of the most successful women's teams in England. After the parent club's relegation from the
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 Foo ...
, the women's team was controversially disbanded in the summer of 2007, causing almost all of the senior squad to depart, although later a rescue
sponsorship Sponsoring something (or someone) is the act of supporting an event, activity, person, or organization financially or through the provision of products or services. The individual or group that provides the support, similar to a benefactor, is k ...
package was formed allowing the women's set up to continue. CAWFC won the FA Women's Premier League Southern Division title in 2017–18. On 27 May 2018, they beat Northern Division champions Blackburn Rovers Ladies FC 2–1 in a play-off final at Bramall Lane, Sheffield, and thus gained promotion to the FA Women's Championship, the second tier of women's football, for the season 2018–19.


History


Bromley Borough

The team was formed in 1991 as Bromley Borough by disaffected members of Millwall Lionesses' WFA Cup winning squad. The team broke up in the aftermath of that success
Hope Powell Hope Patricia Powell, CBE (born 8 December 1966) is an English former international footballer and former women's first-team manager of Brighton & Hove Albion. She was the coach of the England women's national football team and the Great Britain ...
moved with team mate Sue Law to form a new club. They were initially led by Richard Hall with the support of Dan "Le Phyz" Kane. Beginning in the South East Counties League, the club quickly progressed through the divisions. After adding England player
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 ...
in 1992, Bromley Borough won all 16 matches in the South East Counties League Division One, scoring 142 goals in the process. The team also reached the semi final of the Women's FA Cup, where they lost 2–0 to treble-winning Arsenal. In 1993–94 Bromley Borough won the National League Division One South by ten points, securing promotion into the top flight of English women's football. Although they were handed a chastening 10–1 defeat by
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 ...
in the fifth round of the FA Women's Cup Following a swift rise through the divisions, the club won promotion into the
National Premier League The National Premier League, also known for sponsorship purposes as the Red Stripe Premier League, is sanctioned by the Jamaican Football Federation as the top division for men's association football in Jamaica. Contested between 12 clubs, it ...
.


Croydon

The club entered the top-flight as Croydon, having tied up with Croydon FC.
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 ...
was appointed
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 ...
in the 1994 close season. She built a strong team which supplied six of
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 ...
's squad for the 1995 FIFA Women's World Cup including
Kerry Davis Kerry Davis (born 2 August 1962) is an English former international women's footballer. During her 16-year international career, Davis represented the England women's national football team in the inaugural 1984 UEFA Championships final and at ...
as well as Bampton, Powell and Sempare. After securing a fourth-placed finish in 1994–95, in 1995–96 Bampton led the team to a domestic
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 * Th ...
. After losing both domestic Cup finals to
Arsenal Ladies Arsenal Women Football Club, commonly referred to as Arsenal, is an English professional women's football club based in Islington, London, England. The club plays in the Women's Super League, the top tier of English women's football. Arse ...
in 1998, the club recaptured the League title in 1999. Another League and
FA Women's 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 reas ...
double followed in 2000.


Takeover

At Croydon's AGM in June 2000, the club's players controversially voted to accept a hostile takeover from
Charlton Athletic Charlton Athletic Football Club is an English professional football club based in Charlton, south-east London, which compete in . Their home ground is The Valley, where the club have played since 1919. They have also played at The Mount in ...
. Bampton resigned as manager, as both the club's committee and the FA declared affiliation with the men's
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 Foo ...
club to be against the rules. The Croydon F.C. chairman, Ken Jarvie, also attempted to block the move which was eventually sanctioned.


Charlton Athletic

The club's first silverware under the new name came in the same year when the Charity Shield was shared with Arsenal, after the match resulted in a draw. Charlton reached the
FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...
final in 2003 but lost 3–0 to
Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandsworth ...
. In the following season (2003–04) Charlton finished runners-up in the Premier League, just one point behind winners Arsenal, and again reached the F.A. Cup final which they lost to Arsenal. The season did bring success to the club, though, with a victory over Fulham in the final of the
League Cup In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...
. In 2004–05, Charlton won both the Charity Shield (beating Arsenal) and the FA Cup (beating Everton) and once more finished runners up in the league to Arsenal. In 2005–06, Charlton regained the League Cup, beating Arsenal in the Final. However, in this season, and also the 2006–07 season, Charlton finished third in the league, meaning the club missed the opportunity to participate in the
UEFA Cup A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, china, clay ...
. In May 2007, Charlton were again runners up in the FA Cup, losing to Arsenal in the final. During these successful years under manager
Keith Boanas Keith Robert Boanas (born 22 April 1959) is an English football manager. Playing career Boanas has played and coached on the semi-professional circuit, Boanas made three substitute appearances for Tooting & Mitcham United after being appointe ...
and assistant
Matt Beard Matthew Beard (born 9 January 1978) is an English professional football manager, who is currently head coach of FA Women's Super League club Liverpool FC Women. He has managed the side previously, as well as the women's teams of Bristol City ...
, the team included several current and former England internationals, notably club captain
Casey Stoney Casey Jean Stoney (born 13 May 1982) is an English professional football manager and former player who is the head coach of San Diego Wave FC. A versatile defender, she was capped more than 100 times for the England women's national footbal ...
, goalkeeper
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 ...
, Joanne Broadhurst,
Eniola Aluko Eniola Aluko (born 21 February 1987) is a football executive, commentator, and former professional player. She is the first Sporting Director for Angel City FC of the American National women's soccer league and formerly held the position of Spor ...
and Katie Chapman. Aluko and Chapman went on to play professionally in the United States.


