Bradford City AFC Women is an English women's football club which represents the city of

Bradford Bradford is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Bradford district in West Yorkshire, England. The city is in the Pennines' eastern foothills on the banks of the Bradford Beck. Bradford had a population of 349,561 at the 2011 ...

, West Yorkshire. Founded in 1988, they currently play in the , and have competed in the Women's National League since promotion from 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 ...

in 2013. Previously under the title of Bradford City Women's FC, the club announced its merger with Bradford City AFC in January 2021, through the Football in the Community Foundation, and has since adopted the name Bradford City AFC Women and Girls After realigning the club with its former junior girls set up, Bradford City AFC Women has a player pathway from Under 9's through to Senior Football. A new Under 23's Development Team will be launched for the 2021–22 season, with an aim of providing a stronger pathway for the young women of Bradford to play National League football.

History

Early years

Founded in 1988 under the auspices of

Bradford City Bradford City Association Football Club is an English professional football club in Bradford, West Yorkshire. The team competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system and are currently managed by Mark Hughes. Th ...

's Football in the Community department, the club became founder members of the Yorkshire and Humberside League the following year. After success at local level, the club won promotion into 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 ...

in 1996. The club earned a second successive promotion in 1996–97, into the top level of

Women's football in England Women's football has been played in England for over a century, sharing a common history with the men's game as the country in which the Laws of the Game were codified. Women's football was originally very popular in the early 20th century, b ...

. In 1997–98 the club avoided relegation and also reached the semi–final of the

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 ...

– losing on

penalties Penalty or The Penalty may refer to: Sports * Penalty (golf) * Penalty (gridiron football) * Penalty (ice hockey) * Penalty (rugby) * Penalty (rugby union) * Penalty kick (association football) * Penalty shoot-out (association football) * Penalty ...

to eventual winners

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

after a 2–2 draw. This was despite Arsenal's goalkeeper Sarah Reed being sent–off and defender Tina Mapes taking over in goal. City dropped out of the top division in 1998–99, and suffered a further relegation in 1999–00, into the

Modern era

The club gained promotion back to the FA Women's Premier League ahead of the 2013/2014 season. In 2017/18 striker Laura Elford was among the WPL Northern top scorers. Only Leicester's Rosie Axten (30), and Middlesbrough's Emily Scarr (28) scored more than Elford's 25 in all competitions. Following announcement that long serving Chairwoman Sally Thackray would step down, discussion began with a number of parties over the future running of the club. It was announced on 17 December 2020 that the club would move under the stewardship of Bradford City Football in the Community. This would mark the first time in the clubs history that it stood as a part of the 'men's' club at Bradford City AFC. As well as this, the club announced a restructure of its previous committee model, to one that fits into the new system, with Qasim Akhtar announced as the clubs first General Manager, overseeing the day-to-day running of the club

Stadium

The club currently shares Eccleshill United's Mitton Group Stadium, having previously played home matches at Thackley FC's Dennyfield ground, Peel Park and the grounds of

Bradford Park Avenue Bradford (Park Avenue) Association Football Club is an association football club based in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. The team compete in , at the sixth tier of the English football league system. The name derived from their former hom ...

and

Guiseley Guiseley ( ) is a town in metropolitan borough of the City of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is situated south of Otley and Menston and is now a north-western suburb of Leeds. It sits in t ...

Current squad

Individual Awards

Player of the Year

Captains

The following is a list of the officially appointed

captains Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

of the Bradford City WFC first-team.

Honours

: ** Winners (1): 1995–96 *

: ** Winners (1): 1996–97

Link with Bradford City A.F.C.

Bradford City Women have always traditionally adopted the colours of Bradford City AFC, despite no formal link between the two clubs. In 2015 BCWFC adopted the same crest and kits as the men's side in order to bring relationships closer together, gaining further support publicly from the club, in particular, the women's team were favoured as a natural exit route for players from Bradford City's girls Centre of Excellence before its closure. Recently, the clubs has both co–operated with sports charity One in a Million with its Junior Girls set-up. In 2008 an exhibition on the women's team was staged at the bantamspast museum at

Valley Parade Valley Parade, known as the University of Bradford Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is an all-seater football stadium in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. Built in 1886, it was the home of Manningham Rugby Football Club until 1903, when they c ...

, with the aim of forging closer links between the clubs. The women's Under–16 section played at

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...

as a curtain-raiser to the 1996 Football League Second Division play-off Final. As of 2021 Bradford City Women's has been brought under the umbrella of Bradford City AFC, through the clubs community department, and the adoption of the clubs new title as Bradford City AFC Women, signifying the club as the official Women's side of Bradford City. This merger also realigned the clubs Girls junior set up, ahead of plans to form an official girls academy pathway, leading into a new Under 23's set up. Ryan Sparks, CEO of Bradford City, announced the merger to all staff in January 2021 stating that "No longer will we have Bradford City AFC and Bradford City WFC, but just Bradford City AFC with both Men's and Women's teams"

Seasons

Key

* P = Played * W = Games won * D = Games drawn * L = Games lost * F = Goals for * A = Goals against * Pts = Points *WSL =

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 ...

*PL National =

FA Women's Premier League National Division The FA Women's Premier League National Division (originally WFA National League Premier Division) was a football division in England. From 1991 until 2010, the National Division functioned as the top league in English women's football. Durin ...

*PL North =

*Northern Comb =

*NE Prem= North East Women's Regional League Premier Division *NE Div 1 (S) = North East Women's Regional League Division One South * QR1 = First Qualifying Round * QR2 = Second Qualifying Round * QR3 = Third Qualifying Round * R1 = Round 1 * R2 = Round 2 * R3 = Round 3 * R4 = Round 4 * R5 = Round 5 * R6 = Round 6 * QF = Quarter-finals * SF = Semi-finals * RU = Runner Up * F = Final Division shown in bold when it changes due to promotion or relegation. Top scorer shown in bold with when they set or equalled a club record.

References

External links

Official siteSoccerway
{{coord, 53, 50, 50.82, N, 1, 43, 58.76, W, region:GB_type:landmark, display=title Women's football clubs in England Association football clubs established in 1988 Football clubs in West Yorkshire Sport in Bradford Bradford City A.F.C. 1988 establishments in England FA Women's National League teams