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| Full name | Nottingham Forest Women Football Club | |||
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| Nicknames |
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| Short name | Forest | |||
| Founded | 1990; 35 years ago (1990) | |||
| Ground | City Ground | |||
| Capacity | 30,455[1] | |||
| Owner | Evangelos Marinakis | |||
| Chairman | Nicholas Randall KC | |||
| Head coach | Carly Davies | |||
| League | Women's Super League 2 | |||
| 2024–25 | FA Women's National League North, 1st of 12 (promoted) | |||
| Website | nottinghamforest.co.uk/forest-women | |||
 Current season | ||||
| Active departments ofNottingham Forest F.C. | ||||||||||||
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Nottingham Forest Women is anEnglishwomen's association football club affiliated withNottingham Forest Football Club. Nottingham Forest Women are members of theWomen's Super League 2, which stands at level two of thewomen's football league pyramid.[2]
The first known existence of a female Nottingham Forest team competed in the Notts and Derby League in the early 1970s.
Nottingham Forest Women was officially founded in 1990 by the NFFC Community arm and then developed by the players. The small group of young women advertised in the men's official programme against Everton for players to join them.[3]
Nottingham Forest Women picked up their firstFA Women's Premier League title in the2007–08 season, winning theNorthern Division following a 5–1 victory in their last game of the season againstSheffield Wednesday.[4]
Nottingham Forest Women submitted an unsuccessful application to join theWomen's Super League for the inaugural2011 FA WSL season. As a result, the club missed out on £70,000 ofFootball Association funding to develop the club's footballing infrastructure and the television coverage of the league's deal withESPN.[5][6][7]
Nottingham Forest Ladies recorded their highest placing in the FA Women's Premier League (then the top division of English women's football) in the2010–11 FA Women's Premier League season by finishing 2nd behindSunderland. In the same season, Forest also reached the2010–11 FA Women's Premier League Cup final where they were defeated byBarnet on penalties.[8][9][10]
Nottingham Forest Ladies submitted another unsuccessful application to join the Women's Super League in 2012 as part of the league's restructuring into two tiers with eight teams in the Women's Super League 1 and 10 teams in the newly createdWomen's Super League 2. The club missed out again on Football Association funding of either £70,000 (awarded to clubs in Women's Super League 1) or £25,000 (awarded to clubs in Women's Super League 2) which led to concerns that the club may fold with a financial shortfall of £20,000.[11][12][13]
The club's financial concerns continued ahead of the FA Women's Premier League 2013–14 season during which the club announced that following five years of funding (including a £10,000 donation from former ownerFawaz Al-Hasawi in August 2012),Nottingham Forest would no longer financially support Nottingham Forest Ladies Football Club for the 2013–14 season and beyond, or provide them with any club playing kit that had been ordered in November 2012. The club's short-term future was secured by electronic cigarette company E-Lites who agreed a short-term sponsorship deal to enable Nottingham Forest Ladies to complete the season in which they eventually finished 4th in the Northern Division.[14][15][16][17]
Nottingham Forest Ladies continued as a self-funded football club until the2017–18 FA Women's Premier League season. The team, however, were unable to better that 4th-place finish with a highest place finish of 6th in the2015–16 FA Women's Premier League season and the semi finals of the FA Women's Premier League Cup in the2015–16 competition (in which they were defeated 1–0 by eventual winnersTottenham Hotspur). The club were sustained financially throughout this period by sponsorship partnerships with theNo More Page 3 campaign, Ryley Wealth Management, and Inc. London.[18][19][20][21][22]
In April 2016, Nottingham Forest Ladies were awarded a tier three license to launch a Regional Talent Centre in which to deliver enhanced coaching and support to improve the development of elite female players through the Football Association's girls' England talent pathway. The Regional Talent Centre age groups covered under 12s, 14s and 16s, in which the under 12s competed in Charter Standard youth leagues (designed to enable players to further develop both technically and physically) and the older age groups competed in Football Association organised fixture programmes against other Regional Talent Centres.[23][24]
Under Nottingham Forest ownerEvangelos Marinakis, Nottingham Forest Ladies have been integrated into the whole football club.