Controversial disbandment

The same day as the 2007 FA Cup final, Charlton Athletic's men's team was relegated from the
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 Foo ...
. It became evident that, in order to ensure the club's financial survival, a number of budget cuts would have to be enacted. On 23 June 2007 it was announced that Charlton's women's set up would form part of this. This decision was criticised by, among others, several of the club's players at the time, including
Casey Stoney Casey Jean Stoney (born 13 May 1982) is an English professional football manager and former player who is the head coach of San Diego Wave FC. A versatile defender, she was capped more than 100 times for the England women's national footbal ...
and Danielle Murphy. Charlton's chief executive, Peter Varney, defended the decision and pointed to the lack of exposure in the media and lack of funding given to the women's game from
the Football Association The Football Association (also known as The FA) is the Sports governing body, governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Bailiwick of Guernsey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the ...
as reasons for undertaking the decision.


Resurrection

On 22 August 2007, it was announced sponsorship had been secured by Charlton for the women's set up, allowing a senior side to continue to compete under Charlton's name. The women's team, now controlled by the Charlton Community Trust, the organisation which operates Charlton's community programmes, appointed former Charlton player
Paul Mortimer Paul Henry Mortimer (born 8 May 1968) is an English former association football, footballer. Playing career Mortimer played mainly in midfield, though he did play in defender (football), defence at times. He started his career at Fulham F.C., F ...
as the women's team's new coach. However, due to the exodus of players after the original closure announcement, only two players from the previous squad remained by the time the club's rescue was in place although a few more returned as the season progressed. The reconstituted team finished bottom of the National Division of the FA Women's Premier League at the end of the 2007–08 season, thereby relegating them to the League's Southern Division. The team stabilised at this level and a reserve team was successfully re-established, twice winning the Kent Women's Cup in 2008–09 and 2010–11. The first team were promoted back to the National Division at the end of the 2010–11 season as Southern Division champions. Rehabilitation Following an unsuccessful bid to enter the new Women's Super League that was formed in 2013–14, the club has played in the FA Women's Premier League, Southern Division. An FA requirement at the time of the bid was that applicant clubs were to be a separate legal entity. This led to the formation of Charlton Athletic Women's Football Club Limited on 9 February 2013. The majority shareholder is Stephen King, CEO of PHSC plc. CAWFC won the FA Women's Premier League Cup in 2015, beating Sheffield FC 4–2 on penalties after it was 0–0 at the end of extra time in a match held at Nuneaton Borough FC's ground. The club made the final again in 2017 but were defeated by Tottenham Hotspur Ladies 4–3 on penalties after a scoreless match and extra time.


Players


Current squad


Former players


Management

* Chairman: Thomas Sandgaard * Secretary: Susan Prior * General Manager: Gabriel John * Head coach:
Karen Hills The Karen Hills, () also known as Kayah-Karen Mountains, are one of the main hill ranges in eastern Burma. They are located at the SW corner of Shan State and in Kayah State, a mountainous region where the only relatively flat area is Loikaw, t ...
* First team coach: Riteesh Mishra * Head of sports medicine and physiotherapy: Simon Webster


Honours


League

* FA Women’s Premier League National Division **Runners-up (2): 2003–04, 2004–05 *
FA Women's National League Southern Division The FA Women's National League Southern Premier Division is a league in the third level in the women's football (soccer), women's football pyramid in England, along with the FA Women's National League North, Northern division. These two division ...
**Champions (2): 2010–11, 2017–18 **Runners-up (1): 2015–16 * FA Women's Premier League **Play-off winners (1): 2017–18


Cup

*
FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...
**Winners (1): 2004–05 **Runners up (3): 2002–03, 2003–04, 2006–07 *
League Cup In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...
**Winners (2): 2003–04, 2005–06 **Runners-up (1): 2004–05 *
FA Women's Community Shield The Women's FA Community Shield is an association football match in England. It is a national super cup, and the equivalent of the FA Community Shield in male football. It is the first competitive match of the football season. The match is comp ...
**Winners (2): 2000, 2004 * Premier League Cup **Winners (1): 2014–15 **Runners up (1): 2016–17 *London Cup **Winners (4): 2003, 2005, 2006, 2013 *London Capital Senior Cup **Winners (5): 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 *London Capital Intermediate Cup **Winners (1): 2016 *Isthmian Cup **Winners (1): 2015 **Runners-up (3): 2016, 2017, 2018 *Kent County Cup **Winners (3): 2003, 2009, 2011


References


External links


Official site
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Women A woman is an adult female human. Prior to adulthood, a female human is referred to as a girl (a female child or Adolescence, adolescent). The plural ''women'' is sometimes used in certain phrases such as "women's rights" to denote female hum ...
Women's football clubs in England Women's football clubs in London 1991 establishments in England 2000 establishments in England 1994 establishments in England FA Women's National League teams Association football clubs established in 1991 Association football clubs established in 2000 Association football clubs established in 1994