Chelsea F.C. Women

"Chelsea Women" redirects here. For various subjects titled Chelsea Girls, see Chelsea Girl (disambiguation).

Chelsea FC Women

Full name	Chelsea Football Club Women
Nickname(s)	The Blues
Founded	1992;31 years ago (1992) [1]
Ground	Kingsmeadow, Kingston upon Thames, London
Capacity	4,850
Presidents	John Terry [2] Peter Steward
Chairman	Adrian Jacob [3]
Manager	Emma Hayes
League	Women's Super League
2021–22	FA WSL, 1st of 12 (champions)
Website	Club website
Home colours Away colours Third colours
Current season

Imperial Fields, Chelsea's home ground in 2011

Chelsea Football Club Women, formerly known as Chelsea Ladies Football Club, are an English women's football club based in Norbiton that competes in the Women's Super League, the top flight of women's football in England. Since 2004, the club has been affiliated with Chelsea F.C., a men's team in the Premier League. Chelsea Women were a founding member of the Super League in 2010. From 2005 to 2010, the side competed in the Premier League National Division, the top tier of women's football in England at the time.

The club has won a record five Women's Super League championships, as well as the FA WSL Spring Series in 2017, and has the second-highest number of outright league championships after Arsenal. They have also won four Women's FA Cup titles, two FA Women's League Cup titles, and were Women's FA Community Shield winners in 2020. They reached their first UEFA Women's Champions League final in 2021, where they were defeated by Barcelona Femení.

History

Establishment

Chelsea Ladies Football Club was formed in 1992 after supporters of Chelsea F.C. expressed desire for a women's side. ^[4] In June 2004, Chelsea Ladies voted to be taken over and funded by Chelsea's Football in the Community department. ^[5] The club then won promotion as champions from the Southern Division in 2004–05 to the Premier League National Division and have 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. ^[6] 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. ^[7] During the season the club had been linked with a transfer bid for North American star players Tiffeny Milbrett and Christine Sinclair. ^[8]

After an eighth-place finish in 2006–07, Gore drafted in England players Siobhan Chamberlain, Casey Stoney and Eniola Aluko that summer. ^[9] 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. ^[10]

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, ^[11] in addition to veteran Mary Phillip. Then Arsenal Ladies manager Vic Akers criticised his former players as disrespectful, ^[11] 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, ^[12] 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. ^[13] Jones departed as manager in January 2009, leaving Stoney to act as player/manager. ^[14]

At Stoney's recommendation, Matt Beard became manager for 2009–10. ^[2] Cuts to the Ladies club's funding were offset by financial assistance from John Terry and other Chelsea F.C. players. ^[2] A further blow arrived when Sanderson left for the 2010 WPS season. ^[15]

Women's Super League (WSL), 2011–present

The club bid successfully to be one of eight founding teams in the FA Women's Super League in March 2011. ^[16] 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. ^[17] 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. ^[18] In July 2012, Matt Beard resigned as manager after three years in the post. ^[19]

Former assistant at Arsenal, Emma Hayes, was brought in as manager in 2012, who was one of the first female managers in the WSL. ^[3] In Hayes' first season in charge, Chelsea, who were still a part-time professional club, ^[3] finished third-bottom of the League. ^[20] The following season, they finished second from the bottom. ^[21] The club subsequently went full-time. ^[3]

The 2014 season was successful for Chelsea, as they finished second in the FA Women's Super League behind Liverpool on goal difference, after eight wins, two draws and four losses. ^[22] 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. ^[23]

Chelsea players celebrating their first FA Women's League Cup win in 2020.

