Crystal Palace F.C. (Women)

Crystal Palace Football Club Women, formerly known as Crystal Palace Ladies Football Club, is a women's association football club based in south-east London which competes in the FA Women's Championship. The club, known as the "Eagles", is affiliated to Crystal Palace F.C., the men's equivalent. The women's section encompasses the under-9 age group through to senior level, including an academy at The Priory School in Orpington. The club plays their home matches at Hayes Lane, after forming a partnership with Bromley F.C. in 2014.

Crystal Palace Women
Full nameCrystal Palace Football Club Women
Nickname(s)The Eagles
Founded1992
GroundHayes Lane, Bromley
Capacity5,000
ChairmanRichard Spokes
ManagerDean Davenport
LeagueWomen's Championship
2022–23Women's Championship, 5th of 12
WebsiteClub website

History

The club was formed in 1992 as Crystal Palace Ladies F.C.. Since 2003, the club has risen up England's football pyramid, winning the South East Combination Women's Football League in 2003–04, and later achieved their first cup success beating Chelsea in the Surrey FA County Cup Final in 2011. Palace reached the FA Women's Premier League in 2013–14. The club won the Division One title in 2015–16 after going the whole season undefeated and also won the Surrey FA County Cup that same season beating AFC Wimbledon in the final.

In 2018, The Guardian newspaper claimed that the Crystal Palace Ladies reserve team players were told "they face not being able to represent the club any longer if they cannot each raise £250 in sponsorship, or put up the money themselves", though the club reported this as "inaccurate." The Crystal Palace F.C. men's star first team player Wilfried Zaha, who had just signed a new contract made "a substantial financial contribution" to help subsidise the club's female section. The club issued a statement: "Everyone knows what Crystal Palace means to Wilf and he wants to give the same opportunities to the next generation of aspiring players at Palace Ladies that he enjoyed when coming up through junior teams."[1]

In 2019, the women's team was featured in Harry's Heroes: The Full English, a television documentary shown on ITV. They lost 1–0 to a team of male former professional footballers.[2]

On 10 June 2019, the club announced it would play as "Crystal Palace FC" instead of "Crystal Palace Ladies F.C." following the growing trend within the women's game to move away from the term "Ladies".[3]

Players

Current squad

As of 2 February 2023[4]

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 England ENG Fran Kitching
2 DF England ENG Annabel Johnson
3 DF England ENG Felicity Gibbons
4 MF Scotland SCO Chloe Arthur
5 MF Wales WAL Anna Filbey
6 DF England ENG Aimee Everett
8 FW England ENG Molly Sharpe
9 FW England ENG Rianna Dean
10 FW England ENG Annabel Blanchard
11 MF Scotland SCO Kirsten Reilly
12 DF England ENG Lizzie Waldie
No. Pos. Nation Player
13 GK England ENG Natalia Negri
14 FW Jamaica JAM Paige Bailey-Gayle
15 DF England ENG Hollie Olding
16 MF England ENG Ellie Noble
17 MF England ENG Isabella Sibley
19 FW Wales WAL Elise Hughes
20 DF Australia AUS Polly Doran (on loan from Melbourne Victory)
21 MF England ENG Shauna Guyatt
22 GK England ENG Hope Smith
23 MF England ENG Coral-Jade Haines
24 MF Scotland SCO Leigh Nicol

Former players

Club staff

Position Name
Chairman England Richard Spokes
Vice Chairman England John Harney
Director of Football Italy Alberto Kurti
Honorary President England Bill Nighy
Manager England Dean Davenport
Assistant manager England Ritchie Callaghan
First team coach England Kirk Stoneham
Goalkeeping Coach England Lee Heywood
Strength and conditioning coach England Chico Lyons
Sports Therapist England Laila Braam
Matchday announcer/TV Presenter England Matt Hall
Cameraman England Ronan Howard

Honours

Leagues

Cups

  • Surrey County Cup Winners (2): 2011, 2016

See also

References

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