Chelsea F.C. Women

History

Earlier unofficial team

In the early 1970s, an unofficial Chelsea Ladies F.C. was formed soon after The Football Association had lifted its 50-year ban on women's football. Under the management of John Martin, they beat Millwall Lionesses to win the 1974 London Women's Football Challenge Cup in a season when they did a league and cup double. They repeated the feat the following season. Although more of a supporters team rather than an official representative of Chelsea F.C., the club's president at the time was John Hollins, who was a long-time Chelsea player.

Establishment and promotion (1992–2005)

Chelsea Ladies Football Club was formed in 1992 after supporters of Chelsea F.C. expressed desire for a women's side. Tony Farmer, a longtime Chelsea supporter who became interested in women's football when his girlfriend Val Lightfoot joined Crystal Palace, wrote a letter to Chelsea F.C. to propose adding a women's side.

Upon approval, Farmer became the club's first manager, lobbied for it to be promoted in men's match programmes, and began recruiting youth players to the club, including Casey Stoney and Fara Williams as 12-year-olds in 1994 and 1996, respectively. The side's first home pitch was Hurlingham Park in Fulham. Farmer managed the club from the Greater London Regional League Division 3 to the Greater London Regional Premier Division before resigning in 1997.

In June 2004, Chelsea Ladies were taken over and funded by Chelsea's Football in the Community department, and in 2004–05 Chelsea won promotion to the Premier League National Division. The club has participated at the top level ever since.

FA Premier League National Division (2005–2010)

After starting 2005–06 with one point from six games, manager George Michealas was fired in September after four years in charge. They finished bottom of the league that season under Shaun Gore, but won a promotion/relegation play-off against Northern Division runners-up Liverpool 4–1 on aggregate to stay in the Premier League National Division. During the season the club had been linked with a transfer bid for North American star players Tiffeny Milbrett and Christine Sinclair.

After an eighth-place finish in 2006–07, Gore drafted in England players Siobhan Chamberlain, Casey Stoney and Eniola Aluko that summer. American World Cup winner Lorrie Fair, regarded as one of the best midfielders in the women's game, joined in January as Chelsea finished 2007–08 in fifth position.

Chelsea Ladies introduced a new manager for the 2008–09 season, former Arsenal Ladies reserve team coach Steve Jones. On 2 July 2008 Chelsea surprisingly signed Lianne Sanderson and Anita Asante from Arsenal Ladies, in addition to veteran Mary Phillip. Then Arsenal Ladies manager Vic Akers criticised his former players as disrespectful, while pursuing players from other clubs to bolster his own squad.

Chelsea Ladies finished the 2008–09 season third behind Arsenal and Everton. Mary Phillip retired a month into the new season, Aluko and Asante left for the new WPS in March 2009, while Fair missed the whole campaign with a cruciate ligament injury sustained in May 2008. Jones departed as manager in January 2009, leaving Stoney to act as player/manager.

At Stoney's recommendation, Matt Beard became manager for the 2009–10 season. Cuts to the Ladies club's funding were offset by financial assistance from John Terry and other Chelsea F.C. players. A further blow arrived when Sanderson left for the 2010 WPS season.

Women's Super League (2011–present)

The club bid successfully to be one of eight founding teams in the FA Women's Super League (WSL) in March 2011. On 13 April 2011, the first-ever WSL fixture was played — at Imperial Fields, Chelsea's home ground — between them and Arsenal, which they lost 1–0. Beard led the club to the Women's FA Cup final for the first time in 2012, but Chelsea were eventually beaten by Birmingham City on a penalty shootout after twice taking the lead in a 2–2 draw.

In July 2012, Matt Beard resigned as manager after three years in the post. Former assistant at Arsenal, Emma Hayes, was brought in as manager in 2012, one of the first female managers in the WSL. In Hayes's first season in charge, Chelsea, who were still a part-time professional club, finished third-bottom of the league. The following season, they finished second from the bottom.

The 2014 season was successful for Chelsea, as they finished second in the WSL behind Liverpool on goal difference, after eight wins, two draws and four losses. A final day win would have clinched them the league title, but they lost 2–1 away to Manchester City. Their second-place finish meant that they qualified for the UEFA Women's Champions League for the first time in the club's history. They also reached the semi-finals of both the FA Cup and the League Cup, where they lost to both eventual winners, Arsenal and Manchester City, respectively.

In 2015, it was announced that many of Chelsea's players would be becoming full professionals for the first time. On 1 August 2015, Chelsea won their first ever Women's FA Cup. They beat Notts County Ladies at Wembley Stadium. Ji So-yun scored the only goal of the game and Eniola Aluko won the player of the match award. The team then beat Sunderland 4–0 in October 2015 to secure the FA WSL title and a League and Cup double. Chelsea repeated that feat in the 2017–18 season, winning another FA WSL and Women's FA Cup double; in the same season, the team also reached the semi-finals of the UEFA Women's Champions League for the first time. On 23 May 2018, the club rebranded as Chelsea Football Club Women.

Chelsea were awarded the 2019–20 WSL title on a points-per-game basis after the season had to be abruptly terminated due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The club was unbeaten at the time.

Chelsea began the 2020–21 season by winning their first ever FA Community Shield, against Manchester City. The season also saw them win their second consecutive League Cup, winning 6–0 against Bristol City. Chelsea and manager Hayes won their fourth WSL title, the most by any WSL team at the time, by two points on the final day of the 2020–21 FA WSL season with a 5–0 victory over Reading. Chelsea broke the record for most points in a season (57) and tied the record for most wins in a season (18). In addition, they became just the third team to defend the League title after Liverpool and Arsenal. Sam Kerr won the WSL Golden Boot for most goals scored by an individual (21), while Fran Kirby was joint top for assists (11) and goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger registered the most clean sheets (12), winning the Golden Glove. Given their remarkable performances over the season, Suzanne Wrack of The Guardian stated that Chelsea was "one of the best women's teams to ever play in England's top flight". On 16 May 2021, Chelsea, on course for a quadruple, lost 4–0 to Barcelona in their first-ever Champions League final appearance. On 5 December 2021, Chelsea won the delayed 2020–21 FA Cup, beating the league leaders Arsenal 3–0 in a dominant display with goals from Kirby and two from Kerr, winning their first domestic treble.