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. ^[24] The team then beat Sunderland 4–0 in October 2015 to secure the FA WSL title and a League and Cup double. ^[25] 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. ^[26] On 23 May 2018, the club rebranded as Chelsea Football Club Women. ^[27]

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. ^{[28] [29]}

Chelsea began the 2020–21 season by winning their first ever FA Community Shield, against Manchester City. ^[30] The season also saw them win their second consecutive League Cup, winning 6–0 against Bristol City. ^[31] Chelsea and manager Hayes won their fourth WSL title, the most by any WSL team, by two points on the final day of the 2020–21 FA WSL season with a 5–0 victory over Reading. ^[32] Chelsea broke the records for most wins (18) and most points (57) in a season, and 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. ^[28] Given their remarkable performances over the season, Suzzane Wrack of The Guardian stated that Chelsea was "one of the best women's teams to ever play in England's top flight". ^[33] On 16 May 2021, Chelsea, on course for a quadruple , lost 4–0 to Barcelona ^[34] in their first-ever Champions League final appearance. ^[35] 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, helping clinch the trophy and their first domestic treble. ^[36]

Stadium

Chelsea Women play at Kingsmeadow in Norbiton, Kingston upon Thames, London. Chelsea F.C. purchased Kingsmeadow for the Women from its former occupant AFC Wimbledon, so that Wimbledon could finance their new ground, Plough Lane. ^[37] Kingsmeadow has a capacity of 4,850. ^[38]

Between 2012 and 2017, the team played their home games at Wheatsheaf Park. ^[39] The stadium is located in Staines-upon-Thames, Middlesex and features capacity for 3,002 spectators. ^[40]

The team previously played at Imperial Fields during the 2011–12 season, the home ground of Tooting & Mitcham United. ^[41]

Attendance

The current home attendance record of a Chelsea Women's match is 38,350, set on 20 November 2022 during the 2022–23 Women's Super League season match against Tottenham Hotspur, played at Stamford Bridge. ^[42] 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. ^[43]

Players

Current squad

As of 22 January 2023. ^[44]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK   SWE Zećira Mušović 4 DF   ENG Millie Bright (vice-captain) 5 MF   WAL Sophie Ingle 7 DF   ENG Jessica Carter 8 MF   GER Melanie Leupolz 10 FW   ENG Lauren James 11 MF   NOR Guro Reiten 13 MF   CZE Kateřina Svitková 14 FW   ENG Fran Kirby 15 DF   FRA Ève Périsset 16 DF   SWE Magdalena Eriksson (captain) 17 MF   CAN Jessie Fleming

No. Pos. Nation Player 18 DF   NOR Maren Mjelde 19 MF   SWE Johanna Rytting Kaneryd 20 FW   AUS Sam Kerr 21 DF   ENG Niamh Charles 22 MF   SCO Erin Cuthbert 23 MF   DEN Pernille Harder 26 DF   CAN Kadeisha Buchanan 27 DF   RUS Alsu Abdullina 28 MF   SRB Jelena Čanković 30 GK   GER Ann-Katrin Berger 32 GK   ENG Emily Orman

Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player — DF   ENG Jorja Fox (at Brighton & Hove Albion until June 2023) — DF   NED Aniek Nouwen (at Milan until June 2023) — MF   ENG Charlotte Wardlaw (at Lewes until June 2023) — FW   ENG Aggie Beever-Jones (at Everton until June 2023)

No. Pos. Nation Player — FW   JPN Maika Hamano (at Hammarby IF until December 2023) — FW   ENG Emma Thompson(at Lewes until June 2023) — FW   ENG Lucy Watson(at Charlton Athletic until June 2023)

Development Squad and Academy

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 31 FW   ENG Aimee Claypole 36 MF   ENG Ashanti Akpan

No. Pos. Nation Player 37 FW   ENG Reanna Blades 38 DF   ENG Cerys Brown

Former players

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

Player of the Year

Year	Player	Position	Ref.
2015	Eniola Aluko	Forward	[45]
2016	Katie Chapman	Midfielder	[45]
2017	Karen Carney	Midfielder	[45]
2017–18	Fran Kirby	Forward	[45]
2018–19	Erin Cuthbert	Midfielder	[45]
2019–20	Bethany England	Forward	[46]
2020–21	Fran Kirby	Forward	[47]
2021–22	Sam Kerr	Forward	[48]

Management team

As of 16 December 2022 ^[49]

Position	Staff
Manager	Emma Hayes
Assistant manager	Paul Green
Assistant coach	Denise Reddy
Assistant coach	Tanya Oxtoby
Head of technical / Goalkeeping coach	Stuart Searle
Movement coach	Harry McCulloch
Performance analyst	Ferdia O'Hanrahan
Scouting co-ordinator / Academy coach	TJ O'Leary

Honours

Chelsea players celebrating winning the 2014–15 FA Women's Cup.

