Sunderland A.F.C. Women
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Full name | Sunderland Association Football Club Women[1] | ||
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Nickname(s) | The Lasses | ||
Founded | 1989 (as The Kestrels) | ||
Ground | Eppleton Colliery Welfare Ground | ||
Capacity | 2,500 (250 seated) | ||
Manager | Melanie Reay | ||
League | Women's Championship | ||
2023–24 | Women's Championship, 3rd of 12 | ||
Website | Club website | ||
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Sunderland Association Football Club Women[1] is an English women's football club that plays in the Women's Championship. They play their home games at the Eppleton Colliery Welfare Ground in Hetton-le-Hole, in the City of Sunderland, Tyne and Wear.
Sunderland won the
The club's bid to join the
At the end of the
History
Early history
The Football Association (FA) banned affiliated referees from officiating women's football matches and affiliated grounds and pitches from hosting them from 1921 to 1970.[2][3][4] The Women's Football Association (WFA) was formed in 1969 to govern Women's football in England until it ceased to exist in 1993, when the FA took over this responsibility.[5][6][7]
The club began in 1989 as a five-a-side team called The Kestrels.[8] It played its first match in an informal friendly against Darlington Ladies on 26 July 1989[9] and won the WFA Yorkshire and Humberside League in 1990. Over the next decade, they competed in the Northern Premier as Cowgate Kestrels, RTM Newcastle Kestrels and Blyth Spartans Kestrels.[10][11]
In 2000, the club merged with an independent Sunderland Ladies club and the Sunderland A.F.C. men's club to become Sunderland Women's FC after winning promotion to the top tier FA Women's Premier League National Division for the first time.[12][13] The new club was originally financed as part of the established professional Sunderland A.F.C. men's club.
2000–2010
Following financial troubles in 2004, the women's side was forced to become financially independent. Sunderland A.F.C. only provided some kit and the home ground.
In
With the emergence of
In Season 2007–08 Sunderland finished in 3rd position in The Women's Premier League, Northern Division, behind Champions
With team re-building completed, the 2008–09 season began with high hopes for the Wearsiders who had six
On 22 March 2009, Sunderland WFC reached the final of the
Sunderland won promotion to the National Premier Division after defeating
Back in the top flight, Sunderland exceeded expectations and topped the league for five months. They also handed Arsenal Ladies only their second league defeat in six years.
2010–2020
The club's bid to join the newly established
Despite the exodus of these players, Sunderland secured the FA Women's National Premier League title with two games to spare, following their victory over Millwall Lionesses on 3 April 2011. They defended the title two further times in 2012 and 2013. In 2013 they were formally integrated into the Sunderland AFC structure.[8]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f7/Sunderland_AFC_Ladies_promotion_celebration.jpg/220px-Sunderland_AFC_Ladies_promotion_celebration.jpg)
In the 2014 season Sunderland entered the newly created
On 5 January 2017, before the 2017
After the Spring Series, Sunderland A.F.C. Ladies moved from their home venue at the
2020–present
On 8 May 2021, the team applied to join the FA Women's Championship from the Northern Premier Division.[28][29][30] On 2 June 2021, the club announced the FA had accepted this application, resulting in their move into the Women's Championship in the following 2021–22 season.[31][32][33]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0c/Eve_Blakey_is_tallest_Sunderland_Women_0_23_01_22-22_%2851839497484%29.jpg/220px-Eve_Blakey_is_tallest_Sunderland_Women_0_23_01_22-22_%2851839497484%29.jpg)
Prior to the start of the 2022–23 season, the team officially changed its name from Sunderland Association Football Club Ladies to Sunderland Association Football Club Women in order to maintain "a contemporary, inclusive outlook as the club further develops into its new era in the women's game".[34][35][1] Before the start of the 2023–24 season, the team moved back to a hybrid model, signing some players on full-time professional contracts.[36][37]
Past seasons
As of August 2023[update], the team has the following record in its past seasons:
Key
Key to league record:
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Key to divisions:
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Key to rounds:
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Key to rounds:
|
Champions | Runners-up | Promoted | Relegated |
Divisions in bold indicate a change in division tier.
