Brighton & Hove Albion W.F.C.

Brighton & Hove Albion Women Football Club is an English women's football club affiliated with Brighton & Hove Albion. The club currently compete in the Women's Super League and the first team play at the Broadfield Stadium, home of Crawley Town F.C.

Brighton & Hove Albion
Full nameBrighton & Hove Albion Women Football Club
Nickname(s)The Seagulls,
The Albion
Founded1967 (1967) as Brighton GPO
GroundBroadfield Stadium, Crawley
Capacity6,135
ManagerMelissa Phillips
LeagueWomen's Super League
2022–23WSL, 11th of 12
WebsiteClub website

History

The club was originally founded in 1967 as Brighton GPO. This team was created by workers at the Post Office's telephone exchange. They were one of the founding six members of the Sussex Marlet Women's League in 1969 - which has now transitioned into the South East Counties Women's Football League, and in that same year, the Women's Football Association was founded.[1]

The club reached the semi-final of the FA Women's Cup in 1975–76.[2] In 1990 they linked up with the men's club and became founder members of the Premier League in 1991–92, in Division 1 South.

Before the club sold the ground, the club played three matches at the Goldstone Ground, the old home of Brighton's men's side, against Milton Keynes, Horsham and Whitehawk.[3]

Brighton & Hove Albion with the Sussex County Cup in March 2012

In 2015, the club set a five-year plan to reach the FA WSL 1 and UEFA Women's Champions League qualification.[4] That season they missed promotion to the FA WSL 2 though by finishing runners-up to Portsmouth. In 2015–16 they won the Southern Division and the following play-off against Northern Champions Sporting Club Albion.[5] Following the play-off victory, their promotion to the FA WSL 2 was confirmed.[6]

The team joined the FA WSL 1, the top tier of women's football in England, for the 2018–19 season having had their application to join the restructured league approved. During the day of the announcement of the promotion, the club also revealed they would relocate to Crawley Town's Broadfield Stadium for first team matches.[7]

Women's Super League (2018–present)

Albion's first season in the Women's Super League saw them finish ninth in what was then an 11 team league, finishing 19 points clear of relegated Yeovil Town. Hope Powell's team secured four wins from their 20 league matches, while Ellie Brazil finished as top scorer with four goals. Their first WSL win came in a 2–1 home win over Yeovil Town, with Jodie Brett and Victoria Williams getting on the scoresheet.

The 2019/20 season was curtailed with four games left to play due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, with Albion again finishing in ninth place in the WSL. Aileen Whelan finished as top scorer that campaign with five league goals, while Albion drew in their second league game of the season against Chelsea - just one of three sides who took a point off the eventual champions.

Powell would lead her side to their highest placed finish in the WSL in the 2020/21 season, finishing in sixth place. An opening day victory against Birmingham City marked one of just two victories Albion enjoyed in the league until February, before going on run that saw them win six of their last nine matches. That included a 2–1 victory over Chelsea, that ended their run of 33 matches unbeaten in league football. Summer signing Inessa Kaagman finished as top scorer with nine goals in all competitions, as they also recorded notable victories over Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United.

Managerial history
Name Nationality From To Ref.
James Marrs  England 11 June 2014 22 April 2016 [8][9]
George Parris (interim)  England 23 April 2016 18 July 2017 [9][10]
Hope Powell  England 19 July 2017 31 October 2022 [11]
Amy Merricks (interim)  England 31 October 2022 28 December 2022
Jens Scheuer  Germany 28 December 2022 6 March 2023 [12]
Amy Merricks (interim)  England 6 March 2023 7 April 2023 [13]
Melissa Phillips  United States 7 April 2023 present [14][15]

Former players

For details of current and former players with a Wikipedia article, see Category:Brighton & Hove Albion W.F.C. players.

