London Bees is an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

women's football club affiliated with

Barnet F.C. Barnet Football Club is a professional football club based in Edgware, North London. The team compete in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. The club was founded in Chipping Barnet, then part of Hertfor ...

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.. The team were re-branded as London Bees after joining the new WSL 2 for the 2014 season. The club have a first team and a youth academy; both train and play 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 ...

History

The club began in 1975 as District Line Ladies FC, then merged with

Wembley FC Wembley Football Club is an English semi-professional football club based in Wembley, in the London Borough of Brent, London, England. Founded in 1946, the club currently play in the . They play in red and white and are nicknamed "The Lions", ...

in 1993 to become Wembley Ladies FC. In 1997 the club moved to play at Hanwell Town FC but kept the Wembley Ladies name. In 1998, the club became affiliated with Barnet FC, amalgamating with the existing Barnet Ladies FC from the Greater London League to form Barnet FC Ladies. In March 2010 Barnet F.C. Ladies were announced as an unsuccessful bidder for the

FA Women's Super League 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 ...

. In 2013, they were successful in their bid to join the WSL under their new name of London Bees for the 2014 season. In the 2016 FA WSL summer season, London Bees became the first WSL 2 club to reach the semi-finals of the

FA WSL 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. Pr ...

, after notable wins against Chelsea Ladies on penalties and Sheffield Ladies in their quarter-final fixture. They were later defeated in the semi-final by Birmingham City Ladies. In the 2020–21 season, London Bees finished bottom of the Championship and were relegated to the third tier of English women's football.

Current squad

Current technical staff

Notable former players

''Players who played for District Line Ladies, Wembley Ladies, Barnet FC Ladies or London Bees and received recognition at full international level'' * Evdokia Popadinova *

Natasha Dowie Natasha Khalila Dowie (born 30 June 1988) is an English footballer who plays as a striker for Women's Super League club Reading. She represented the England women's national football team at the youth level before making her senior internation ...

* Carol Harwood * Lesley Higgs * Kim Jerray-Silver * Justine Lorton *

Kristy Moore Kristy Nicole Moore (born 28 January 1977) is an association football winger or striker who has represented both Australia and England at senior international level. She was a full-time professional player with Fulham Ladies before spending n ...

* Danielle Murphy * Sarah Reed *

Kelly Smith Kelly Jayne Smith (born 29 October 1978) is an English former football forward who spent three spells with FA WSL club Arsenal Ladies. After moving to the United States, Smith broke records with Seton Hall University then played professionally ...

* Emma Beckett * Jemma Connor-Iommi * Jan Mooney * Ayala Liran * Naz Ball *

Eleri Earnshaw Eleri Earnshaw (born 17 May 1985) is a football player and coach who has played for the Welsh national team, the New York Magic, and Arsenal Ladies. Earnshaw is currently the assistant coach of Angel City FC in the National Women's Soccer Leagu ...

* Sydney Hinchcliffe * Danielle Oates * Sally Wade * Laura-May Walkley *

Ruesha Littlejohn Ruesha Littlejohn (born 3 July 1990) is an Irish footballer who plays as a striker for FAWSL side Aston Villa. She has also had four spells with Glasgow City and stints with Norwegian First Division club IL Sandviken and English sides Arsenal ...

Rachel Unitt Rachel Elizabeth Unitt (born 5 June 1982) is a former English footballer who last played for FA Women's Championship club London Bees. After beginning her club career with Wolves, Unitt began a long association with Everton in 2000. This was int ...

Charlie Estcourt Charlotte Lucy "Charlie" Estcourt (born 27 May 1998) is a footballer who plays as a midfielder in the FA Women's Championship for Birmingham City. and the Wales national team and most recently for FA WSL club Reading. Estcourt was named Footb ...

* Helen Ward

Former managers

Honours

FA Women's Premier League Southern Division The FA Women's National League Southern Premier Division is a league in the third level in the women's football pyramid in England, along with the Northern division. These two divisions are part of the FA Women's National League and below the ...

: ** Winners (2): 1992–93 (as District Line), 2009–10 (as Barnet F.C. Ladies) *

FA Women's Premier League Cup The Women's National League Cup is an annual English football cup competition, founded in 1991 by the Women's Football Association (WFA). It was renamed the FA Women's Premier League Cup from 1994 to 2018. The first edition of the Cup includ ...

: ** Winners (2): 1995–96 (as Wembley Ladies) , 2010–11 *

: ** Semi-Finalist: 2016, Continental Cup

Player honours

* FA WSL 2 Golden Boot Award ** Winner: Jo Wilson with 10 League goals in 2016 * FA WSL 2 Player of the Month (April 2017/18) ** Winner: Katie Wilkinson * FA Championship Player of the Month (January 2019/20) ** Winner: Sarah Quantrill

Manager honours

* LMA Women's Championship Manager of the Month (September 2019/20) ** Winner: Lee Burch * LMA Women's Championship Manager of the Month (January 2019/20) ** Winner: Lee Burch

References

External links

Official site
{{FA Women's Super League Women's football clubs in England

Ladies The word ''lady'' is a term for a girl or woman, with various connotations. Once used to describe only women of a high social class or status, the equivalent of lord, now it may refer to any adult woman, as gentleman can be used for men. Inform ...

Women's football clubs in London 1975 establishments in England Women's Championship (England) teams FA Women's National League teams