Birmingham City Women F.C.
One of the founding members of the FA Women’s Super League in 2011, Birmingham City Women F.C. is a top-tier team in England. An affiliate of Birmingham City F.C. Birmingham City Women F.C. is the oldest team in the league by over a decade. Founded in 1968 by a group of local female fans, Birmingham City W.F.C. climbed through several leagues to earn their spot on the top-tier of British women’s football.
History of the Club
The club got their start in the Heart of England League in 1970, after two years playing local friendly matches. They continued in this league until it was transformed into the West Midland Regional League in 1974. During the 70s and 80s the team won five titles in the league, also reaching the semis of Women’s FA Cup in 1974.
During the 1990s, the club ran into hard times, being forced to replace majority of the staff and players. In an effort to ensure the future of the team, they started a youth academy. A number of players raised from this youth squad went on to play for the senior squad.
The next promotion for the club came in 1998, when Birmingham city were moved up to the Midland Combination League. They won the league in their first season and gained another promotion into the FA Women’s Premier League Northern Division. It took only two more years for the ladies to get their promotion into the premier league in women’s football in England, The FA Women’s Premier League National Division in 2002. At the same time period Birmingham managed the unthinkable by reaching the finals of the FA Women’s Premier League Cup, before getting blown out by the full-time professional Fulham Ladies.
The youth academy players finally got their start in the senior team in late 2003, and one of these players Laura Bassett went on to become the first Birmingham City product to play for England at the top level of international competition. The club’s famous manager Gary Newborn brought on big names into the squad and management for the 2004-2005 season and placed 4th in the Premier League.
Recent Accomplishments
In 2010, the club and its rich history was named as one of the founding members of the FA WSL. The club prepared for the future with big singings and almost won the whole thing. Placing second only behind the dominant team of the time Arsenal. Birmingham gained entry into the UEFA Women’s Champions League but were eliminated by Bardolino Verona in extra time of their second leg.
May 2012, saw the team lift its first FA Women’s Cup, and placed second again in the league and Continental Cup, losing both to Arsenal. This time around the club managed to advance all the way to the semi-finals of the Champions League, by beating no other than Arsenal in the quarter finals.
In the latest season, Birmingham City Women finished in 5th place. And in July 2018 were rebranded as Birmingham City Women F.C.
Current Squad & Staff
The squad consists of 21 players with only four players being from outside of England. Ellen White the top forward for the team and was the top-scorer in the league in the 2017-2018 season and is playing in top form this season.
The current Director of Operations is Panos Pavlakis and the General Manager is Heather Cowan. The Coaching staff is headed by long time junior team Manager Marc Skinner with Assistant Manager Leanne Hall coming behind him.
Stadium & Kits
Today, the team plays their games in the Damson Park, Solihull. A stadium with the capacity of 3,050.
The home kit is made of blue with white shorts and stripes design while the away jerseys resemble that of Brazil national team with bright yellow shirts and blue shorts.