London City Lionesses

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London City Lionesses
LCL Crest.png
Full nameLondon City Lionesses Football Club
Founded13 May 2019;5 years ago (13 May 2019)
Ground Hayes Lane, Bromley
Capacity5,150
Owner Michele Kang
Head coach Jocelyn Prêcheur
League Women's Championship
2023–24 Women's Championship, 8th of 12
Website https://www.londoncitylionesses.com

London City Lionesses is a professional women's association football club based in Hayes, Bromley, England. [1] The team competes in the Women's Championship, the second tier of English women's football. The club was founded in May 2019, as an independent breakaway club from Millwall Lionesses. [2] [3]

Contents

History

On 13 May 2019, a statement was released by Millwall F.C. announcing that the board of directors and senior management at the team's official women's affiliate, Millwall Lionesses, had declared their intentions to split from the club, becoming an independent entity and operating under a new name. [4] [5] The breakaway was already agreed in principle by the FA. [6] The transfer of Millwall's Championship licence was officially approved by the FA on 29 June 2019. [7] The newly-independent club's operations were funded from 2019 by blockchain entrepreneur Anthony Culligan and his wife Diane, with Diane Culligan serving as chairwoman and running the club's operations. [1] [8]

The start of the 2022-23 season saw considerable optimism from club management after England's triumph in the 2022 Euros drove an increase in club season-ticket sales. [9] The Lionesses hit challenges later that season, however, with their manager Melissa Phillips resigning in January 2023 to take an assistant manager role with Angel City FC, despite the club sitting in first place. [10] [11] In June 2023, all 20 of the club's players sent a collective message to owner Diane Culligan asking her to sell the club or raise additional investment, citing financial instability, a lack of players signed for the upcoming season and the lack of a permanent manager. [12] On 15 December 2023, the Culligans sold the club to entrepreneur and Washington Spirit owner Michele Kang for an undisclosed price. [13]

On 27 June 2024 Kang announced [14] the signing of Kosovare Asllani, captain of the Sweden national side, and the appointment of Jocelyn Prêcheur, formerly of Paris St Germain, as the new manager. The signing of Asllani, who has previously played for Manchester City, Real Madrid and AC Milan, was described as "a statement of intent that will have raised eyebrows around the global women's game." [14] It was also announced that the club would move from Princes Park (Dartford) to Hayes Lane in Bromley under a ground-sharing agreement with Bromley F.C.

On 27 July 2024, Kang announced the launch of Kynisca Sports International Ltd., a worldwide multi-team organisation to provide the infrastructure to support the development of London City Lionesses alongside sister clubs Washington Spirit and Olympique Lyonnais Féminin. [15] [16] Under Kynisca, it was intended that each club would retain its own established identity, but that there would be a shared, central capability for aspects such as performance science and technology, data analytics, global scouting, and sporting staff development.

Players

Current squad

As of 28 October 2024. [17]

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

No.Pos.NationPlayer
1 GK Flag of Ireland.svg  IRL Grace Moloney
2 DF Flag of New Zealand.svg  NZL Grace Neville
3 DF Flag of Scotland.svg  SCO Emma Mukandi
4 DF Flag of England.svg  ENG Georgia Brougham
5 DF Flag of England.svg  ENG Teyah Goldie (on loan from Arsenal )
6 DF Flag of Ireland.svg  IRL Megan Campbell
7 MF Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg  CHN Shen Mengyu
8 MF Flag of England.svg  ENG Connie Scofield
9 FW Flag of Sweden.svg  SWE Kosovare Asllani
10 MF Flag of England.svg  ENG Gesa Marashi
11 FW Flag of Serbia.svg  SRB Miljana Ivanović
12 GK Flag of England.svg  ENG Hermione Cull
13 MF Flag of Cameroon.svg  CMR Charlène Meyong
14 MF Flag of Spain.svg  ESP María Pérez
No.Pos.NationPlayer
15 MF Flag of Sweden.svg  SWE Sofia Jakobsson
16 MF Flag of Sweden.svg  SWE Julia Roddar
17 MF Flag of England.svg  ENG Lucy Fitzgerald
18 FW Flag of England.svg  ENG Danielle Carter
19 FW Flag of Finland.svg  FIN Lotta Lindström
20 DF Flag of England.svg  ENG Maddi Wilde
22 DF Flag of England.svg  ENG Cerys Brown (on loan from Chelsea )
23 FW Flag of England.svg  ENG Isobel Goodwin
25 MF Flag of Nigeria.svg  NGA Rofiat Imuran
27 DF Flag of the United States.svg  USA Corrine Henson
28 GK Flag of England.svg  ENG Sophie Hillyerd
31 MF Flag of Ireland.svg  IRL Ruesha Littlejohn
32 GK Flag of England.svg  ENG Emily Orman (on loan from Chelsea )
33 FW Flag of England.svg  ENG Chantelle Boye-Hlorkah

Out on loan

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

No.Pos.NationPlayer
21 FW Flag of England.svg  ENG Amelia Ajao (at AFC Wimbledon Women until 30 June 2025)

Former players

Club staff

As of 26 June 2024. [18]
PositionStaff
Director of football Flag of England.svg Ronald Thompson
Manager Flag of France.svg Jocelyn Prêcheur
Goalkeeper coach Flag of England.svg Darren Smith

Managerial history

Information correct as of 27 June 2024. Only competitive matches are counted.