In April 2018, Nottingham Forest and Nottingham Forest Ladies announced an agreement to create a close working relationship between the two organisations and work towards becoming one football club. The agreement involved a financial commitment to Nottingham Forest Ladies for on and off the pitch development, players being integrated into club initiatives and marketing campaigns, and a club website presence with player profiles, fixtures, and results.[25][26]
In May 2019, Forest announced that Nottingham Forest Ladies would cease to operate as an independent club and operate fully under Nottingham Forest's control at theCity Ground. Forest appointed Lee Billiard as General Manager and formerDurham Women andOxford United Manager Andy Cook as the team's first full-time Head Coach.[27][28][29]
Following this change, Forest announced in June 2019 that Nottingham Forest Ladies were being renamed to Nottingham Forest Women. As part of the change, Nottingham Forest Women adopted the Nottingham Forest badge and removed the word 'Ladies' from the logo.[30]
Nottingham Forest Women entered into a partnership withNottingham Trent University in August 2019 in which Nottingham Trent University helped construct a women's football programme across the two organisations (in which female footballers could apply to study at Nottingham Trent University and represent Nottingham Forest Women at the first-team level) and introduced a sports scholarship to players who wish to feature in the women's first-team squad. The partnership also enabled Nottingham Forest Women to Nottingham Trent University's health and well-being resources including strength and conditioning facilities, pitch-side physiotherapy and sports science support.[31]
The partnership between Nottingham Forest Women and Nottingham Trent University has since provided a pathway for players to progress to the first-team including Aja Aguirre, Katie Middleton, Mai Moncaster, Niamh Reynolds, Charlotte Steggles, and Sophie Tudor.[32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43]
The FA Women's National League2019–20 and2020–21 seasons were abandoned as a result of theCOVID-19 pandemic. Promotion and relegation were not implemented in 2019–2020 andWatford were awarded promotion from the2020–21 season to the Women's Championship as a result of the FA Women's Football Board's upward movement application process.[44][45][46]
Following the resumption of FA Women's National League competition for the2021–22 season, the club achieved its highest league position since the2015–16 season by finishing 5th. The club also won theFA Women's National League Plate for the first time by beatingAFC Wimbledon 2–1 in the2021–22 final.[47][48]
Forest's success continued into the FA Women's National League2022–23 season when the club completed a league and cup double by finishing 1st in the FA Women's National League Northern Premier Division (their first league title since winning the FA Women's Premier League in2007–08) and winning the FA Women's National League Cup for the first time by beating Watford 3–2 in2022–23 final. Forest were, however, denied promotion to Women's Championship after they were defeated 1–0 by Southern Premier Division champions Watford in the promotion play-off final.[49][50]
In July 2023, Nottingham Forest confirmed that beginning in the FA Women's National League2023–24 season, the Nottingham Forest Women's team will be fully integrated within the club's football department and operate a professional hybrid model as part of Forest's plans to create a fully-professional women's first team. Under the professional hybrid model, Forest's female players are under contract for the first time in the club's history and relocated their training facilities to theNigel Doughty Academy, where the players will receive an increased amount of training sessions.[51]
The change to a professional hybrid model coincided with numerous changes in the Nottingham Forest Women's footballing operations. Head Coach Andy Cook left the club to joinNewcastle United after leading Forest to a league and cup double in the 2022–23 FA Women's National League season and the club's reserve team was disbanded. The transition also saw numerous players leaving the football club including first-team players Georgia Hewitt, Gianna Mitchell, Yasmin Mosby,Naomi Powell, Charlotte Steggles, Rosetta Taylor, and Amy West. The club, however, were able to retain the services of 2022–2023 leading goal scorer Charlotte Greengrass, club captainLyndsey Harkin, Aja Aguirre, Becky Anderson, Emily Batty, Olivia Cook, Sophie Domingo, Hayley James, Mai Moncaster, Laura-Jayne O'Neill, and Niamh Reynolds.[52][53][54][55][56][57]
