Manchester United W.F.C.

Manchester United Women Football Club is a professional football club based in Leigh, Greater Manchester, England, that competes in the Women's Super League (WSL), the top tier of English women's football, after gaining promotion from the Championship at the end of the 2018–19 season.

1970s–2001: Unofficial teams
Ratified in 1921, the ban by The Football Association prohibiting women's football from being played at any of its clubs was formally lifted in 1971.

An unofficial team called United Ladies of Manchester was formed circa 1970 by a group of Stretford Enders. They trained at the club's training ground, The Cliff, and arranged matches against other clubs' unofficial women's teams. Matt Busby, manager of the men's team at the time, was reportedly supportive.

Manchester United Supporters Club Ladies began operations in the late 1970s and was unofficially recognised as the club's senior women's team. In their earliest form they were a charity team that played fundraising matches and played its first game in October 1977. In 1979, the team joined the Three Counties League under the auspices of the Women's Football Association and started playing competitively. With the league covering a large area, United's committee campaigned for a local league and in 1982 the Women's FA approved the creation of the Manchester & District League, of which Manchester United Supporters Club Ladies was a founding member and won the first three seasons. In 1989, the combined Manchester & Merseyside League, North West Women's League, and the Three Counties League merged to form the North West Women's Regional Football League. The league was spread across four divisions and included 42 teams. At the same time, the team approached Manchester United F.C. for support and more formal backing. The club agreed and the team was allowed to use the name Manchester United Ladies FC, matches were advertised in the club's programme and the team was allowed to train at The Cliff. The team became increasingly competitive throughout the 1990s at various levels of the FA Women's National League up until 2001.

2001–2005: Partnership and disbandment
In 2001, the team formed an official partnership with Manchester United. However, the club began to stagnate with a string of successive mid-table finishes in the third division. The team were disbanded four years later, in 2005, shortly after Malcolm Glazer's completed takeover with the new regime deeming the women's team to not be part of the "core business" and unprofitable. A media spokesman for Manchester United also claimed the club wanted to focus on its women's academy instead of its senior team.

2018–present: Current team


In March 2018, Manchester United announced their intentions to reintroduce a women's football team. Manchester United Women Football Club were founded on 28 May 2018, following the club's successful application to join the newly-formed 2018–19 FA Women's Championship. It marked the club's return to women's football after a thirteen-year absence; though the club's academy continued via the Manchester United Foundation, with the likes of Izzy Christiansen and Katie Zelem being produced by United's Centre of Excellence academy. Casey Stoney was appointed as the club's first head coach on 8 June, with their inaugural 21-player squad announced just over a month later.

The team's first game back was on 19 August 2018, where they won 1–0 in an away game against Liverpool in the FA Women's League Cup, with Lizzie Arnot scoring their first competitive goal in thirteen years. Three weeks later, their opening Championship encounter ended in a 12–0 victory away to Aston Villa. On 17 April 2019, United secured promotion to the FA Women's Super League following a 5–0 win against the same opposition. They clinched the FA Women's Championship title three days later following a 7–0 win at home to Crystal Palace. In May 2019, Manchester United were named FA Women's Championship Club of the Year at the 2019 FA Women's Football Awards.

The 2019–20 season was the team's maiden FA WSL campaign. The season opener was a Manchester derby, held at the City of Manchester stadium. Manchester City won the match 1–0 in front of a then league record attendance of 31,213. United's first top-flight campaign was ended prematurely after the season was curtailed by the COVID-19 pandemic with the team awarded fourth place on a points per game basis. The last game was a 3–2 victory over Everton on 23 February 2020, with Leah Galton scoring twice and Ella Toone scoring once for Manchester United in the first game played at Everton's new Walton Hall Park stadium. In the FA Cup, Manchester United lost 3–2 to Manchester City in the fourth round, the first time they had lost in the first knockout round of a competition. However, they repeated their best League Cup finish by reaching the semi-finals for the second consecutive year, losing 1–0 to eventual cup winners Chelsea.

Manchester United Women played their first game at Old Trafford, against West Ham United, during the men's March 2021 international break. Manchester United won the game 2–0.

On 12 May 2021, Manchester United announced that Casey Stoney would stand down from her role as head coach at the end of the season. On 29 July 2021, Marc Skinner was announced as the new head coach on a two-year contract, with the option for a further year. Skinner confirmed in March 2023 that the 12-month extension option was triggered, keeping him at the club until 2024. Later that season the team reached a major cup final for the first time, losing 1–0 to Chelsea in the 2023 Women's FA Cup final at Wembley Stadium. After finishing as runners-up in the WSL, the team qualified for the UEFA Women's Champions League for the first time ahead of the 2023–24 season. United were drawn against Paris Saint-Germain in the second qualifying round and earned a 1–1 draw at home before a 3–1 defeat in the second leg ended the debut European campaign.

On 12 May 2024, United defeated Tottenham Hotspur 4–0 in the 2024 Women's FA Cup final to win their first major title.

Ground


Following the club's acceptance into the 2018–19 FA Women's Championship, it was revealed that the women's team would be based in Broughton, Salford at The Cliff training ground; subject to completion of redevelopment work. United were to play their fixtures at Leigh Sports Village until this was completed, however the stadium has become the club's official home ground as the return to The Cliff never materialised. Moss Lane served as a backup venue, during the teams early years, when Leigh Sports Village is unavailable. Ewen Fields has also been used as a contingency plan, hosting United's FA Cup fifth round match against London Bees in February 2019. In March 2021, it was announced that the women's team would play their first ever game at Old Trafford later that month against West Ham United. In March 2022, the team played for the second time at Old Trafford and the first with fans present, beating Everton 3–1 in front of a club record 20,241 fans.

Managerial statistics
''Information correct as of 18 May 2024. Only competitive matches are counted.''

Honours

 * Women's FA Cup
 * Winners: 2023–24


 * FA Women's Championship
 * Winners: 2018–19

Key

 * QR2 = Second qualifying round
 * GS = Group stage
 * QF = Quarter-finals
 * SF = Semi-finals

Reserves and academy
Despite not having a senior women's team for many years, Manchester United have continued to run a girls regional talent club up to under-16 level in accordance with FA regulations. The club's partner charity, The Manchester United Foundation, also works in coaching girls at all ages across the Greater Manchester region. Ahead of the 2019–20 season, Manchester United entered a full-time U21 team into the FA WSL Academy League for the first time, managed by Charlotte Healy. The club's development team had contested the WSL Academy Cup final against Arsenal the previous season.

Academy honours
Under-21 Team


 * Professional Game Academy
 * National play-off winners: 2023–24
 * Northern Division: 2023–24
 * FA WSL Academy League
 * National play-off winners: 2021–22
 * Northern Division: 2021–22
 * FA WSL Academy Cup: 1
 * 2021–22

Under-16 Team


 * U16 Professional Game Academy Cup: 1
 * 2023–24

Academy graduates
The following is a list of academy players who have made senior team appearances. Bold indicates the player is still at the club.
 * 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 Carrie Jones
 * 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Ella Toone
 * 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Emily Ramsey
 * 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Fran Bentley
 * 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Gabby George
 * 🇳🇴 Karna Solskjær
 * 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Katie Zelem
 * Kirsty Hanson
 * 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Millie Turner
 * 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Naomi Hartley
 * 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Rebecca May
 * 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Tara Bourne