Stoke City Football Club Women are an English women's association football club affiliated with Stoke City. They are currently members of the FA Women's National League North Premier Division the third tier of women's football in England.
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.
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 from Preston twice in April 1921 in aid of the Royal Staffordshire Infirmary. However, in December 1921 the FA banned woman's football claiming it to be "unsuitable for females". Undeterred Bridgett arranged for his side to play in Barcelona 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, 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. In July 2023, the team appointed Marie Hourihan as their first full-time head coach. In 2024–25 the team reached the final of the FA Women's National League Cup for the first time, losing 3–1 to Nottingham Forest at the Bescot Stadium.
Players
Out on loan
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 FA Women's National League Cup runner-up: 2024–25 Staffordshire County Cup: (16) 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, 2025–26 Midland Combination League Cup: 2012–13
League history Source:
SeasonLeagueWomen's FA CupLeague CupCounty CupDivision P W D L F A Pts Pos 2001–02West Midlands Division One 2014248317443rd———2002–03West Midlands Premier Division2010465843344th———2003–04West Midlands Premier Division209654435334th———2004–05West Midlands Premier Division187383433246thR1——2005–06West Midlands Premier Division2073103653247thQR1RUR22006–07West Midlands Premier Division2114075529453rdQR2—W2007–08West Midlands Premier Division2114166721463rd——RU2008–09West Midlands Premier Division 2220119514811stR2—W2009–10Midland Combination League229674944336thR3—W2010–11Midland Combination League2210664630364thR2R1W2011–12Midland Combination League2214335523452ndR3R1W2012–13Midland Combination League 221811729551stR1WW2013–14FA Women's Premier League2010375145335thR3R1W2014–15FA Women's Premier League2282123838287thR4R1W2015–16FA Women's Premier League2214265928464thR3QFW2016–17FA Women's Premier League208664337304thR1R2W2017–18FA Women's Premier League2212465238404thR2R1W2018–19FA Women's National League North249695951337thR4QFW2019–20FA Women's National League North148153217254thR2——2020–21FA Women's National League North83231522117th———2021–22FA Women's National League North2481153654259thR3PRW2022–23FA Women's National League North22731232492410thR3R2W2023–24FA Women's National League North2210484137345thR3R1SF2024–25FA Women's National League North2216156630493rdR4RUW2025–26FA Women's National League North2210393631334thR2R1W
References