Season | League | FA Women's League Cup | Women's FA Cup | FA Women's National League Cup | Top league goalscorer | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Division (tier) | P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | Pos | Name | Goals | ||||
2003–04[38] | WPLR (2)
|
20 | 10 | 7 | 3 | 56 | 31 | 37 | 2nd | |||||
2004–05[39] | WPLR (2)
|
22 | 17 | 2 | 3 | 66 | 26 | 53 | 1st | Stephanie Houghton, Melanie Reay[40]
|
16 | |||
2005–06[41] | WPLN (1) | 18 | 3 | 4 | 11 | 22 | 57 | 13 | 9th | Donna Lanaghan[42] | 6 | |||
2006–07 | WPLN (1) | 22 | 3 | 2 | 17 | 15 | 72 | 11 | 11th | n/a | R4 | R1 | Stephanie Houghton
|
7 |
2007–08 | WPLR (2)
|
22 | 16 | 2 | 4 | 52 | 30 | 50 | 3rd | n/a | R4 | QF | Sarah Danby | 14 |
2008–09 | WPLR (2)
|
22 | 17 | 2 | 3 | 95 | 16 | 53 | 1st | n/a | RU | QF | Sophie Williams | 11 |
2009–10 | WPLN (1) | 22 | 12 | 1 | 9 | 36 | 35 | 37 | 5th | n/a | R4 | SF | Kelly McDougall | 7 |
2010–11 | WPLN[A] (2) | 14 | 9 | 3 | 2 | 30 | 16 | 30 | 1st | n/a | QF | QF | Demilee Stokes | 7 |
2011–12 | WPLN (2) | 18 | 13 | 3 | 2 | 49 | 18 | 42 | 1st | n/a | QF | W | Beth Mead | 18 |
2012–13 | WPLN (2) | 18 | 14 | 3 | 1 | 54 | 16 | 45 | 1st | n/a | QF | SF | Beth Mead | 17 |
2014 | WSL2[B] (2)
|
18 | 15 | 2 | 1 | 47 | 15 | 47 | 1st | Grp | R5 | n/a | Beth Mead | 13 |
2015 | WSL1 (1)
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14 | 6 | 2 | 6 | 24 | 24 | 20 | 4th | Grp | R3 | n/a | Beth Mead | 12 |
2016 | WSL1 (1)
|
16 | 2 | 4 | 10 | 17 | 41 | 10 | 7th | R1 | SF | n/a | Beth Mead | 5 |
2017 Spring Series | WSL1 (1)
|
8 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 14 | 9 | 5th | n/a | QF | n/a | Beverly Leon | 2 |
2017–18 | WSL1 (1)
|
18 | 5 | 1 | 12 | 15 | 20 | 16 | 7th* | QF | QF | n/a | Lucy Staniforth, Keira Ramshaw, Bridget Galloway | 3 |
2018–19 | WNL North (3) | 24 | 15 | 3 | 6 | 83 | 36 | 48 | 2nd | n/a | R2 | R3 | Keira Ramshaw | 24 |
2019–20 | WNL North (3) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a | R5 | Final** | Bridget Galloway | 21 |
2020–21 | WNL North (3) | 9 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 17 | 17 | 15 | 5th* | n/a | R3 | n/a | Keira Ramshaw | 5 |
2021–22[43] | Womens Championship (2)
|
22 | 6 | 6 | 10 | 23 | 32 | 24 | 9th | Grp | R4 | n/a | Keira Ramshaw, Neve Herron, Emily Scarr[44] | 4 |
2022–23[45] | Womens Championship (2)
|
22 | 5 | 3 | 14 | 26 | 38 | 18 | 11th | Grp | R4[46] | n/a | Emily Scarr[44][47] | 8 |
- Demoted to FA Women's National League (Tier 3) after not being awarded Tier 1 or 2 licence
- Final cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic
- Promoted to FA Women's Championship (Tier 2) after successfully applying via The Football Association's Upward Club Movement process within the Women’s Football Pyramid
Current squad
- As of 13 June 2024[48]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Former players
For details of current and former players, see Category:Sunderland A.F.C. Women players.
Club officials
Management and backroom staff
- Head coach: Melanie Reay
- Assistant coach: Steph Libbey
- General manager: Alex Clark
- Goalkeeper coach: Jonathan Craig[51]
- Physical performance coach: Jack Kehoe
- Physiotherapist: Hayley Arnold
- Women's engagement officer: Kieran Regan
- Women's analyst: Gino Elraee
- Matchday photography: Kasey Taylor
- Matchday medical services: Dr. Jack Nash
Honours
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/57/Millwall_Lionesses_Vs_Sunderland_Ladies_%2816048269604%29.jpg/220px-Millwall_Lionesses_Vs_Sunderland_Ladies_%2816048269604%29.jpg)
League
- FA Women's Premier League National Division
- FA WSL 2
- Champions: 2014
- FA Women's Premier League Northern Division
Cup
- FA Women's Cup
- Runners-up: 2009
- FA Women's Premier League Cup
- Winners: 2012
Footnotes
- A. FA Women's Super League was formed in 2010 for the start of the 2011 season, Sunderland Ladies were not chosen to participate in the newly formed top tier of women's football. Although Sunderland Ladies were not relegated from the top tier of Women's football in Englandin 2010, they found themselves playing in the second tier at the start of their 2011 campaign.
- B. FA Women's Super League 2. Sunderland Ladies were one of 10 teams elected to participate in the newly formed second tier of women's football for the start of the 2014 season.
See also
References
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External links
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