London City Lionesses

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This article is about the association football club formed under this name in 2019. For its origins, see Millwall Lionesses L.F.C.

London City Lionesses
Full nameLondon City Lionesses Football Club
Founded13 May 2019; 4 years ago (13 May 2019)
GroundPrinces Park, Dartford
Capacity4,100
OwnerMichele Kang
Head coachRemi Allen
LeagueWomen's Championship
2022–23Women's Championship, 3rd of 12
WebsiteClub website

London City Lionesses is a professional women's association football club based in Dartford, 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]

History[edit]

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]

Players[edit]

Current squad[edit]

As of 4 October 2023.[14]

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 Republic of Ireland IRL Grace Moloney
2 DF New Zealand NZL Grace Neville
3 DF Scotland SCO Emma Mukandi
4 DF England ENG Georgia Brougham
6 MF Venezuela VEN Sonia O'Neill
7 DF England ENG Lois Joel
8 MF England ENG Connie Scofield
10 MF Jamaica JAM Izzy Groves
11 FW England ENG Tinaya Alexander
12 GK England ENG Hermione Cull
No. Pos. Nation Player
13 FW New Zealand NZL Paige Satchell
17 MF England ENG Lucy Fitzgerald
18 FW England ENG Danielle Carter
20 DF England ENG Maddi Wilde
22 DF Canada CAN Paige Culver
28 GK England ENG Sophie Hillyerd
31 MF Republic of Ireland IRL Ruesha Littlejohn
32 DF England ENG Leanne Cowan
33 FW England ENG Chantelle Boye-Hlorkah
71 MF Republic of Ireland IRL Niamh Farrelly
TBD MF Republic of Ireland IRL Megan Campbell
— MF Finland FIN Lotta Lindström

Former players[edit]

For details of current and former players, see Category:London City Lionesses players.

Club staff[edit]

As of 27 February 2024.[15]
Position Staff
Manager England Remi Allen
Assistant coach Australia Nicola Williams
Goalkeeper coach England Darren Smith
Performance analyst England Beth Wood
Lead strength & conditioning coach England Stuart Pearce
Lead sports therapist England Laura Clint
Nutritionist England Jake Elliott
Kit & Equipment Manager England Ciaran Williams

Managerial history[edit]

Information correct as of 4 July 2023. Only competitive matches are counted.

List of London City Lionesses managers
Name Nationality From To P W D L GF GA Win%[nb 1] Notes
Chris Phillips  England 13 May 2019 15 October 2019 7 4 0 3 11 16 057.14 [16]
John Bayer (interim)  England 15 October 2019 27 May 2020 14 4 3 7 17 27 028.57 [16]
Lisa Fallon  Ireland 27 May 2020 9 October 2020 5 0 1 4 2 11 000.00 [17]
Melissa Phillips  United States 9 October 2020 24 January 2023 61 31 12 18 92 65 050.82 [18]
Nikita Runnacles (interim)  England 24 January 2023 4 July 2023 12 7 0 5 24 18 058.33 [19]
Carolina Morace  Italy 4 July 2023 present 0 0 0 0 0 0 !— [20]
  1. ^ Win% is rounded to two decimal places

Seasons[edit]

Results of league and cup competitions by season
Season Division P W D L F A Pts Pos FA Cup League Cup Name Goals
League Top goalscorer[nb 1]
2019–20 Championship 15 8 2 5 25 24 26 4th R4 GS Elizabeta Ejupi 4
2020–21 Championship 20 6 6 8 19 19 24 6th R4 GS Atlanta Primus 4
2021–22 Championship 22 13 2 7 35 22 41 2nd R4 GS Karin Muya
Amy Rodgers 		7
2022–23 Championship 22 14 3 5 49 20 45 3rd R4 GS Sarah Ewens 14
  1. ^ Goals in all competitions (Championship, FA Cup and League Cup are counted.)

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b 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. Retrieved 14 May 2019.
  3. ^ "London City Lionesses: Can a women's team thrive independently?". 19 September 2019 – via www.bbc.co.uk.
  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. 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. "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. Retrieved 23 January 2024.
  11. ^ Lacey-Hatton, Jack. "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. 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. ^ "First Team Squad". Retrieved 23 January 2024.
  15. ^ "Club Staff Members". Retrieved 4 October 2023.
  16. ^ a b "London City Lionesses sack manager Chris Phillips". 15 October 2019. Retrieved 15 October 2019.
  17. ^ "Lisa Fallon and Melissa Phillips announced as new London City Lionesses coaching team". London City Lionesses. 27 May 2020.
  18. ^ "Phillips named London City head coach". BBC Sport.
  19. ^ "Melissa Phillips departs as London City Lionesses head coach". London City Lionesses. 24 January 2023.
  20. ^ "Italian legend Morace appointed head coach of London City Lionesses". FAWSL Full-Time. 4 July 2023. Retrieved 5 July 2023.

External links[edit]

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