Chelsea's first major trophy was the Women's FA Cup, won in 2015. In the same year, the club also won its first League title. After winning the 2021–22 FA Women's Super League (FA WSL) season, Chelsea became the first team to win the WSL title for three seasons in a row. ^[50] Their most recent success came in May 2022, when they won their fourth FA Cup title.

Domestic competitions

League titles

• Women's Super League
  • Winners (5): 2015, 2017–18, 2019–20, 2020–21, 2021–22
  • Runners-up (2): 2014, 2016

• FA WSL Spring Series
  • Winners (1): 2017 ^{[lower-alpha 1]}

• Premier League Southern Division
  • Winners (1): 2004–05

Cups

• Women's FA Cup
  • Winners (4): 2014–15, 2017–18, 2020–21, 2021–22
  • Runners-up (2): 2011–12, 2015–16

• FA Women's League Cup
  • Winners (2): 2019–20, 2020–21
  • Runners-up (2): 2021–22, 2022–23

• Women's FA Community Shield
  • Winners (1): 2020

• Surrey County Cup ^[53]
  • 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

Notes

1. The 2017 Spring Series was a shortened competition played in a single round-robin format, ^[51] and is not considered an official WSL title by the FA. ^[52]

European competitions

• UEFA Women's Champions League

Runners-up (1): 2020–21

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

Trebles

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

Season-by-season records

Seasons of Chelsea F.C. Women

Season	Women's Super League								FA Cup	League Cup	Community Shield	Champions League
	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	Pts	Pos
2011	14	4	3	7	14	19	15	6th	Fifth round	Quarter-finals	Not held	Did not qualify
2012	14	5	2	7	20	23	17	6th	Runners-up	Group Stage		Did not qualify
2013	14	3	1	10	20	27	10	7th	Fifth round	Group Stage		Did not qualify
2014	14	8	2	4	23	16	26	2nd	Semi-finals	Semi-finals		Did not qualify
2015	14	10	2	2	30	10	32	Champions	Winners	Quarter-finals		Round of 16
2016	16	12	1	3	42	17	37	2nd	Runners-up	First round		Round of 32
2017 [lower-alpha 1]	8	6	1	1	32	3	19	Champions [lower-alpha 1]	Semi-finals	—		—
2017–18	18	13	5	0	44	13	44	Champions	Winners	Semi-finals		Semi-finals
2018–19	20	12	6	2	46	14	42	3rd	Semi-finals	Semi-finals		Semi-finals
2019–20	15	12	3	0	47	11	39	Champions	Quarter-finals	Winners		Did not qualify
2020–21	22	18	3	1	69	10	57	Champions	Winners	Winners	Winners	Runners-up
2021–22	22	18	2	2	62	11	56	Champions	Winners	Runners-up	Not held	Group stage

1. The FA WSL Spring Series was an interim edition of the FA WSL between the sixth and seventh full 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.

Season	Round	Opponents	Home	Away	Aggregate
2015–16	Round of 32	Glasgow City	1–0	3–0	4–0
	Round of 16	VfL Wolfsburg	1–2	0–2	1–4
2016–17	Round of 32	VfL Wolfsburg	0–3	1–1	1–4
2017–18	Round of 32	Bayern Munich	1–0	1–2	2–2 (a)
	Round of 16	Rosengård	3–0	1–0	4–0
	Quarter-final	Montpellier	3–1	2–0	5–1
	Semi-final	VfL Wolfsburg	1–3	0–2	1–5
2018–19	Round of 32	SFK 2000	6–0	5–0	11–0
	Round of 16	Fiorentina	1–0	6–0	7–0
	Quarter-final	Paris Saint-Germain	2–0	1–2	3–2
	Semi-final	Lyon	1–1	1–2	2–3
2020–21	Round of 32	Benfica	3–0	5–0	8–0
Round of 16	Atlético Madrid	2–0	1–1	3–1
Quarter-final	VfL Wolfsburg	2–1	3–0	5–1
Semi-final	Bayern Munich	4–1	1–2	5–3
Final	Barcelona	0–4
2021–22	Group stage	VfL Wolfsburg	3–3	0–4	3rd place (Group A)
		Juventus	0–0	2–1
		Servette	1–0	7–0
2022–23	Group stage	Paris Saint-Germain	3–0	1–0	1st place (Group A)
		Vllaznia	8–0	4–0
		Real Madrid	2–0	1–1
	Quarter-final	Lyon		1–0