FormerAston Villa and Watford General Manager andLondon City LionessesDirector of Football Amber Wildgust was appointed as the club's Head of Women and Girls Football with the responsibility of leading the progression of Nottingham Forest Women on and off the pitch. The club also appointed former Aston Villa first-team coach andWest Bromwich Albion assistant manager Carly Davies as Head Coach.[58][59][60][61][62][63]
Forest added to their first-team squad ahead of the start of their FA Women's National League Northern Premier League title defence season by completing the signings of full-back Nat Johnson and midfielders Mollie Green, Holly Manders, and Freya Thomas.[64][65][66][67]
Forest started the season strongly with successive league victories overStourbridge (home, 7–0), West Bromwich Albion (away, 1–4), and AFC Fylde (home, 3–1) and a 5–0 away win against Solihull Moors to progress to the FA Women's National League Cup first round and defend their 2022–23 crown. The promising start to the season was enhanced with the arrivals of defender Abi Cowie and forwardLouanne Worsey on season-long deals from the Women's Championship teamBirmingham City.[68][69]
September and October proved to be challenging for Carly Davies' side, however, with an FA Women's National League Cup second-round home 2–1 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers and home 5–0 league win over Liverpool Feds sitting between league defeats over promotion rivals Burnley (away, 4–2), local rivals Derby County at (home, 1–2), and a Women's National League Cup third-round away 3–0 defeat against eventual beaten finalists Newcastle United.Forest responded by winning 10 of their next 11 matches including fourWomen's FA Cup wins against Sheffield FC (home, 7–0), Sporting Khalsa (home, 3–2), Boldmere St Michaels (home, 3–1) and Plymouth Argyle (away, 1–6) to set up a fifth-round proper tie against Women's Super League outfit Everton. This run (of which the only loss was a 0–1 home defeat against league leaders Newcastle United) left the side in 2nd place (four points behind Newcastle) and saw Northern Ireland U19 international full-back Ella Haughey and midfielder Alice Keitley join the club fromLisburn Rangers and a dual-registration loan from Women's Super League team Aston Villa respectively.[70][71]
Carly Davies' side was unable to take their momentum from eight consecutive wins into the Women's FA Cup fifth-round tie against Everton with the Women's Super League side running out comfortable 1–7 winners at Grange Park with Forest generating £123,000 in revenue from their furthest run in the competition since the 2012–13 season. Forest was unable to rebuild the momentum they created between November 2023 and February 2024 for their final nine FA Women's National League Northern Premier League fixtures and took only 17 points from a possible 27 and finished their title defence in 3rd place on 47 points (1 point behind 2nd placed Burnley and 12 points behind champions Newcastle United), missing out on promotion to the Women's Championship for another season.[72][73]
On 9 July 2024, Nottingham Forest confirmed that from the 2025–26 season the club would become a full-time professional outfit. From the 2024–25 season, Forest Women's first team will play all eleven of their home games atThe City Ground and consist of 18 full-time professional players and a small number of part-time players before the transition. Moving to a full time professional model, the women would see an overall contact with the squad, which would allow for an enhanced learning and training education in addition to being able to access the elite nutritional, medical, support and recovery services the club offers.
At Academy level, all paid subscriptions to the Girls' Academy will be scrapped resulting in parity with the Boys' Academy. With the Women's first team and Girl's academy together, the move will help meet FIFA's “recommendations for optimal talent development”.
Finally as part of its ‘Vision for Sport’ initiative, the club will launch a major expansion program for grassroots girls football venues within the city itself. There will be a focus on under-served inner-city locations within Nottingham where girls opportunities have been vastly scarce. The aim is to improve accessibility, diversify the homegrown talent pool and provide greater access to health and fitness. The club stated :
”The aim of the initiative is to allow every girl with ambitions of a career playing for Nottingham Forest to have the same opportunities as boys have enjoyed for many years”.
