Southampton F.C. Women are an English women's football club based in

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

founded in 2017. The club will play in the FA Women's Championship in the 2022–23 season after winning promotion from the FA Women's National League South. They are affiliated with

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 Fo ...

side

History

Other clubs

In 1970, Southampton Women's F.C. was formed by female fans of the men's Southampton F.C., but the two clubs were unaffiliated. Southampton Women's F.C. went on to great success in England, winning the WFA Cup (Women's FA Cup) eight times. Another team, Southampton Saints Girls & Ladies F.C. were formed in 1979 as Red Star FC, who were founder members of the WFA Women's National League in 1991. The club adopted the name Southampton Saints Girls & Ladies on affiliating to Southampton F.C. in 1995, and was absorbed by Southampton F.C. in 2001. The club had financial difficulties in 2005; the men's senior side were relegated from the Premier League after 27 years of top-flight football, and Southampton F.C. withdrew support for the female side. Southampton Saints Girls & Ladies continued without major club support for another 14 years, before announcing their demise due to financial difficulties in July 2019.

Revival

By 2016

Southampton FC Southampton Football Club () is an English professional football club based in Southampton, Hampshire, which competes in the . Their home ground since 2001 has been St Mary's Stadium, before which they were based at The Dell. The club play in ...

, under new ownership, saw the need for a competitive senior women's team as the profile of women's football in the UK grew. With the club's Regional Talent Centre, a Southampton Under-16 team was formed, and an Under-21 side in May 2017. The club formed an adult women's side for the 2017-18 season and were admitted to the Hampshire Women’s League Division 1. In March 2018, Southampton unsuccessfully applied to enter the FA Women's Championship (Tier 2). In June 2018, after winning the Hampshire Women's League Division 1, the senior team was listed for the following season's

Southern Region Women's Football League The Southern Region Women's Football League is at the fifth and sixth levels of the English women's football pyramid, with the seven other Regional Leagues – Eastern, London & SE, South West, West Midlands, East Midlands, North East and ...

First Division South. In July 2018, the club appointed former England international Marieanne Spacey-Cale as head of Women's and Girls' Football. Spacey-Cale has 91 senior England caps. In the 2018–19 season, the club in fact played in the Southern Region Premier Division, and won the title with a perfect record of 18 wins, earning promotion to the

FA Women's National League The FA Women's National League, formerly WFA National League and FA Women's Premier League (WPL), is a group of six football divisions run by the English Football Association. Founded in 1991 by the Women's Football Association, the League includ ...

Division One. They also beat Oxford City Women in the League Cup, achieving 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 * ...

. In both the 2019–20 and 2020–21 seasons, the club were top of the FA Women’s National League Division 1 South West at the point when the season was curtailed due to the coronavirus outbreak. The club applied for, and were granted, upward club movement in the summer of 2021, being placed in the FA Women's National League Southern Premier Division for the 2021–22 season. In the 2021–22 season, the club won the FA Women's National League Southern Premier Division to earn a chance to get promoted to the second-tier by beating the FA WNL Northern Premier Division champions in a play-off. On 21 May 2022, Southampton earned a first ever promotion to the FA Women's Championship by defeating

Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club (), commonly known as Wolves, is a professional football club based in Wolverhampton, England, which compete in the . The club has played at Molineux Stadium since moving from Dudley Road in 1889. The club's ...

1-0 in the play-off.

Womens Championship

The 2022-23 Season Southampton F.C start the season in their highest league to date after the Revival of the club. During the close season the women's side of the game went professional / full time.

Squad

Coaching Staff

Youth Development

Southampton F.C. are well known for their youth development and scouting programmes. The club run a female-specific development programme, spanning talent clubs, summer camps, and the FA-approved Premier League Girls' Football Programme. In May 2017 the club announced the formation of a dedicated U-21 women's squad to complement their coaching programme and provide a feeder route into the women's first team.

Honours

;Hampshire Women’s Football League Division 1 *Champions (2017-18) ;Southern Region Women's Football League Cup *Champions (2018–19) ;

Premier Division *Champions (2018–19) ;Hampshire FA Women's Challenge Cup *Runners up (2021) *Withdrew from Final due to fixture congestion (2022) ; FA Women's National League South Southern Premier Division *Champions (2021-22) ; FA Women's National League Cup *Champions (2021/22) ; FA Women's Championship Playoff *Champions (2021/22)

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Southampton FC Women Women's football clubs in England Football clubs in Hampshire FA Women's National League teams Southampton F.C. 2017 establishments in England