UEFA club coefficient ranking

Main article: UEFA coefficient § Women's Club coefficient

Rank	Team	Points
1	Lyon	128.666
2	Barcelona	112.233
3	VfL Wolfsburg	102.133
4	Paris Saint-Germain	85.666
5	Bayern Munich	84.133
6	Chelsea	78.200

As of 12 August 2022 ^[54]

References

1. "Chelsea FC Women [Women]". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 4 February 2023.
2. Leighton, Tony (18 October 2009). "John Terry digs deep to rescue Chelsea Ladies after funding cuts". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 17 May 2010.
3. Kinsella, Nizaar (16 May 2021). "Abramovich took Chelsea Women from playing before '100 people and a dog' to a Champions League final". goal.com. Archived from the original on 16 May 2021.
4. "Club history". Chelsea L.F.C. Archived from the original on 13 December 2013. Retrieved 8 December 2013.
5. "Chelsea FC Take Over Ladies". Fair Game. Archived from the original on 30 June 2012. Retrieved 17 May 2010.
6. "Chelsea Sack Manager". Fair Game. Archived from the original on 30 June 2012. Retrieved 17 May 2010.
7. "Sunderland & Chelsea Survive Play-Offs". Fair Game. Archived from the original on 8 February 2008. Retrieved 17 May 2010.
8. Cocozza, Paula (13 February 2006). "Tiffeny breaks Chelsea fast". The Guardian . Retrieved 25 October 2015.
9. "Chelsea Ladies Start Season". Chelsea F.C. Archived from the original on 3 December 2007. Retrieved 17 May 2010.
10. "Lorrie Fair Joins Chelsea". Fair Game. Archived from the original on 30 June 2012. Retrieved 17 May 2010.
11. "Chelsea Ladies sign Arsenal pair". BBC. 3 July 2008. Retrieved 17 May 2010.
12. "Mary Phillip Retires". Fair Game. Archived from the original on 30 June 2012. Retrieved 17 May 2010.
13. "Chelsea F.C. likes the Carolina way". The Chapel Hill News. Archived from the original on 16 June 2011. Retrieved 17 May 2010.
14. "FA Women's Cup Quarter-Finals". Fair Game. 22 February 2009. Archived from the original on 30 June 2012. Retrieved 9 December 2009.
15. Leighton, Tony (24 January 2010). "Lianne Sanderson cites Super League delay as reason for US move". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 8 March 2010.
16. "Lincoln Ladies FA Women's Super League bid success". BBC. 22 March 2010. Retrieved 2 April 2010.
17. "Whole new ball game: How Chelsea Women kicked off WSL era 10 years ago today". Chelsea F.C. 13 April 2021. Archived from the original on 16 May 2021.
18. Nisbet, John (27 May 2012). "Shoot-out has unhappy ending for Chelsea Ladies". The Independent . Retrieved 27 May 2012.
19. "Matt Beard leaves Chelsea". She Kicks. 6 July 2012. Archived from the original on 13 December 2013. Retrieved 7 July 2012.
20. "2012 Table – Women's Super League". soccerway.com. Retrieved 20 May 2022.
21. "2013 Table – Women's Super League". soccerway.com. Retrieved 20 May 2022.
22. "2014 Table – Women's Super League". soccerway.com. Retrieved 20 May 2022.
23. "Chapman targets Wembley double". Sporting Life. 28 July 2015. Archived from the original on 15 January 2016. Retrieved 25 October 2015. Chelsea Ladies turned full-time at the beginning of this season and are based alongside the men at the club's Cobham training complex.
24. "Chelsea lift FA Cup in front of record crowd". She Kicks. 2 August 2015. Archived from the original on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 2 August 2015.
