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| Full name | Birmingham City Women Football Club | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Founded | 1968; 57 years ago (1968) | ||
| Ground | St Andrew's | ||
| Capacity | 29,409[1] | ||
| Chairman | Tom Wagner[2] | ||
| General manager | Sarah Westwood | ||
| Head Coach | Amy Merricks[3] | ||
| League | Women's Super League 2 | ||
| 2024–25 | Women's Championship, 2nd of 11 | ||
| Website | bcfc.com/women | ||
 Current season | |||
Birmingham City Women F.C. is anEnglishwomen's football club affiliated withBirmingham City F.C. As founding members of theFA Women's Super League in 2011, the team currently plays in thesecond-highest division of women's football in England. The team plays their home games atSt Andrew's, the home ofBirmingham City F.C.
The club was formed in 1968 by a group offemale fans who played localfriendly matches until 1970. They joined the Heart of England League in 1970, and played in the league until 1973 when it underwent a major restructure and become known as theWest Midland Regional League in 1974. The club were successful during this period, winning these leagues five times during the entire 1970s and 1980s (1971–72, 1974–75, 1976–77, 1987–88, 1988–89), amongst other trophies. They reached the semi-final of theWomen's FA Cup in 1974 and 1988.[4]
The club ran into difficult times during the 1990s, with many staff and player changes. In an effort to regain stability they created an academy of young players, many who eventually played for the senior team.
In 1998 Birmingham City were elevated to the newly createdMidland Combination League and in their first season won the league, gaining automaticpromotion into theFA Women's Premier League Northern Division. After two seasons, Birmingham were promoted to the top flight ofwomen's football in England, joining theFA Women's Premier League National Division in 2002. Also in 2001–02 BirminghamupsetDoncaster Belles 4–3 in theFA Women's Premier League Cup semi-final.[5] In the final atAdams Park,Wycombe, Birmingham were thrashed 7–1 by full-timeprofessionalFulham Ladies.[6]
In March 2003, local sports reporterGary Newbon criticised women's football andbet the club £500 that they could not attract 500 supporters to their upcoming match against Doncaster Belles. Humiliated Newbon lost his bet.[7] The academy had begun to produce players for the first team at this point, andLaura Bassett became the first Birmingham City Ladies player, from the academy or otherwise, to appear forEngland at full international level.
The club's high-profile manager of the time,Marcus Bignot, signed big name players includingRachel Yankey andAlex Scott for the 2004–05 season and Birmingham finished fourth. The club ran into financial problems whenKarren Brady of Birmingham City's men reneged on aletter of intent to provide funding.[8][9] The female club had to let major players go before the start of the 2005–06 season, which they finished in sixth position. They were only able to continue after a player's parent donated £10,000.[10]
Also in 2005, the club's junior sides joined the newly formed Centre of Excellence league in the Central Warwickshire area. Birmingham won their eighth consecutive Birmingham FA County Cup in 2008 before a number of established players either retired from the game or moved on to other clubs. They began to rebuild and finished 2008–09 in fifth place (losing out on fourth place only through inferior goal difference). Also in 2005 the club leftRedditch United's The Valley Stadium forStratford Town's DCS Stadium.
In March 2010 the club was announced as a founder member of theFA WSL. The club's successful application was underwritten byBirmingham City's controversial new ownerCarson Yeung.[10] In December 2010, Birmingham City announced the signing of several international players to their WSL squad.[11] In June 2011 the Centre of Excellence's future was secured with the allocation of a new FA licence for 2011–12 season onwards; which realigned the current development pathway for women's football in England.
The club became inaugural members of the newly formedFA WSL in 2011 and came close to winning it at the first attempt, leading for most of the campaign before being overhauled by Arsenal. They also reached theContinental Cup Final but once again found Arsenal in the way at Burton Albion F.C. The season was notable for the goalscoring exploits ofRachel Williams who scoredthe league's first ever hat-trick, finished as leading scorer and won the FA Players' Player of the Year Award.