Chelsea successfully retained the WSL title during the 2021–22, 2022–23 (with both seasons also retaining the FA Cup) as well as the 2023–24 seasons, the latter of which was the club's last season under manager Emma Hayes as she left the club at the end of the season to become the manager of the United States women's national team. She was replaced by Sonia Bompastor from the 2024–25 season, who was previously at Lyon. In her first season, Bompastor led Chelsea to a domestic treble as the club remained unbeaten in all three domestic competitions, and finished the WSL season with a record-breaking 60 points for a sixth consecutive title.

Ownership

In May 2025, technology entrepreneur Alexis Ohanian acquired a 10% minority stake in Chelsea Women for approximately £20 million, valuing the club at around £200 million. Ohanian was also reported to be taking a seat on the club's board of directors.

Stadium

Chelsea Women play at Kingsmeadow in Norbiton, Kingston upon Thames, London. Chelsea F.C. bought Kingsmeadow for their youth and women's teams from AFC Wimbledon in 2016 so that Wimbledon could fund their new ground, Plough Lane. Kingsmeadow has a capacity of 4,850.

Between 2012 and 2017, Chelsea played their home games at Wheatsheaf Park. The stadium is located in Staines-upon-Thames and has a capacity for 3,002 spectators.

The team previously played at Imperial Fields during the 2011 season, the home ground of Tooting & Mitcham United.

Chelsea Women has increasingly used Stamford Bridge for high-profile fixtures in both domestic and European competitions. Since the 2020s, the club has staged its UEFA Women's Champions League home matches at Stamford Bridge. In the 2023–24 season, Chelsea Women played a record four Women's Super League matches at the stadium, followed by three matches in the 2024–25 season.

Attendance

The current home attendance record of a Chelsea Women's match is 39,398, set on 27 April 2024 during the 2023–24 UEFA Women's Champions League semi-final second leg against Barcelona, played at Stamford Bridge. Their current home attendance record at their primary ground of Kingsmeadow is 4,670, set on 28 April 2019 in a Champion's League semi-final leg against Lyon.

Players

Current squad

Out on loan

Former players

For details of former players, see :Category:Chelsea F.C. Women players.

Player of the Year

Management team

Honours

Chelsea's first trophy was won during the 1998–99 season, when the team defeated Reading Royals 2–1 in the Berks & Bucks County Cup final. The club's first major trophy was the Women's FA Cup, won in 2015. In the same year, the club also won its first FA Women's Super League (FA WSL) title. After winning the 2021–22 FA WSL, Chelsea became the first team to win the WSL title for three seasons in a row. The club's most recent trophy is a sixth Women's FA Cup title, won in 2024–25.

Domestic competitions

League

• Women's Super League

  • Winners (8): 2015, 2017–18, 2019–20, 2020–21, 2021–22, 2022–23, 2023–24, 2024–25
  • Runners-up (2): 2014, 2016

• FA WSL Spring Series

  • Winners (1): 2017

• Premier League Southern Division (second tier)

  • Winners (1): 2004–05
  • Runners-up (1): 2000–01

• South East Combination League (third tier)

  • Winners (1): 1999–2000
  • Runners-up (1): 1998–99

• Greater London Regional League – Division 1

  • Runners-up (1): 1994–95

• Greater London Regional League – Division 3

  • Winners (1): 1993–94

Cups

• Women's FA Cup

  • Winners (6): 2014–15, 2017–18, 2020–21, 2021–22, 2022–23, 2024–25
  • Runners-up (2): 2011–12, 2015–16

• Women's League Cup

  • Winners (3): 2019–20, 2020–21, 2024–25
  • Runners-up (3): 2021–22, 2022–23, 2023–24

• Women's FA Community Shield

  • Winners (1): 2020

Minor competitions

• South East Combination League Cup

  • Winners (1): 1999–2000

• Greater London Regional League Cup

  • Runners-up (1): 1996–97

• Middlesex County Cup

  • Runners-up (2): 1995–96, 1996–97

• Berks & Bucks County Cup

  • Winners (3): 1998–99, 1999–2000, 2000–01
  • Runners-up (1): 2001–02

• Surrey County Cup

  • Winners (9): 2002–03, 2003–04, 2005–06, 2006–07, 2007–08, 2008–09, 2009–10, 2011–12, 2012–13
  • Runners-up (2): 2004–05, 2010–11

International competitions

• UEFA Women's Champions League : Runners-up (1): 2020–21

• International Women's Club Championship : Runners-up (1): 2013

Other

Doubles

• 2014−15: League and FA Cup
• 2017–18: League and FA Cup
• 2019–20: League and League Cup
• 2021–22: League and FA Cup
• 2022–23: League and FA Cup

Trebles

• 2020–21: League, FA Cup and League Cup
• 2024–25: League, FA Cup and League Cup

Season-by-season records

Main article: List of Chelsea F.C. Women seasons

Record in UEFA Women's Champions League

Main article: English women's football clubs in international competitions#Chelsea

All results (home, away and aggregate) list Chelsea's goal tally first.

Colour key: Green = Chelsea win; Yellow = draw; Red = opponents win.

UEFA club coefficient ranking

Main article: UEFA coefficient#Women's club coefficient

Notes

References

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