25. Garry, Tom (4 October 2015). "WSL 1: Chelsea Ladies 4–0 Sunderland Ladies". BBC Sport . Retrieved 8 October 2015.
26. Hunt, Josh (15 May 2018). "Bristol City Women 0–2 Chelsea Ladies". BBC Sport . Retrieved 16 May 2018.
27. "Chelsea: Women's Super League champions renamed Chelsea FC Women". BBC Sport. 23 May 2018. Retrieved 24 May 2018.
28. Marsh, Charlotte (9 May 2021). "Chelsea Women win 2020/21 Women's Super League title with Man City Women second, Bristol City Women relegated". Sky Sports. Archived from the original on 10 May 2021.
29. "Aluko: 'Relentless' Chelsea the best team in the world". Sky Sports. 10 May 2021. Archived from the original on 10 May 2021.
30. "Chelsea 2–0 Man City in Women's Community Shield: Millie Bright stunner helps Blues win". BBC Sport. 29 August 2020. Retrieved 20 May 2022.
31. "Bristol City Women 0–6 Chelsea Women: Fran Kirby inspires Blues to League Cup triumph". BBC Sport. 14 March 2021. Retrieved 20 May 2022.
32. "Chelsea vs. Reading – Football Match Report – May 9, 2021". ESPN. Retrieved 20 May 2022.
33. Wrack, Suzzane (10 May 2021). "How Emma Hayes turned Chelsea from also-rans to all-conquerors". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 10 May 2021.
34. Wrack, Suzzane (16 May 2021). "Barcelona stun Chelsea with early blitz to win Women's Champions League". The Guardian. Gothenburg. Archived from the original on 16 May 2021.
35. "Barcelona beats Chelsea 4–0 to win Women's Champions League final for first time". Gothenburg. Associated Press. 17 May 2021. Archived from the original on 24 May 2021 – via The Hindu.
36. "Chelsea secure treble with FA Cup victory". BBC Sport. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
37. "Welcome to Chelsea Ladies".
38. "Kingsmeadow Stadium, Kingston (England)". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 20 May 2022.
39. "Chelsea Ladies to play at Kingsmeadow". BBC Sport. 25 May 2017. Retrieved 20 June 2022.
40. "Wheatsheaf Park". Soccerway. Retrieved 8 December 2013.
41. Lomas, Mark (14 April 2011). "A new day for women's football". ESPN. Retrieved 8 December 2013.
42. "Chelsea ease past Tottenham as Emma Hayes returns to Blues dugout". The Independent. 20 November 2022. Retrieved 20 November 2022.
43. "The History of Chelsea Women". Chelsea F.C. Retrieved 29 April 2022.
44. "Chelsea Women". Chelsea F.C. Retrieved 3 January 2023.
45. "Chelsea Women's awards go to Erin Cuthbert and Sophie Ingle". Chelsea F.C. Retrieved 29 December 2021.
46. "Chelsea Women's Player of the Year – awarded to Bethany England". Chelsea F.C. Retrieved 29 December 2021.
47. "Kirby named Chelsea Women's Player of the Year". Chelsea F.C. Retrieved 29 December 2021.
48. "Sam Kerr named Chelsea Women's Player of the Season". Chelsea F.C. 22 May 2022. Retrieved 10 June 2022.
49. "Chelsea Women Staff". Chelsea F.C. Retrieved 16 December 2022.
50. "Women's Super League: Chelsea win historic third title in a row". BBC. 9 May 2022. Retrieved 20 May 2022.
51. "FA WSL Throwback: Chelsea blossom in 2017 Spring Series". The Football Association. Retrieved 20 May 2022.
52. "Barclays WSL club guide for 2022–23 season". womenscompetitions.thefa.com. Retrieved 1 August 2022.
53. "Womens Cup Previous Winners". surreyfa.com. Archived from the original on 16 July 2015. Retrieved 19 May 2022.
54. "Women's club coefficients – UEFA Coefficients". UEFA. Retrieved 12 August 2022.

External links

• Official website
• Chelsea Women at Soccerway