Stoke City Football Club Women are an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

women's association football Women's association football, more commonly known as women's football or women's soccer, is the team sport of association football played by women. It is played at the professional level in multiple countries, and about 200 national teams partic ...

club affiliated with

Stoke City Stoke City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England. The team competes in the , the second level of the English football league system. Founded as Stoke Ramblers in 1863, the cl ...

. They are currently members of the

FA Women's National League North The FA Women's National League North is a football league at the third tier of women's football in England. Together with the National League South, the two leagues form the highest division of the National League. Established in 1991 as the W ...

the third tier of

women's football in England Women's association football, Women's football has been played in England for over a century, sharing a common history with the men's game in the country in which the Laws of the Game (association football), Laws of the Game were codified. Wome ...

. 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 North is a football league at the third tier of women's football in England. Together with the National League South, the two leagues form the highest division of the National League. Established in 1991 as the WFA ...

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 Football Club 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 755 games, winning 682, drawing 39, and losing 34. During i ...

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

the FA The Football Association (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 is responsibl ...

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 northeastern coast of 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 c ...

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 parishes in England, civil parish in the Borough of Pendle in Lancashire, England. The town is northeast of Nelson, Lancashire, Nelson, northeast of Burnley and east of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. The ...

, 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 Leafield Athletic F.C. is a women's football club based in Solihull, West Midlands, England. The team compete in the FA Women's National League, Division One Midlands. The club play home games at Dickens Heath Sports Club, in Earlswood Ear ...

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. In July 2023, the team appointed

Marie Hourihan Marie Hourihan (born 10 March 1989) is a retired Irish footballer and current head coach. She previously played for clubs including Chelsea, Birmingham City and Manchester City W.F.C. She represented the Republic of Ireland at senior internation ...

as their first full-time head coach. In 2024–25 the team reached the final of the

FA Women's National League Cup The FA Women's National League Cup is an annual English football cup competition, founded in 1991 by the Women's Football Association (WFA). The first edition of the Cup included clubs from the 1991–92 WFA National League Premier Division a ...

for the first time, losing 3–1 to

Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is a professional association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Founde ...

at the

Bescot Stadium Bescot Stadium, currently known as the Pallet-Track Bescot Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a football stadium in the area of Bescot, Walsall, West Midlands, England, and is the current home ground of Walsall Football Club and Aston Vill ...

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

runner-up: 2024–25 * Staffordshire County Cup: (15) 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, 2022–23, 2024–25 * 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