Stoke City Football Club Women are 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 association football Women's association football, more commonly known simply as women's football or women's soccer, is a team sport of association football when played by women only. It is played at the professional level in multiple countries and 176 national te ...

club affiliated with

Stoke City Stoke City Football Club is a professional football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England, which competes in the . Founded as Stoke Ramblers in 1863, it changed its name to Stoke in 1878 and then to Stoke City in 1925 after Stoke ...

. They are currently members of the

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

. The club were formed in the summer of 2001 and had a successful first season in the West Midlands league Division One finishing third before gaining promotion to the Premier Division via the play-offs. Season 2008–09 saw the Ladies gain promotion into the Midland Combination League. A title-winning 2012–13 campaign saw the team gain promotion to the

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

History

Early history

An early Stoke Ladies team was formed in 1921 by Len Bridgett, a director at Stoke. His side were generally referred as "Stoke United" and their games were mostly for charitable causes. They played against

Dick, Kerr's Ladies Dick, Kerr Ladies F.C. was one of the earliest known women's association football teams in England. The team remained in existence for over 48 years, from 1917 to 1965, playing 833 games, winning 759, drawing 46, and losing 28. During its early ye ...

from Preston twice in April 1921 in aid of the Royal Staffordshire Infirmary. However, in December 1921

the FA The Football Association (also known as The FA) is the governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the oldest football association in the world and ...

banned woman's football claiming it to be "unsuitable for females". Undeterred Bridgett arranged for his side to play in

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

against French side Les Sportives de Paris. They played two matches against Paris and won both. Their final match was against Dick Kerr's in

Colne Colne () is a market town and civil parish in the Borough of Pendle in Lancashire, England. Located northeast of Nelson, north-east of Burnley, east of Preston and west of Leeds. The town should not be confused with the unrelated Colne Val ...

, on 22 September 1923.

Modern history

Stoke City Ladies were formed in 2001 and began playing in the West Midlands League Division One, the sixth tier of Woman's football in England. They finished in third position gaining promotion to the West Midlands League Premier Division. They spent the next seven season's in the fifth tier before winning the league title in 2008–09 after amassing 81 points scoring 95 goals and conceding only 14 in just 22 matches. They also won the Staffordshire County Cup four time in a row from 2009 to 2012. In March 2013 with the side well on top of the Midland Combination League the club decided to apply to join the expanding FA Woman's Super League, however their attempt was unsuccessful. They won their sixth County Cup by beating their reserve team 5–1 on 19 March 2013. They won the Midland Combination League title on 26 March 2013 beating Leafield Athletic 1–0. The club re-branded in July 2019 dropping the "Ladies" sub-title becoming Stoke City F.C. Women. In March 2023 it was announced that the team are to turn semi-professional for the 2023–24 season.

Honours

Leagues

* Midland Combination League champions: 2012–13 * West Midlands League Premier Division champions: 2008–09 * West Midlands League Division One third-place promotion: 2001–02

Cups

* Staffordshire County Cup: (13) 2006–07, 2008–09, 2009–10, 2010–11, 2011–12, 2012–13, 2013–14, 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17, 2017–18, 2018–19, 2021–22 * Midland Combination League Cup: 2012–13

League history

Source:

References

External links

* {{FA Women's Premier League Women's football clubs in England Association football clubs established in 2001 Sport in Stoke-on-Trent 2001 establishments in England Stoke City F.C. FA Women's National League teams