Eastbourne Town W.F.C.

This article is about the women's football club based in England. For the men's team, see Eastbourne Town F.C.

Eastbourne Town Women

Full name	Eastbourne Town Women Football Club
Nickname(s)	The Town
Founded	6 May 2002;21 years ago (2002-05-06)
Ground	The Saffrons, Eastbourne
Capacity	3,000 (200 Seated)
Chairman	Dave Shearing
Manager	Sarah Da Silva & Dani Parfitt
League	Sussex County Women and Girls Football League Premier Division
2022–23	Sussex County Women and Girls Football League Division One, 1st of 9 (promoted)
Website	Club website
Home colours Away colours

Eastbourne Town Women F.C. is an English football club based in Eastbourne, East Sussex, England. They currently play in the Sussex County Women and Girls Football League Premier Division.

They are founding members of the Sussex County Women and Girls Football League in 2004. ^[1]

Eastbourne Town Women play their home games at The Saffrons, and are affiliated to Eastbourne Town.

History

2002–2011: The early years

Originally known as Eastbourne Town Ladies, they were formed on 6 May 2002, being transferred from Polegate Grasshoppers Under 15’s to make the jump into senior football. ^[2] The team entered Division Three of the South East Counties Women's League for the 2002–03 season, finishing third place below Woking Reserves and Lindfield and were promoted to Division Two along with Crawley Wasps. The following season wasn’t successful, with players leaving for education reasons they finished 8th in the table, but with the creation of the Sussex County Women and Girls Football League in 2004, the team took the drop.

The ladies spent one season in the league, came runners up and won their first piece of silverware, the Sussex County Women’s Challenge Trophy against Burgess Hill Town. They then transferred back to the South East Counties League Division 1. Barely being able to stay in the division for the first two seasons, the 2007-08 season proved to be the start of success. Although losing the first game of the season to Meadow Sports they completed the rest of the season unbeaten and finishing the season as runners up. The Ladies won a double in 2008-09 season, winning the South East Counties Chairman's Cup and the Division 1 title and earning promotion to the Premier Division. They were crowned league champions in the 2010-11 season and were runners up in the S.E.C. League Cup, but they earnt promotion into the London and South East Women's Regional Football League Premier Division for the first time, at the time there was only one division.

2011–2021: London & South East league

Eastbourne Town Women against the then Leyton Orient Women in December 2020

The first season in the London and South East League was most successful at the time, they reached 2nd place in the table, ^[3] losing out on promotion into the FA Women's National League by 4 points. After then form slipped over the next few seasons, hovering just outside the relegation zone.

In 2014,Gary Pearce, the manager had stepped down after 12 seasons in charge, and the 2014–15 season saw player Emma Parslow becoming player-manager with Theo Parfitt as joint manager. Although finishing 11th the league, the women made their record Women's FA Cup run during the 2014–15 season by reaching the Third round, starting their run winning 7–0 to Burgess Hill Town Women, 3–1 to Parkwood Rangers and 5–0 to Gosport Borough Ladies in the first, second and third qualifying rounds, the First round proper saw a 1–1 draw after extra time with Chichester City Ladies but winning the penalty shootout 5–4 taking them to the Second round with Queens Park Rangers Girls winning 1–0 before losing in the Third round to Derby County Women 2–4 after extra time. ^[4] All of Eastbourne Town's games were played at home.

In 2016 both Emma and Theo both stepped down from their joint role and was taken over by Stuart Tibble for just one season, Theo Parfitt took over again with the team goalkeeper, Sarah Walshaw for the 2017–18 season before university graduate Charlie Woodham taking the reins for the 2018–19 season. For nine seasons since finishing runners up, the Ladies continued to hover around the relegation zone, several management changes and a poor form of results saw no improvement. On 10 June 2019 the team renamed themselves to Eastbourne Town Women ^[5] and were joined by Zak Dove, replacing Charlie Woodham as manager but after a few months came the COVID-19 pandemic which halted the 2019–20 season along with the following season. In June 2021 Zak Dove stepped down from his role as manager. ^[6]

2021–present: Sussex county league

Eastbourne Town Women players in yellow in a local derby match with Eastbourne Borough women in February 2023

In July 2021, the club released a statement announcing that the club was withdrawing from the London and South East regional football league and taking voluntary relegation in to the Sussex County Women and Girls Football League ^[7] After 16 years since leaving, the Women re-joined the league's Premier Division with a new manager, Martin Keightley, and a new team. With some women staying from the previous season and some who were in the early ladies team re-joining. Martin Keightley resigned after a few months and Theo Parfitt took over as caretaker manager until Rick Tate took over the role permanently in February 2022. The Women were relegated into Division One for the 2022–23 season. After a successful start to the season, the team were sitting at the top of the table. With two games left to play in the season, Denne Park, forfeited their game giving Eastbourne Town an automatic three points which made them Division One champions and earning an automatic promotion back into the Premier Division. ^[8]

