Bristol City WOMEN HISTORY & HONOURS Women’s Super League 1 runners-up: 2013 FA Cup runners-up: 2011, 2013 Women’s Super League 2 runners-up: 2016 (promoted) FA Continental Tyres League Cup runners-up: 2021 Barclays Women’s Championship Winners 2023 (promoted) In 2005 Bristol Rovers Women’s FC became known as Bristol Academy WFC under a new partnership agreement with South Gloucestershire and Stroud College (previously Filton College). By 2011 Bristol Academy WFC Limited was formed and won a licence to compete in the new FA Women’s Super League, allowing the team to become semi-professional and untested coach Mark Sampson stepped up from his role as Head of the College Girls Under-18s Development Squad to First Team Manager. Sampson would remain in post until he left to take up the prestigious England Women’s manager position in 2014. During that time, Bristol Academy reached two FA Cup finals (2011 and 2013) and competed in the Champions League (2011 and 2014). In 2013 they finished runners-up in the WSL1. At the end of the 2015 season, following relegation to WSL2, the FA Women’s Super League management committee approved the name change from Bristol Academy Women’s Football Club to Bristol City Women’s Football Club. As the game began to professionalise, integration into Bristol City FC in 2015 and the Bristol Sport Group, allowed for further growth and the team became a fully professionalised outfit by 2016. Following a brief spell for Dave Edmondson, Willie Kirk was appointed manager in 2015 and, in his first full season, guided the Robins back to the top flight with a second-place finish in the WSL2. He stayed for the following two seasons until the summer of 2018 when Kirk departed and new manager Tanya Oxtoby took the reins as City Women’s Head Coach. In Oxtoby’s first season in charge (2018/19) she led City Women to a sixth-placed finished in the Barclays FAWSL with her side accumulating 25 points. The following year saw City Women maintain their top-flight status, with notable victories over Manchester United and Birmingham City prior to the termination of the season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The 2020/21 campaign saw Oxtoby depart in January on maternity leave, with Matt Beard coming in as cover until the end of the season. A successful FA Continental Tyres League Cup run saw the Robins reach their first ever League Cup final, ultimately losing out to double-winning Chelsea at Vicarage Road. The Robins were fighting at the bottom of the table throughout the season and took the race for survival to the last day of the season but a 3-1 defeat to Brighton and Hove Albion condemned the club to relegation to the FA Women’s Championship. The summer of 2021 saw the return of former coach Lauren Smith, now at the helm. She began the summer with a rebuild, signing 11 new players and promoting seven Academy talents into the first team squad. City Women had a positive year, finishing 3rd in the Championship, breaking the league attendance record in their last home game of the season at Ashton Gate against Liverpool. Ahead of the 22/23 season Smith signed seven new recruits, including the permanent signing of Fran Bentley from Manchester United. After a phenomenal campaign they went into their final home game with the opportunity to clinch promotion back to the Barclays Women’s Super League and win the Championship title with a game in hand. In front of a club record crowd of more than 7,000 fans City did just that, beating Charlton Athletic 4-0 with goals from Grace Clinton, Abi Harrison, Brooke Aspin and Ffion Morgan. City Women returned to the top flight for the 2023/24 season and whilst the season was a difficult season on the pitch and saw them eventually relegated, there were plenty of off-pitch positives. Off the pitch, the season was a catalyst for growth at the team’s Ashton Gate home with an average attendance of 6,987 – the fifth highest in the WSL. In 2024/25 City Women finished sixth in Barclays Women’s Championship (WSL2) before a summer of recruitment ahead of pushing for promotion to Women’s Super League 1. In September of 2025, Mercury13, a the multi-club ownership group dedicated to the advancement of women’s football, acquired a significant majority stake in Bristol City Women. The first deal of its kind in English football is the group’s second investment in European football, following its entry into the Italian Serie A with the acquisition of Como Women in 2024. Mercury13 represent a new era of dedicated investment, infrastructure, and commercial innovation at Bristol City Women. Robins Pathway The club boasts an effective player pathway which, after its most successful season to date in 2022/23, was granted Category 1 Professional-Game Academy (PGA) status under an FA restructure, featuring an Under-16s and Under-21s squad. A club-funded Under-13s Emerging Talent Centre (ETC) completes the Robins Pathway, providing additional training and support for players registered with local grassroots teams to deliver an additional 1.5 hours of coaching per week. Several graduates from the PGA side now play for the City first team, with 12 current or former Robins Pathway players featuring for Lauren Smith’s promotion winning side in 2022/23, further indicating the ever-increasing success of the Academy set-up. HOW TO FIND US City Women will play their home fixtures at Ashton Gate for the 2025/26 season in the Barclays Women’s Championship. Address: Ashton Gate Stadium, Ashton Rd, Bristol BS3 2EJ TRAVEL INFO City Women Team News City Women Season Tickets on sale City Women Season Tickets set for sale City Women International Watch: June Syme shortlisted for PFA Players’ Player award Ward selected for international duty City Women confirm trio of departures SAFEGUARDING Our safeguarding team are here to make sure you feel comfortable in every aspect of your development. If you have any concern, please Click here to report a Safeguarding Concern or email safeguarding@bristol-sport.co.uk or call the safeguarding team on 07880 140411. FIND OUT MORE
Curated by Taleb Kabbara · Source: www.bcfc.co.uk