Full name | Reading Football Club Women | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Nickname(s) | The Royals, RFCW | |||
Founded | 2006 | |||
Ground | Select Car Leasing Stadium | |||
Capacity | 24,161 | |||
Director of football | Dai Yongge & Dai Xiu Li | |||
First-team manager | Liam Gilbert | |||
League | Women's Championship | |||
2023–24 | Women's Championship, 10th of 12 | |||
Website | Club website | |||
Reading Football Club Women is an English women's football club affiliated with Reading FC. The Club plays in the Women's Championship, the second tier of English women's football. Reading F.C. Women previously played in the FA Women's Premier League National Division after being promoted from the FA Women's Premier League Southern Division, which they were relegated to at the end of the 2011–12 season. They had previously won promotion to the National Division from the Southern Division in 2009–10. They gained entry to an expanded FA WSL in 2014. [1]
Reading FC began an association with women's football when it affiliated with Reading Royals LFC (previously Twyford Comets) in 1988.
In May 2006, Reading ended this affiliation and started their own women's team, Reading FC Women. [2] In their first season they achieved a Southern Region Women's Football League and Cup double [3] and were promoted to the South West Combination Women's Football League. They followed this with an unbeaten 2007–08 League season to gain promotion to the Premier League Northern Division (in which they competed due to an overload at the Southern).
After finishing sixth in the Northern Division, Reading were transferred to the Southern Division for the 2009–10 season. In 2010 they won their last four games of the season to finish runners–up to Barnet and secure promotion to the FA Women's Premier League National Division. [4]
On 3 April 2011 Reading successfully defended the Berks and Bucks County Cup trophy, cruising past Milton Keynes Dons 3–0 in the final. [5]
Their first season in the FA Women's Premier League National Division (the second highest league, following the formation of the Women's Super League) saw Reading finish third. [6] In March 2012 Reading lost top goalscorer Nikki Watts to WSL club Bristol Academy. [7] They finished 9th in the National Division in the 2011–12 season, resulting in their relegation back to the Southern Division for 2012–13.
In 2012–13 Reading FC Women won the FA Premier League Southern Division by eight points and a goal difference of 41, [8] while both the first and reserve team retained the County Cup. [9]
Reading's top scorer in 2012–13, Fran Kirby, was rewarded for her campaign by being named as Player of the Season – as well as receiving a call up to play for Great Britain in the World University Games in Kazan, Russia. Striker Kirby surpassed the 30-goal mark this season and was also selected for an England under-23s Camp. [10]
Reading were granted a licence to play in the FA Women's Super League 2 from 2014. [9] They won the division in the 2015 season and were promoted to the FA WSL. On 10 December 2015 it was announced that Reading would play their home games at Adams Park, the home of Wycombe Wanderers FC, for the next two seasons. [11]
Reading finished the 2017–18 season in 4th place [12] and 5th in both 2018–19 and 2019–20, reaching the Semi-Final of the FA Women's Cup in 2018–19. The side finished 7th in the 2020–21 season, continuing the steady decline to 8th in 2021–22. [13]
Reading were relegated from the WSL on the final day of the 2022–23 season, losing to Chelsea. [14] Following their relegation, Reading switched to operation on a part-time basis ahead of the 2023–24 Women's Championship. [15]
On 18 August 2023, Reading announced Liam Gilbert as their new First Team Manager. [16]
From 2015, Reading F.C. Women Director of Women's and Girls' Football and First Team Manager was former captain of Reading F.C. Women, Kelly Chambers. Chambers took over from former manager Jayne Ludlow who stepped down to manage Wales. She was assisted by Head Coach Phil Cousins. Both Chambers and Cousins left their respective roles in June 2023. [17] [18]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
|
|
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
|
Reading FC Women currently play at the Madejski Stadium (rebranded as the Select Car Leasing Stadium from 2021), having moved to it before the 2020–21 FA WSL season. [20] Before then, they played at Rushmoor Community Stadium in Farnborough, Hampshire before moving to Adams Park in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire. The club moved there after they gained promotion to the FA WSL in 2015. [21] [22]
Reading Football Club is a professional football club based in Reading, Berkshire, England. They compete in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. They play their home matches at the Madejski Stadium.
Women's football has been played in England for over a century, sharing a common history with the men's game in the country in which the Laws of the Game were codified.
Bristol City Women's Football Club is a women's association football team from the city of Bristol. Formed in 1998 as Bristol Rovers W.F.C., they were renamed Bristol Academy W.F.C. in 2005 following the withdraw of support from Bristol Rovers and increased involvement and academy development from Bristol Academy of Sport, part of South Gloucestershire and Stroud College. A second change of name, this time to Bristol City was approved by the FA Women's Football Board in time for the 2016 WSL season. With their home games relocating from SGS College’s Stoke Gifford Stadium to the Robins High Performance Centre and now Ashton Gate Stadium. Bristol City Women won promotion to the FA Women's Super League (WSL), the highest level of the women's game in England in 2016 and stayed there for five seasons before being relegated to the FA Women's Championship in 2021.
