Manchester City Women Football Club
Manchester is known for one thing; football. With one of the biggest inner-city rivalries and two of the biggest names in the football world residing in this city, it is not shocking to hear the Women of Manchester City are 1st place in the top-tier of women’s English football. The affiliates of Manchester City F.C. the Manchester City W.F.C. is a part of a brand that is recognized across the globe.
History of the Club
Originally formed in 1988, the women of City joined the North West Women’s Regional Football League in 1989-90. The following year, the team won their division along with 3 other teams winning their respective leagues. Even a better result was the treble completed by the under-13s and double by another 2002-03 saw the team retain their position in the league with a sixth-place finish.
2007-08 season brought a change in management when Leigh Wood was given the job. This started a fire under the Manchester City W.F.C. The team clawed their way into being a competitor.
In 2011, a new league was introduced to be the highest level of competition in England for women, and in 2012 Manchester City Women Football Club’s application to join the newly expanded W.F.C was accepted. Instead of being put in to the WSL 2 league, the team was immediately moved up to WSL 1.
Recent Accomplishments
The team spent a good amount of money and time into the preparations for the challenges of the new league and new and better competitors. A slew of new and experienced players was brought in hungry to make a difference. The team changed their name slightly to Manchester City Women’s Football Club. There was also a change in the first-team management as Nick Cushing took over the operations of the team. Leigh Wood was made to be 1st team head coach. After all these changes the team was ready to go.
2015, saw a poor start to the season turn into a nearly perfect finish. The great finish that Manchester City Women FC displayed when they barely missed out on winning the whole thing. Instead the MC WFC were only able to finish as runners-up. This ending spot brought Manchester City women into their first ever run at European Football.
In 2016, Manchester City WFC lifted their first ever WS1 trophy. The ladies edged out the women of Chelsea to win the title and entered into the UEFA Women’s Champions League where they lost in the semi-finals. 2017 saw the team almost repeat but this time it was Chelsea who lifted the trophy while the Manchester City women finished runners-up a second time. They once again made it to the semis of the European cup but lost again to Olympique Lyon.
The current season 2018-19 is 13 games in and MC WFC are competing with the goal scoring machine Arsenal and always dangerous Chelsea for the title. Manchester City women are 1 point ahead of Arsenal who have a game in hand.
Current Roster & Staff
Manchester City WFC has a squad of 22 players. Most players are from England, while they have 7 international players from four countries. The team captain is the experienced defender Steph Houghton. the team’s best scorer is the 24-year old forward Nikita Parris with 12 goals and 4 assists. She is followed by the 20-year old forward Georgia Stanway who has 10 goals and 3 assists.
Team Chairman is Lauryn Grant, and the Manager of the team is Nick Cushing who is supported by Assistant coach Alan Mahon.
Stadium & Kits
The Manchester City W.F.C. used to be based in Manchester Regional Athletics Arena. Their current stadium Academy Stadium, which sits across the street from the City of Manchester Stadium. The Academy Stadium is the training complex for the senior men side and has a max capacity of 7,000.
The women of Manchester City wear the same light blue jersey worn by their affiliates for their home games. Away jerseys are dark blue with neon green and light blue stripes.