Due to their 2nd-place finish in the2011 FA WSL Birmingham qualified for a place in the2012–13 UEFA Women's Champions League round of 32 for the first time in their history. Drawn against ItaliansBardolino Verona, Birmingham won the first leg 2–0 but lost 3–0 at theStadio Marc'Antonio Bentegodi, afterextra time, to exit the competition at the first hurdle.[12]
In May 2012 the club won their firstFA Women's Cup, beatingChelsea onpenalties inthe final atAshton Gate inBristol.[13] Also in 2012, for the second consecutive year, the club finished 2nd in theFA WSL and were runners-up in theContinental Cup Final, both to Arsenal. The 2nd-place finish in the league qualified Birmingham for the2013–14 UEFA Women's Champions League round of 32.[14]
Birmingham defeatedPK-35 Vantaa andZorky Krasnogorsk to qualify for an all-English quarter-final against Arsenal. A 1–0 win at home and a 2–0 win in London sent the club through to a semi-final againstTyresö FF. Birmingham managerDavid Parker described big-spending Tyresö as female "galácticos" before the tie, which the Swedes won 3–0 on aggregate.[15] The club underwent another stadium change in 2014, leaving the DCS Stadium forSolihull Moors'The Autotech Stadium.[16]
The club became fully integrated into men's sideBirmingham City Football Club in November 2016.[17] Prior to the 2017FA WSL Spring Series, long-time manager David Parker resigned.[18] The club's Regional Talent Club technical directorMarc Skinner was promoted to first-team manager shortly thereafter.[19]
The Blues finished 5th in the 2017/2018 season, narrowly missing out on 4th on the final day of the season with a draw against Reading, with Ellen White finishing as highest scorer in the league with 15 goals.Freda Ayisi,Coral-Jade Haines andMaddy Cusack were released shortly after.
In July 2018, the club rebranded asBirmingham City Women F.C.[20] Marc Skinner left in January 2019, to take the head coach job at AmericanNational Women's Soccer League (NWSL) clubOrlando Pride. He was replaced byMarta Tejedor.
On 3 March 2020, the club parted ways with managerMarta Tejedor by mutual consent and promoted Charlie Baxter to the position of interim head coach.[21] The club finished the2019—2020 season second from bottom, having lost major stars likeEllen White andHayley Ladd, as well as upcoming talent likeAoife Mannion to other WSL clubs in the summer transfer window. On 13 August 2020, Birmingham appointed formerSheffield United managerCarla Ward as the new permanent head coach.[22]
In April 2021, the clubs players formally issued a list of complaints to the club's board, stating that the club was "preventing us from performing our jobs to the best of our ability."[23]
FormerGlasgow City bossScott Booth was appointed as Head Coach in July 2021, but a winless start to the season saw him lose his job in November. He was subsequently replaced by former Birmingham City midfielderDarren Carter, who became Interim Head Coach. Despite their best efforts, Birmingham were relegated from the Women's Super League with one game to spare, after a 6-0 defeat away to Manchester City.[24]
In 2013, a deal was signed with Italian kit manufacturerLegea, who also suppliedNorth Korea,Iran andZimbabwe.[25] In early 2014, the club announced thatSondico would be the kit supplier until the end of 2015.[26] On 7 March 2016 it was announced that Adidas was taking over as the club's kit supplier for the next four seasons.[27]
For a detailed international record seeEnglish women's football clubs in international competitions
FA Women's National League Cup
Heart of England League
West Midland Regional League
Midland Combination Women's Football League
FA Women's National League North
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Front office
Coaching staff
| Dates | Name |
|---|---|
| 1998–2005 |  Marcus Bignot |
| 2011–2016 | David Parker |
| 2016–2019 | Marc Skinner |
| 2019–2020 |  Marta Tejedor |
| 2020 | Charlie Baxter (interim) |
| 2020–2021 | Carla Ward |
| 2021 |  Scott Booth |
| 2021 | Tony Elliott (interim) |
| 2021–2022 | Darren Carter (interim) |
| 2022–2024 | Darren Carter |
| 2024– | Amy Merricks |
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