List of London City Lionesses managers
NameNationalityFromToPWDLGFGAWin% [nb 1] Notes
Chris PhillipsFlag of England.svg  England 13 May 201915 October 201974031116057.14 [19]
John Bayer (interim)Flag of England.svg  England 15 October 201927 May 2020144371727028.57 [19]
Lisa Fallon Flag of Ireland.svg  Ireland 27 May 20209 October 20205014211000.00 [20] [21]
Melissa Phillips Flag of the United States (23px).png  United States 9 October 202024 January 2023613112189265050.82 [22] [23]
Nikita Runnacles (interim)Flag of England.svg  England 24 January 20234 July 2023127052418058.33 [23]
Carolina Morace Flag of Italy.svg  Italy 4 July 20237 February 2024207492928035.00 [24] [25]
Darren Smith (interim)Flag of England.svg  England 7 February 20242 March 2024301228000.00 [25]
Remi Allen Flag of England.svg  England 2 March 20249 May 20246402109066.67 [26] [27]
Jocelyn Prêcheur Flag of France.svg  France 27 June 2024present000000!— [28]
  1. ↑ Win% is rounded to two decimal places

Seasons

Results of league and cup competitions by season
SeasonDivisionPWDLFAPtsPos FA Cup League Cup NameGoals
LeagueTop goalscorer [nb 1]
2019–20 Championship 158252524264th R4 GS Elizabeta Ejupi 4
2020–21 Championship 206681919246th R4 GS Atlanta Primus 4
2021–22 Championship 2213273522412nd R4 GS Karin Muya
Amy Rodgers 		7
2022–23 Championship 2214354920453rd R4 GS Sarah Ewens 14
2023–24 Championship 2274112636258th R5 QF Chantelle Boye-Hlorkah 8
  1. ↑ Goals in all competitions (Championship, FA Cup and League Cup are counted.)

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References

  1. 1 2 Wrack, Suzanne (18 August 2019). "'Equality has to be more than words': London City Lionesses go it alone". The Guardian.
  2. ↑ "London City Lionesses: Millwall Supporters Club "saddened" by women's team breakaway". BBC News. 13 May 2019. Archived from the original on 31 October 2020. Retrieved 14 May 2019.
  3. ↑ "London City Lionesses: Can a women's team thrive independently?". BBC Sport. 19 September 2019. Archived from the original on 20 September 2019. Retrieved 20 September 2019.
  4. ↑ "Club Statement: Millwall Lionesses". www.millwallfc.co.uk.
  5. ↑ McElwee, Molly (13 May 2019). "Millwall women's team to split from club and form new London City Lionesses outfit". The Telegraph.
  6. ↑ "London City Lionesses: FA Women's Football board approve Millwall switch". BBC News. 14 May 2019. Archived from the original on 15 April 2023. Retrieved 14 May 2019.
  7. ↑ "London City Lionesses". womenscompetitions.thefa.com.
  8. ↑ "The New Lionesses". FC Business. 8 January 2020. Retrieved 23 January 2024.
  9. ↑ Staunton, Peter (19 August 2022). "Meet the three-year old London football club ready to write more Lionesses history". Football London. Retrieved 23 January 2024.
  10. ↑ "Melissa Phillips: London City Lionesses manager leaves Women's Championship leaders". BBC Sport. 23 January 2023. Archived from the original on 23 January 2024. Retrieved 23 January 2024.
  11. ↑ Lacey-Hatton, Jack (24 January 2023). "Women's Championship league leaders lose manager to club owned by Hollywood A-listers". The Mirror. Retrieved 23 January 2024.
  12. ↑ Schoninger, Charlie (29 June 2023). "London City Lionesses ask owner to sell: No manager and only four players under contract". The Independent. Archived from the original on 23 December 2023. Retrieved 23 January 2024.
  13. ↑ "Washington Spirit owner Kang buys London City Lionesses". ESPN . ESPN News Services. 20 November 2021. Retrieved 15 December 2023.
  14. 1 2 Garry, Tom (27 June 2024). "London City Lionessesstart new era with Asllani signing". The Guardian. Retrieved 23 August 2024.
  15. ↑ "MICHELE KANG ANNOUNCES LAUNCH OF KYNISCA SPORTS INTERNATIONAL, LTD". London City Lionesses. 27 July 2024. Retrieved 23 November 2024.
  16. ↑ "Kynisca". Archived from the original on 26 November 2024. Retrieved 27 November 2024.
  17. ↑ "First Team Squad" . Retrieved 23 January 2024.
  18. ↑ "Club Staff | London City Lionesses".
  19. 1 2 "London City Lionesses sack manager Chris Phillips". 15 October 2019. Archived from the original on 22 October 2019. Retrieved 15 October 2019.
  20. ↑ "Lisa Fallon and Melissa Phillips announced as new London City Lionesses coaching team". London City Lionesses. 27 May 2020.
  21. ↑ "Lisa Fallon: London City Lionesses head coach steps down for family reasons". BBC Sport. 9 October 2020. Archived from the original on 29 June 2024. Retrieved 29 June 2024.
  22. ↑ "Phillips named London City head coach". BBC Sport.
  23. 1 2 "Melissa Phillips departs as London City Lionesses head coach". London City Lionesses. 24 January 2023. Archived from the original on 24 January 2023. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
  24. ↑ "Italian legend Morace appointed head coach of London City Lionesses". FAWSL Full-Time. 4 July 2023. Retrieved 5 July 2023.
  25. 1 2 "London City Lionesses part company with Carolina Morace & Nicola Williams". London City Lionesses. 7 February 2024.
  26. ↑ "London City Lionesses appoint Remi Allen as First Team Head Coach". London City Lionesses. 2 March 2024.
  27. ↑ "Remi Allen departs". London City Lionesses. 9 May 2024. Archived from the original on 27 June 2024. Retrieved 29 June 2024.
  28. ↑ "Jocelyn Prêcheur agrees to become London City Lionesses Head Coach". London City Lionesses. 27 June 2024. Archived from the original on 27 June 2024. Retrieved 29 June 2024.
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