Players and staff
Brighton & Hove Albion team in April 2018

Current squad
As of 27 September 2023

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 Belgium BEL Nicky Evrard (on loan from Chelsea)
2 DF Norway NOR Maria Thorisdottir
3 DF England ENG Poppy Pattinson
5 DF Norway NOR Guro Bergsvand
6 MF Spain ESP Vicky Losada (captain)
7 MF Greece GRE Veatriki Sarri
8 FW Germany GER Pauline Bremer
9 FW South Korea KOR Lee Geum-min
10 FW Sweden SWE Julia Zigiotti Olme
11 FW Norway NOR Elisabeth Terland
14 DF Colombia COL Jorelyn Carabalí
15 MF Australia AUS Mackenzie Hawkesby
No. Pos. Nation Player
16 DF Sweden SWE Emma Kullberg
17 MF Portugal POR Tatiana Pinto
18 MF England ENG Maisie Symonds
20 MF Serbia SRB Dejana Stefanović
21 MF United States USA Madison Haley
22 MF England ENG Katie Robinson
26 DF China CHN Li Mengwen
32 GK England ENG Sophie Baggaley
33 MF Australia AUS Charlize Rule
40 GK England ENG Katie Startup
51 FW England ENG Leah Lane
55 DF England ENG Eilish Mitchell

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
12 MF England ENG Libby Bance (at Rangers until 30 June 2024)
23 MF England ENG Lulu Jarvis (at Reading until 30 June 2024)
24 FW England ENG Chelsea Ferguson (at Blackburn Rovers until 30 June 2024)

Coaching staff
Position Name
Head coach Melissa Phillips
Assistant coach Perry Northeast
Goalkeeping coach Nikita Runnacles
Managing Director Zoe Johnson
Recruitment Manager Edward Gallagher
Physiotherapist Lisa Walsh
Lead analyst Edward Filmer
Club doctor Timothy Buck
Kit manager Maurice Bane

See also

References
  1. "Brighton & Hove Albion Women Football Club". vavel.com. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
  2. "Administrator: June Jaycocks". Women's Football Archive. Archived from the original on 2 March 2016. Retrieved 18 August 2019.
  3. Club, Brighton & Hove Albion Women Football. "Brighton & Hove Albion Women Football Club | Biography & Wiki | VAVEL International". VAVEL. Retrieved 15 April 2020.
  4. "Brighton & Hove Albion WFC's five-year Champions League plan". BBC Sport. 30 April 2015.
  5. "NEWS Archives".
  6. "Brighton & Hove Albion Women promotion to Women's Super League approved". BBC News. 2 June 2016. Retrieved 19 June 2016.
  7. "ALBION ACHIEVE TIER ONE STATUS". BBC News. 2 June 2016. Archived from the original on 13 July 2018. Retrieved 12 January 2018.
  8. Dalton, Neville (11 June 2014). "Marrs leaves Gillingham for Brighton Super League challenge". Sent Her Forward. Retrieved 18 June 2020.
  9. "Brighton dismiss women's manager James Marrs after disciplinary hearing". BBC Sport. BBC. 22 April 2016. Retrieved 18 June 2020.
  10. "George Parris to keep Brighton interim manager role for Spring Series". BBC Sport. BBC. 15 December 2016. Retrieved 18 June 2020.
  11. "Hope Powell: Brighton and Hove Albion Women appoint ex-England boss as new head coach". BBC Sport. BBC. 19 July 2017. Retrieved 18 June 2020.
  12. "Jens Scheuer confirmed as new women's head coach". Brighton & Hove Albion FC. 28 December 2022. Retrieved 1 January 2023.
  13. "Club statement: Jens Scheuer". Brighton & Hove Albion FC. 6 March 2023. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  14. "Albion Appoint Phillips". Brighton & Hove Albion FC. 7 April 2023. Retrieved 7 April 2023.
  15. "Brighton appoint Melissa Phillips as head coach of Women's Super League side". 7 April 2023. Retrieved 7 April 2023.
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