In June 2023, it was announced by the club that a Development team would be created, led by former player Stef Shambrook taking on the manager role assisted by Tasha Pearson, also a former player. The team entered Division One of the Sussex County Women's league. ^[9] The first team reached the final of the 2023–24 Sussex Women's Challenge Trophy, and the first final of any competition since 2012. Losing to Saltdean's development squad 9-2. ^[10] In February 2024, it was announced that Rick Tate would step down as Women's team manager. Long term players Sarah Da Silva and Dani Parfitt were announced at joint player-managers until the end of the season. ^[11] The season ended with Town finishing 6th place.

Kits

Football kits

The club colours are yellow and blue, colours that represent the county of Sussex. ^[12] Away kits have changed over the seasons from white and blue, pink and light blue.

2009–2011

2014–2018

2018–2019

2019–2021 [13]

2021–2022

Kit suppliers and shirt sponsors

Period	Kit manufacturer	Shirt sponsor (chest)	Shirt sponsor (back)	Shirt sponsor (arm)
2002–2009	Unknown	ASDA	None	None
2009–2011	Adidas	Drusillas Zoo Park
2011–2014	MKK Sports	Sussex Business Times [14]
2014–2018	Macron	Macron Store Hastings
2018–2019	Errea	Brand Installations
2019–2021	Macron	UK Packaging [15]	Willow Tree
2021–2023		Lincolns Bakery	The Bell, Ticehurst
2023–present	Umbro	Coleman Plant Hire	None	The Beacon [16]

Ground

Main article: The Saffrons

Eastbourne Town Women currently play their home games at The Saffrons, Compton Place Road, Eastbourne, East Sussex, BN21 1EA. Located in Eastbourne town centre, a 5-minute walk from Eastbourne Railway Station.

Players

First-team squad

As of 14 February 2024 ^[17]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player — GK   ENG Sarah Walshaw — GK   ENG Elleah Fenner — DF   ENG Sarah Da Silva — DF   SCO Ali Das — DF   ENG Hollie Dyson — DF   ENG Lucia Law — DF   ENG Gemma Vine — DF   ENG Meg Woods — MF   ENG Hayley Beattie — MF   ENG Kirsten Bryant — MF   ENG Kelly Booth — MF   ENG Hayley Chapman

No. Pos. Nation Player — MF   ENG Emma Hatt — MF   ENG Esme Heath — MF   ENG Zoe Heather — MF   ROU Laura Nedelcu — MF   ENG Loren O'Dwyer — MF   ENG Poppy Payne — MF   ENG Georgina Thornton-Barter — MF   ROU Diana Vilciu — FW   ENG Geri Burt — FW   ENG Mel Orme — FW   ENG Danielle Parfitt(Captain) — FW   ENG Molly Peacock

Development squad

Eastbourne Town also operate a development team. ^[18] Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player — GK   ENG Summer Mooney — DF   ENG Kim Collyer — DF   ENG Jools Impey — DF   ENG Megan Kenward — DF   ENG Laura Knight — DF   ENG Rachelle Maillard — DF   ENG Zoe Pearce — DF   ENG Jennifer Watson — DF   ENG Tionne White — DF   ENG Paige Yarwood — MF   ENG Laura Etherington

No. Pos. Nation Player — MF   ENG Lauren Hughes(Vice Captain) — MF   ENG Gina Leonard — MF   ENG Eve Mercer — MF   ENG Ashley Morris(Captain) — MF   ENG Maddie Thornton-Barter — MF   ENG Lauren Thompson — MF   ENG Pat Rick — MF   ENG Sacha Ward — MF   ENG Louise Wornham — FW   IRL Niamh O'Connor

Management and staff

Current staff

As of 18 April 2024

Position	Name
Manager	Sarah Da Silva & Dani Parfitt (Joint player-managers)
Assistant manager	—
Goalkeeping coach	Mark Jukes
Development squad manager	Sarah Walshaw
Development squad assistant manager	Ed Copping

Managerial history

Key

• League matches only. M = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; Win % = percentage of total matches won
•   † Managers with this background and symbol in the "Name" column are italicised to denote caretaker appointments.
•   ‡ Managers with this background and symbol in the "Name" column are italicised to denote caretaker appointments promoted to full-time manager.

Stats as of 14 February 2024.

