Sheffield Wednesday F.C., often abbreviated to SWLFC and nicknamed ''The Owls'', are a women's and girls

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

club based in

South Yorkshire South Yorkshire is a ceremonial and metropolitan county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. The county has four council areas which are the cities of Doncaster and Sheffield as well as the boroughs of Barnsley and Rotherham. In N ...

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 ...

. They play home games at Sheffield Hallam University Sports park, Bawtry road, Sheffield S9 1UA and the First team play their games currently in the North East Regional League and are affiliated to the professional men's club

Sheffield Wednesday F.C. Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an offshoot of ...

They also have a 2nd Reserve team and a 3rd senior Development team that play currently in the Sheffield & Hallamshire Women's County League. The 10 teams that make up the junior section all play within the Sheffield & Hallamshire Girl's County League (SHGCL).

History

The team, originally called Star Ladies, were formed at the ''Star Inn''

Public House A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

Rotherham Rotherham () is a large minster and market town in South Yorkshire, England. The town takes its name from the River Rother which then merges with the River Don. The River Don then flows through the town centre. It is the main settlement of ...

in 1971 following a charity match between men and women at the pub. Shortly afterwards the side joined the Sheffield Ladies League. When this league was disbanded they joined the Nottinghamshire Ladies League which was later renamed the East Midlands Ladies League. They took the name Sheffield Wednesday Ladies in 1985 and when 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) created the Women's Premier League in 1991 Sheffield Wednesday Ladies became founder members, continuing in this league until 2005 when they were relegated into the

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 ...

for two seasons. Christine McCann guided the Owls back to the top flight as champions of the Northern Combination in 2007. McCann handed the reins to senior coach Daniel Duke for their Premier League return and he and his staff guided them to a 6th-place finish. Due to committee changes it was decided for the 2009–10 season that the team would separate from the junior section and take the name Sheffield Wednesday F.C. On 26 September 2009 Daniel Duke resigned as Head Coach due to the Owls' poor start to the season. He was replaced by

Luton Town Luton Town Football Club () is a professional association football club based in the town of Luton, Bedfordshire, England, that competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1885, it is nicknam ...

footballer Andy Burgess, who installed Liam Kelly has his assistant. Kelly left after two weeks, citing work commitments. Burgess then resigned in early 2010 and was replaced by his former assistant. Under Liam Kelly the club finished 11th in the 2009-10 Premier League Northern Division, in the second relegation place. Kelly left at the end of the season. SWLFC were relegated at the end of the season, mainly due to bad results and team changes forced upon them by the constant managerial roundabout. Chairman Jeff Maslin decided the club needed stability to give SWLFC a better chance of promotion straight back to the FAPWL. Adam Smallman was appointed in the pre-season and started rebuilding the squad. Some departures and some arrivals has heralded a new look squad. After the 2011–12 season due to financial constraints the club folded and The Junior section of Sheffield Wednesday Ladies took over the Women's mantle continuing with the original Ladies name and currently occupying a position for 2015/16 in the North East regional Women's League after being promoted in 2nd place from the SHWCFL and prior to that as champions of the SHWCFL Division Two in their first season of adult football. They also now have a Reserve and a Development team that play in the Sheffield and Hallamshire First division.

Notable former players

* Sarah Begg *

Vicky Exley Vicky Exley (born 22 October 1975) is an English former international footballer from Rotherham in South Yorkshire. She most recently played for Doncaster Rovers Belles in the FA WSL, the top division of women's football in England. Exley also ...

Melanie Garside-Wight Melanie "Mel" Garside-Wight (born 11 August 1979) is an English footballer, and former England women's national football team player. A forward or winger comfortable on either flank, Garside-Wight began her career with local club Bradford City a ...

* Leanne Hall *

Jo Potter Josanne Potter (born 13 November 1984) is an English former footballer who played as a midfielder, most recently for Reading. Originally a left-winger, she matured into a creative central midfield player. At club level Potter enjoyed three separ ...

Lesley Sands Lesley is a placename, given name and surname, a variant of Leslie that can be male or female name and is ultimately an anglicization of a Scottish (Gaelic) placename. Places * Fort Lesley J. McNair, American army facility * Lesley University, Am ...

Honours

Records

Record Win: 26–1 v

Fishtoft Fishtoft is one of eighteen civil parishes which, together with Boston, form the Borough of Boston in the county of Lincolnshire, England. Local government has been arranged in this way since the reorganization of 1 April 1974, which resulted ...

, East Midlands Ladies League, 1981 Record Defeat: 0–22 v

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 ...

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 ...

, 1979

References

Official website

External links

{{Sheffield & Hallamshire County FA Association football clubs established in 1971 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 ...

1971 establishments in England FA Women's National League teams Sheffield & Hallamshire County FA members