On 27 April 2025, Nottingham Forest achieved the2024–25 FA Women's National League title and promotion to theChampionship, following a 7–2 victory overWest Bromwich Albion.[74]
From the 2024–25 season, the club will play all eleven home fixtures atThe City Ground. They have played several competitive fixtures at since 2021 in various competitions before then. The first game was hostingDerby County. Nottingham Forest lost the game 2–0 in front of an FA Women's National League Northern Premier Division record attendance of 4,443.[75][76]
| Date | Opposition | Competition | Result | Attendance | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 October 2021 | Derby County | WNL Northern Premier Division | 0 - 2 | 4,443 | [77] |
| 29 January 2022 | Manchester City | FA Cup | 0 - 8 | 3,994 | [78] |
| 16 October 2022 | Derby County | WNL Northern Premier Division | 3 - 1 | 5,082 | [79] |
| 8 October 2023 | Derby County | WNL Northern Premier Division | 1 - 2 | 6,037 | [80] |
| 19 November 2023 | Newcastle United | WNL Northern Premier Division | 0 - 1 | 4,995 | [81] |
Up until the 2024–25 season Nottingham Forest Women played their home games atLong Eaton United's Grange Park. Grange Park has a capacity of 1,500 (with 500 under standing cover and 150 seats).[82][83]
Before then, the team played their home matches atEastwood C.F.C.'s Coronation Park between February 2019 and July 2023. Prior to playing at Eastwood, they played atCarlton Town F.C.'s Bill Stokeld Stadium andBasford United F.C.'s Greenwich Avenue.[84][85]
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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| Role | Name |
|---|---|
| Head of Women & Girls' Football | Amber Wildgust |
| Head Coach | Carly Davies |
| Assistant Coach | Jay Denny |
| Goalkeeping Coach | Jake Wood |
| Physical Performance Coach | James Cottrell |
| Performance Analyst | James Flower |
| Sports Therapist | Ellie Lewis |
| Doctor | Megan Burton |
This section currently includes managers appointed since Nottingham Forest Ladies were integrated into Nottingham Forest and were renamed to Nottingham Forest Women.
Information correct as of matches played up to and including 29 April 2025. Only competitive matches are counted.
| Number | Manager | From | To | Played | W | L | D | W % | L % | D % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Andy Cook | July 2019 | July 2023 | 93 | 62 | 11 | 20 | 67% | 12% | 21% |
| 2 | Carly Davies | August 2023 | Present | 62 | 48 | 8 | 6 | 77% | 13% | 9% |
| Competition | Nº of Titles | Seasons |
|---|---|---|
| Unison East Midlands League Cup | 2 | 1999–2000, 2001–2002 |
| Unison East Midlands League | 1 | 2002–2003 |
| Nottinghamshire FA Women's County Cup | 13 | 2003–2004, 2005–2006, 2006–2007, 2008–2009, 2009–2010, 2010–2011, 2011–2012, 2012–2013, 2013–2014, 2015–2016, 2016–2017, 2017–2018, 2018–2019 |
| Midland Combination League | 1 | 2004–2005 |
| FA Women's Premier League Northern Division | 1 | 2007–2008 |
| Competition | Nº of Titles | Seasons |
|---|---|---|
| Nottinghamshire FA Women's County Cup | 1 | 2021–2022 |
| FA Women's National League Plate | 1 | 2021–2022 |
| FA Women's National League Northern Premier Division | 2 | 2022–2023, 2024–2025 |
| FA Women's National League Cup | 2 | 2022–2023, 2024–2025 |
This section currently includes honours awarded since Nottingham Forest Ladies were integrated into Nottingham Forest and were renamed to Nottingham Forest Women.
| Year | Players' Player | Manager's Player | Young Player | Fans' Player | Fan's Goal of the Season | Leading Goalscorer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019–2020 | Lyndsey Harkin | Georgia Hewitt | Bex Rayner Olivia Cook | Precious Hamilton (24) | ||
| 2020–2021 | Lyndsey Harkin | Aja Aguirre | Katie Middleton | Rosie Axten (6) | ||
| 2021–2022 | Lyndsey Harkin Emily Batty | Lyndsey Harkin | Mai Moncaster | Rachel Brown (11) | ||
| 2022–2023 | Emily Batty | Charlotte Greengrass | Charlotte Greengrass (22) | |||
| 2023–2024 | Freya Thomas | Freya Thomas | Freya Thomas | Nat Johnson (vs. AFC Fylde) | Holly Manders (16) | |
| 2024–2025 | Charlie Wellings | Mollie Green | Charlie Wellings | Melissa Johnson (27) Charlie Wellings (27) |
[89][90][91][92][93][94][95][96][97][98][99][100][101][102]
Social media reliability note:
Some of the information in the "Individual honours" table is from Nottingham Forest Women's social media profiles. Social media profiles are often controlled by the organization or individual that they represent, and they may not be subject to the same standards of editorial oversight as traditional media sources. The information has been verified by checking the football club's website and other reliable sources.
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