Durham Women Football Club is a
women's football club based in
Durham Durham most commonly refers to:
*Durham, England, a cathedral city and the county town of County Durham
*County Durham, an English county
* Durham County, North Carolina, a county in North Carolina, United States
*Durham, North Carolina, a city in N ...
,
Northern England
Northern England, also known as the North of England, the North Country, or simply the North, is the northern area of England. It broadly corresponds to the former borders of Angle Northumbria, the Anglo-Scandinavian Kingdom of Jorvik, and the ...
. The team has competed in the
FA Women's Championship
The Women's Championship (formerly The FA Women's Championship) is the second-highest division of women's football in England. The division was established in 2014 as the FA Women's Super League 2 (WSL 2).
WSL 2 replaced the previous level 2 d ...
, the second tier of
Women's football in England
Women's football has been played in England for over a century, sharing a common history with the men's game as the country in which the Laws of the Game were codified.
Women's football was originally very popular in the early 20th century, b ...
, since 2014 having been awarded a licence in its inaugural season. They play their home games at
Maiden Castle, part of
Durham University
, mottoeng = Her foundations are upon the holy hills (Psalm 87:1)
, established = (university status)
, type = Public
, academic_staff = 1,830 (2020)
, administrative_staff = 2,640 (2018/19)
, chancellor = Sir Thomas Allen
, vice_chan ...
.
History
Durham W.F.C. was founded in 2014 as a collaboration between
South Durham & Cestria Girls and
Durham University
, mottoeng = Her foundations are upon the holy hills (Psalm 87:1)
, established = (university status)
, type = Public
, academic_staff = 1,830 (2020)
, administrative_staff = 2,640 (2018/19)
, chancellor = Sir Thomas Allen
, vice_chan ...
. Prior to that, Cestria, founded in 2006 as a youth team by Lee Sanders, had become perennial achievers, winning the
World Peace Cup in Oslo in 2010 and finishing runners-up at the 2011 Gothia World Youth Cup. In their only season as a senior side before the merger Cestria won the 2012–13
Northern Combination Women's Football League
The Northern Combination Women's Football League, also known simply as the Northern Combination, was a women's football league in England from 1998 to 2014. Until the creation of the FA Women's Super League in 2011, they sat at the third level of ...
. Sanders, in conjunction with Quentin Sloper, head of sport at Durham University, then created Durham W.F.C in time for the
2014 FA WSL
The 2014 FA WSL was the fourth season of the FA WSL, the top-level women's football league of England. The season began on 30 March and ended on 12 October.
Liverpool L.F.C. are the defending champions from the 2013 FA WSL. The top two teams q ...
expansion.
Durham's first competitive matches were in the
2013–14 FA Women's Cup where they reached the fifth round. The team's first league game was held on 17 April 2014, a 2–4 defeat against local rivals
Sunderland
Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...
at their New Ferens Park home. The Wildcats secured their first league victory away at
London Bees
London Bees is an English women's football club affiliated with Barnet F.C. They play in the FA Women's National League South. The club has been in existence under several names since 1975, originally being called District Line Ladies F.C.. Th ...
, with a 1–0 win at
The Hive Stadium
The Hive Stadium is a stadium in Canons Park, North London, on the former site of the Prince Edward Playing Fields in the London Borough of Harrow. The stadium is home to National League football club Barnet, London Bees of the FA Women's Cham ...
. Despite a difficult start to the 2014 season, the Wildcats finished 6th. They won five, drew three and lost ten of their eighteen games.
2015 saw a much improved season for the Wildcats, including a better points total, albeit achieving a lower league finish, 7th place a reward for an injury-ravaged season.
However 2016, saw Durham really hit their stride, with the Wildcats competing for promotion up until the final weeks of the season. The signings of
Sarah Robson
Sarah Cathryn Ann Robson (née McFadden; born 23 May 1987) is a Northern Irish footballer who plays as a defender or striker for Durham in the FA Women's Championship.
Magherafelt-born Robson played in Northern Ireland for Moyola Park and ...
, Becky Salicki and Emily Roberts among others proved a catalyst as the Wildcats excelled throughout 2016. A record-breaking season eventually ended in a 4th-place finish with a highest-ever points total. They were also awarded the 'FA WSL 2 Club of the Year' award at the 2017 FA Women's Football Awards.
2017–18 was the Wildcats best ever season, finishing 4th, gaining 35 points in the process and only two points off second place. Durham also enjoyed their best ever
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 ...
run, reaching the quarter-finals before losing to
Everton.
2018–19 started well for the Wildcats, including a Continental Cup win over
FA WSL
The Women's Super League (WSL), currently known as the Barclays Women's Super League (BWSL) for sponsorship reasons, is the highest league of women's football in England. Established in 2010, it is run by the Football Association and features t ...
side Everton and a 0–0 draw away at newly-formed
Manchester United
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...
. Durham won 3–1 in the Home League fixture, thus becoming the first team to beat the Red Devils. 2018–19 also saw The Wildcats reach their second successive
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 ...
quarter-final before narrowly losing 1–0 to
Chelsea
Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to:
Places Australia
* Chelsea, Victoria
Canada
* Chelsea, Nova Scotia
* Chelsea, Quebec
United Kingdom
* Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames
** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...
in front of a record attendance of 1,629.
Durham Hospitals Radio have broadcast all Home matches since 2014 via their website to Durham Hospital (UHND) and around the world.
In October 2020, Durham Women became one of 41 clubs to be founding signatories of the Football Association’s Football Leadership Diversity Code (including two others from the Women's Championship).
Players
Current squad
Club staff
Records
*Record attendance: 1,695 vs
Manchester
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
,
FA Women's League Cup
The FA Women's League Cup is a league cup competition in English women's association football. The competition was originally open to the eight teams in the FA WSL, but since the WSL's restructuring to two divisions, it has featured 23 teams. Pri ...
, 26 October 2022
Season summary
References
External links
Official site
{{coord, 54, 46, 3.4, N, 1, 33, 28.1, W, region:GB_type:landmark, display=title
Women's football clubs in England
Football clubs in County Durham
Women's Championship (England) teams
2014 establishments in England
Association football clubs established in 2014