Dates	Name	M	W	D	L	Win %	Honors	Notes
2002–2014	Gary Pearce						South East Counties Women's League Premier Division Champions: 2010–11 South East Counties Women's League Division One West Champions: 2008–09 South East Counties Women's Chairman's Cup Winners: 2008–09 Sussex County Challenge Trophy Winners: 2004–05
2014–2016	Emma Parslow & Theo Parfitt	42	5	7	30	011.90
2016–2017	Stuart Tibble	18	3	2	13	016.67
2017–2018	Theo Parfitt & Sarah Walshaw	16	3	2	11	018.75
2018–2019	Charlie Woodham	23	8	2	13	034.78		[19]
2019–2021	Zak Dove	9	3	2	4	033.33		[20]
2021-2021	Martin Keightley	3	0	0	3	000.00
2021–2022	Theo Parfitt †	4	0	1	3	000.00
2022–2024	Rick Tate ‡	37	20	3	14	054.05	Sussex County Women's League Division One Champions: 2022–23	[11]
2024–Present	Sarah Da Silva & Dani Parfitt †	2	0	0	2	000.00

Season summary

Winners

Runners-up

Third place

Promoted

Relegated

Transferred

Results of league and cup competitions by season

Season	League										FA Cup [21]	League Cup	Notes
	Tier	Division	P	W	D	L	F	A	Pts	Pos
2002–03	7	South East Counties Division 3↑	18	12	2	4	71	46	38	3rd	—	1R	[22]
2003–04	6	South East Counties Division 2→	22	7	0	15	38	86	21	8th	—	1R	[23]
2004–05	6	Sussex County Division 1→								2nd	1Q	—
2005–06	6	South East Counties Division 1 West	20	5	2	13	28	66	14	8th	1Q	—	[24]
2006–07	6	South East Counties Division 1 West	16	3	3	10	18	34	12	8th	2Q	—	[25]
2007–08	6	South East Counties Division 1 West	18	13	4	1	70	18	43	2nd	PR	—	[26]
2008–09	6	South East Counties Division 1 West↑	14	10	1	3	49	11	31	1st	1Q	1R	[27]
2009–10	6	South East Counties Premier Division	19	12	2	5	38	21	38	3rd	3Q	QF	[28]
2010–11	6	South East Counties Premier Division↑	16	11	3	2	58	11	36	1st	3Q	Runners up	[29]
2011–12	5	London & South East Premier Division	20	12	5	3	46	24	41	2nd	2Q	—	[30]
2012–13	5	London & South East Premier Division	20	7	2	11	25	48	21	7th	3Q	—	[31]
2013–14	5	London & South East Premier Division	20	3	4	13	17	50	13	9th	2Q	—	[32]
2014–15	5	London & South East Premier Division	22	2	4	16	25	55	10	11th	R3	QF	[33]
2015–16	5	London & South East Premier Division	20	3	3	14	14	62	11	10th	2Q	—	[34]
2016–17	5	London & South East Premier Division	18	3	2	13	12	48	11	9th	—	GS	[35]
2017–18	5	London & South East Premier Division	16	3	2	11	15	42	11	8th	3Q	GS	[36]
2018–19	5	London & South East Premier Division	16	7	1	8	23	23	22	6th	PR	GS	[37]
2019–20	5	London & South East Premier Division	13	2	3	8	12	31	9	8th [lower-alpha 1]	1Q	GS	[38]
2020–21	5	London & South East Premier Division↓	3	2	0	1	7	4	6	6th [lower-alpha 2]	3Q	—	[39]
2021–22	7	Sussex County Premier Division↓	16	2	1	13	6	81	7	8th	1Q	2R	[40]
2022–23	8	Sussex County Division 1↑	16	13	1	2	52	25	40	1st	—	2R	[41] [8]
2023–24	7	Sussex County Premier Division	14	5	2	7	42	31	17	6th	—	QF	[42]

Honors

League honours

• London and South East Women's Regional Football League
  • Premier Division Runners-up (1): 2011–12
• South East Counties Women's League
  • Premier Division Champions (1): 2010–11
  • Division 1 West Champions (1): 2008–09
  • Division 1 West Runners-up (1): 2007–08
• Sussex County Women's League
  • Division 1 Champions (1): 2022–23
  • Division 1 Runners-up (1): 2004–05

Cup honours

• Isthmian Ladies Cup
  • Runners up:2009–10, 2010–11, 2011–12
• South East Counties Women's League Cup
  • Runners up: 2010–11 ^[43]
• South East Counties Women's Chairman's Cup
  • Winners: 2008–09 ^[44]
• Sussex County Challenge Trophy
  • Winners: 2004–05 ^[45]
  • Runners up:2023–23 ^[10]

Club records

• Best League Performance: London & South East Premier Division 2011–12, 2nd ^[30]
• Best Women's FA Cup performance: Third Round, 2014–15
• Biggest League Win: 17 - 0 v Meadow Sports, South East Counties Women's League, 19 April 2009 ^[46]
• Biggest Cup Win: 10 - 1 v Sheerness East, SECW League Cup, 2 November 2008 ^[47]
• Most points in a season: 43 in 18 games, South East Counties Division 1 West 2007–08 ^[26]

