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| Full name | Charlton Athletic Women's Football Club | |
|---|---|---|
| Nickname | The Addicks | |
| Founded | 1991 asBromley Borough 1994 asCroydon W.F.C. 2000 asCharlton Athletic W.F.C. | |
| Ground | The Valley | |
| Capacity | 27,111 | |
| Manager | Karen Hills | |
| League | Women's Super League 2 | |
| 2024–25 | Women's Championship, 3rd of 11 | |
| Website | charltonafc | |
 Current season | ||
Charlton Athletic Women's Football Club (CAWFC) is an English professionalwomen's football club based inCharlton, south-east London. The club play in theWomen's Super League 2 (WSL2), the second tier ofEnglish women's football.
Founded in 1991 asBromley Borough, the club was also formerly known asCroydon Women's F.C. (1994–2000) andCharlton Athletic (2000–2007). During this period, it became one of the most successful women's teams in England.
Following theparent club's relegation from thePremier League, the women's team was controversially disbanded in the summer of 2007, causing almost all of the senior squad to depart. A rescuesponsorship package was subsequently arranged, allowing the women's setup to continue under new management.
CAWFC won theFA Women's Premier League Southern Division title in 2017–18. On 27 May 2018, they beatNorthern Division championsBlackburn Rovers Ladies FC 2–1 in a play-off final atBramall Lane, Sheffield, and gained promotion to theFA Women's Championship for the 2018–19 season.
In July 2023, the club was sold to SE7 Partners, a UK-based subsidiary of Global Football Partners.[1] Since 2024, CAWFC have played their home matches atThe Valley, the stadium of the men's senior team.[2]
The team was formed in 1991 asBromley Borough by disaffected members ofMillwall Lionesses'WFA Cup winning squad.[3]
The team broke up in the aftermath of that success andHope Powell moved with team mateSue Law to form a new club. They were initially led by Richard Hall with the support of Dan "Le Phyz" Kane. Beginning in the South East Counties League, the club quickly progressed through the divisions. After addingEngland playerBrenda Sempare in 1992, Bromley Borough won all 16 matches in the South East Counties League Division One, scoring 142 goals in the process.[4] The team also reached the semi-final of the Women's FA Cup, where they lost 2–0 totreble-winningArsenal.[5]
In 1993–94 Bromley Borough won theNational League Division One South by ten points, securing promotion into the top flight of English women's football. Although they were handed a chastening 10–1 defeat byDoncaster Belles in the fifth round of the FA Women's Cup.
Following a swift rise through the divisions, the club won promotion into theNational Premier League.[6]
The club entered the top-flight asCroydon, having tied up withCroydon FC.Debbie Bampton was appointedplayer-manager[7] in the 1994 close season. She built a strong team which supplied six ofEngland's squad for the1995 FIFA Women's World Cup includingKerry Davis as well as Bampton, Powell and Sempare. After securing a fourth-placed finish in1994–95,[8] in1995–96 Bampton led the team to a domesticdouble. After losing both domestic Cup finals toArsenal Ladies in 1998, the club recaptured the League titlein 1999. Another League andFA Women's Cup double followedin 2000.[9]
At Croydon's AGM in June 2000, the club's players controversially voted to accept a hostile takeover fromCharlton Athletic.[10] Bampton resigned as manager, as both the club's committee and the FA declared affiliation with the men'sPremier League club to be against the rules. The Croydon F.C. chairman, Ken Jarvie, also attempted to block the move[11] which was eventually sanctioned.[12]
The club's first silverware under the new name came in the same year when theCharity Shield was shared withArsenal, after the match resulted in a draw. Charlton reached the2003 FA Cup final but lost 3–0 toFulham. In the following season (2003–04) Charlton finished runners-up in thePremier League, just one point behind winners Arsenal, and again reached theFA Cup final which they lost to Arsenal. The season did bring success to the club, though, with a 1–0 victory over Fulham inthe final of theLeague Cup. In2004–05, Charlton won both theCommunity Shield, beating Arsenal 1–0, and the FA Cup, beatingEverton 1–0 inthe final, and once more finished runners up in the league to Arsenal. In2005–06, Charlton regained the League Cup, beating Arsenal inthe final. However, in this season, and also the2006–07 season, Charlton finished third in the league, meaning the club missed the opportunity to participate in theUEFA Cup. In May 2007, Charlton were again runners up in the FA Cup, losing to Arsenal inthe final. During these successful years under managerKeith Boanas and assistantMatt Beard, the team included several current and former England internationals, notably club captainCasey Stoney, goalkeeperPauline Cope,Joanne Broadhurst,Eniola Aluko andKatie Chapman. Aluko and Chapman went on to play professionally in the United States.
The same day as the 2007 FA Cup final, Charlton Athletic's men's team was relegated from thePremier League. It became evident that, in order to ensure the club's financial survival, a number of budget cuts would have to be enacted. On 23 June 2007, it was announced that the disbandment of the Charlton's women's set up would form part of this.[13] This decision was criticised by, among others, several of the club's players at the time, includingCasey Stoney[13] andDanielle Murphy.[14] Charlton's chief executive, Peter Varney, defended the decision and pointed to the lack of exposure in the media and lack of funding given to the women's game fromthe Football Association as reasons for undertaking the decision.[15]
On 22 August 2007, it was announced sponsorship had been secured by Charlton for the women's set up, allowing a senior side to continue to compete under Charlton's name.[16] The women's team, now controlled by the Charlton Community Trust, the organisation which operates Charlton's community programmes, appointed former Charlton playerPaul Mortimer as the women's team's new coach. However, due to the exodus of players after the original closure announcement, only two players from the previous squad remained by the time the club's rescue was in place although a few more returned as the season progressed. The reconstituted team finished bottom of the National Division of theFA Women's Premier League at the end of the 2007–08 season, thereby relegating them to the League's Southern Division. The team stabilised at this level and a reserve team was successfully re-established, twice winning the Kent Women's Cup in 2008–09 and 2010–11. The first team were promoted back to the National Division at the end of the 2010–11 season as Southern Division champions.
Rehabilitation
Following an unsuccessful bid to enter the newWomen's Super League that was formed in 2013–14, the club played in the FA Women's Premier League, Southern Division. An FA requirement at the time of the bid was that applicant clubs were to be a separate legal entity. This led to the formation of Charlton Athletic Women's Football Club Limited on 9 February 2013. The majority shareholder is Stephen King, CEO of PHSC plc. CAWFC won the FA Women's Premier League Cup in 2015, beatingSheffield FC 4–2 on penalties after it was 0–0 at the end of extra time inthe final held atNuneaton Borough FC's ground. The club madethe final again in 2017 but were defeated byTottenham Hotspur Ladies 4–3 on penalties after a scoreless match and extra time.[17]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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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51°27′21.41″N0°10′09.94″E / 51.4559472°N 0.1694278°E /51.4559472; 0.1694278