Aston Villa Women Football Club is the women's football team of Aston Villa, currently playing in the Women's Super League. The club has been in existence since 1973. Originally titled Solihull F.C., the team affiliated to Aston Villa in 1989, becoming Villa Aztecs, and became the official Aston Villa women's side in 1996. The club have a senior team, a reserve team and several other teams of younger age groups under a Regional Talent Club FA license.
West Ham United Women Football Club is an English women's football club affiliated with West Ham United. The club plays in the Women's Super League, the top tier of English women's football. They were formed in 1991 and play home games at Dagenham & Redbridge's Chigwell Construction Stadium on Victoria Road.
Bridgwater United Women's Football Club are an English women's association football club based in Bridgwater, Somerset who were previously known as Yetminster Ladies, Sherborne Ladies, Yeovil Town Ladies and Yeovil United. Founded in 1990, they now play in the FA Women's National League Division One South West.
Natasha Khalila Dowie is an English former footballer. She represented the England women's national football team at the youth level before making her senior international debut in 2009. Dowie played for the London teams Watford, Fulham and Charlton Athletic, and then spent five years with Everton before transferring to FA WSL clubs Liverpool Ladies in November 2012 and Doncaster Rovers Belles in 2016. She also spent three periods on loan with Melbourne Victory of the Australian W-League in 2015, 2016, and 2017 and played for Boston Breakers in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) in 2016 and 2017.
Brooke Amberlee Chaplen is an English former footballer and current General Manager of Reading. As a midfielder, Chaplen played for Portsmouth, Chelsea, Everton, Sunderland and Reading at club level, and represented England at U-19, U-20 and U-23 level.
Emma Mukandi is a Scottish professional footballer currently plays for FA WC club London City Lionesses. She began her senior career with Glasgow City then joined German Frauen-Bundesliga club SGS Essen. Primarily a defender, Mukandi has also played as a forward. Mukandi also plays for the Scotland women's national football team.
The history of Reading Football Club covers almost 150 years of both success and failure of the football club from Reading, England. The club was established in 1871, making it one of the oldest professional teams in England. Reading joined the Football League in 1920. The Royals competed at the top flight of English football for the first time in the 2006–07 season.
The Women's Championship is the second-highest division of women's football in England. The division was established in 2014 as the FA Women's Super League 2.
The Women's Super League (WSL), known as the Barclays Women's Super League (BWSL) for sponsorship reasons, is the highest league of women's football in England. Established in 2010, it is run by the Football Association and features twelve fully professional teams. The league replaced the FA Women's Premier League National Division as the highest level of women's football in England, with eight teams competing in the inaugural 2011 season. In the WSL's first two seasons, there was no relegation from the division.
Rachel Susan Rowe is a Welsh professional footballer who plays as a forward for Scottish Women's Premier League club Rangers and the Wales national team.
Charlie Louise Wellings is an English professional footballer who plays as a striker for Women's Super League club Reading. Wellings has previously played for Birmingham City and Bristol City of the Women's Super League and Celtic of the Scottish Women's Premier League.
The 2019–20 FA WSL season was the ninth edition of the FA Women's Super League (WSL) since it was formed in 2010. It was the second season after the rebranding of the four highest levels in English women's football and the twelve teams contesting the season was the greatest number in the league's history to date, following a steady increase from the original eight. It is the first under the new Barclays title sponsorship following a landmark multi-million pound investment.
The 2019–20 Reading F.C. Women season was the club's 13th season and their fourth in the FA Women's Super League, the highest level of the football pyramid. Along with competing in the WSL, the club also contested two domestic cup competitions: the FA Cup and the League Cup.
The 2020–21 FA WSL season was the tenth edition of the FA Women's Super League (WSL) since it was formed in 2010. It was the third season after the rebranding of the four highest levels in English women's football.
The 2020–21 Reading F.C. Women season was the club's 14th season and their sixth in the FA Women's Super League, the highest level of the football pyramid. Reading finished the season in 7th place, were knocked out of the FA Cup in the fourth round and finished second in their League Cup group.
The 2022–23 Reading F.C. Women season is the club's 16th season and their eighth in the FA Women's Super League, the highest level of the football pyramid.
Rebecca Jane is an English footballer who plays as a defender, most recently for Reading in the Women's Super League. She previously played for Chelsea, Reading, Liverpool and Charlton Athletic.