Notes

1. 2019–20 League abandoned due to the COVID-19 pandemic, all league results expunged
2. 2020–21 League curtailed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Eastbourne Town Women took voluntary relegation ^[7]

References

1. "About". Sussex County Women & Girls Football League. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
2. "Women's team history". Eastbournetown.com. Retrieved 27 March 2023.
3. "London & South East Regional Women's 2011–12 season". FA Full-Time. Retrieved 9 March 2023.
4. Monday 12 Jan 2015 (12 January 2015). "The FA Women's Cup Third Round draw". The Football Association . Retrieved 7 March 2023.
5. "Update: Eastbourne Town Women". Eastbourne Town FC. 10 June 2019. Retrieved 9 March 2023.
6. "Women's Team: Manager departs". Eastbourne Town FC. 9 June 2021. Retrieved 26 March 2023.
7. "Women's Team: Club statement". Eastbourne Town FC. 1 July 2021. Retrieved 9 March 2023.
8. "Town Women crowned Division One champions!". eastbournetown.com.
9. "Women's Team June update". Eastbourne Town FC. 19 June 2023. Retrieved 26 July 2023.
10. "Sussex Women's Challenge Trophy 2023–24". Sussex FA. 19 November 2023. Retrieved 19 November 2023.
11. "Rick Tate steps down". [eastbournetown.com]. 8 February 2024. Retrieved 14 February 2024.
12. Invictus (11 January 1911). "Sports and Pastimes". Eastbourne Gazette . p. 6.
13. "Club News: New kit has arrived". Eastbournetown.com. 20 July 2019. Retrieved 18 April 2021.
14. "Eastbourne Town FC announce brand-new sponsor for new season". Eastbourne Town FC. Archived from the original on 9 August 2011. Retrieved 26 March 2023.
15. "UK Packaging are proud to sponsor Eastbourne Town FC". Find the Needle. Retrieved 1 May 2019.
16. "The Beacon teams up with Eastbourne Town to help promote women's football". The Beacon Eastbourne. Retrieved 15 October 2023.
17. "Women's First Team". EastbourneTown.com. Retrieved 31 August 2023.
18. "Women's Development Team". EastbourneTown.com. Retrieved 31 August 2023.
19. "Woodham to leave Town". EastbourneTown.com. Retrieved 6 December 2019.
20. "Women's team manager announced (Zak Dove)". EastbourneTown.com. Retrieved 30 December 2019.
21. "Women's FA Cup Past Results". thefa.com.
22. "South East Counties League Tables 2002/03". South East Counties WFL. Archived from the original on 13 February 2004. Retrieved 16 March 2023.
23. "South East Counties Womens League 2003–04". fulltime-league.thefa.com.
24. "South East Counties Womens League 2005–06". fulltime-league.thefa.com.
25. "South East Counties Womens League 2006–07". fulltime-league.thefa.com.
26. "South East Counties Womens League 2007–08". fulltime-league.thefa.com.
27. "South East Counties Womens League 2008–09". fulltime-league.thefa.com.
28. "South East Counties Womens League 2009–10". fulltime-league.thefa.com.
29. "South East Counties Womens League 2010–11". fulltime-league.thefa.com.
30. "London & South East Regional Women's League 2011–12". fulltime-league.thefa.com.
31. "London & South East Regional Women's League 2012–13". fulltime-league.thefa.com.
32. "London & South East Regional Women's League 2013–14". fulltime-league.thefa.com.
33. "London & South East Regional Women's League 2014–15". fulltime-league.thefa.com.
34. "London & South East Regional Women's League 2015–16". fulltime-league.thefa.com.
35. "London & South East Regional Women's League 2016–17". fulltime-league.thefa.com.
36. "London & South East Regional Women's League 2017–18". fulltime-league.thefa.com.
37. "London & South East Regional Women's League 2018–19". fulltime-league.thefa.com.
38. "London & South East Regional Women's League 2019–20". fulltime-league.thefa.com.
39. "London & South East Regional Women's League 2020–21". fulltime-league.thefa.com.
40. "Sussex County Women & Girls Football League 2021–22". fulltime-league.thefa.com.
41. "Sussex County Women & Girls Football League 2022–23". fulltime-league.thefa.com.
42. "Sussex County Women & Girls Football League 2023–24". fulltime-league.thefa.com.
43. "SECWFL League Cup 2010–11". fulltime-league.thefa.com.
44. "SECWFL Chairman's Cup 2008–09". fulltime-league.thefa.com.
45. "Sussex Womens Challenge Trophy (2004–2005)". sussexfa.com.
46. "Meadow Sports 0–17 Eastbourne Town". fulltime-league.thefa.com.
47. "Sheerness East 1–10 Eastbourne Town". fulltime-league.thefa.com.

External links

• Official site