Howbury Grange was a women's football team which won the

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 reas ...

. The team was founded in 1981, in

Bexley Bexley is an area of south-eastern Greater London, England and part of the London Borough of Bexley. It is sometimes known as Bexley Village or Old Bexley to differentiate the area from the wider borough. It is located east-southeast of Char ...

, by Jane Hardman-Brown, a sports teacher, and named for a school at which she had taught. In 1983, it won the Home Counties League Division 2. The following season, it was captained by

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 ...

, whose father, Albert Bampton, became the manager. It reached the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...

of the 1984 Women's FA Cup, but its opponents, the

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 ...

, were considered the strong favourites. Yvonne Baldeo and Terri Springett scored two goals each, bringing about a 4-2 victory.{{cite web , last1=Rampling , first1=Ali , title=Women's FA Cup History: 6 Rogue Teams to Win the Competition Back in the Day , url=https://www.90min.com/posts/6597034-women-s-fa-cup-history-6-rogue-teams-to-win-the-competition-back-in-the-day , website=90 Min , access-date=23 August 2022 The 1984/85 season was far less successful, with the team having to withdraw from the Women's FA Cup due to a shortage of players. In 1990, it reached the cup quarter final.

References

Defunct women's football clubs in England Defunct football clubs in London Association football clubs established in 1981 Sport in the London Borough of Bexley 1981 establishments in England