Manchester United W.F.C.

Manchester United Women Football Club is a professional football club. It is located in the Salford suburb of Broughton, Greater Manchester, England. It is about 1.5 miles from Manchester city centre. It plays in the Women's Super League (WSL). This is the highest level of English women's football. United were promoted from the Championship at the end of the 2018–19 season. They train at Leigh Sports Village. However, the team will move to The Cliff when redevelopment work is done.

History

1970s–2001: Unofficial team
A team called Manchester United Supporters Club Ladies started playing in the late 1970s. It was unofficially known as the club's first women's team. They helped start the North West Women's Regional Football League in 1989. The team played better and better in the 90s at different levels of the FA Women's National League, until 2001.

2001–2005: Partnership and disbandment

In 2001, the team started an official partnership with Manchester United. However, the club finished mid-table in the third division for a few years. The team stopped playing four years later, in 2005. This was soon after Malcolm Glazer's bought the club. He did not believe the women's team was going to make him any money. A media spokesman for Manchester United also said that 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 they wanted to start a new women's football team. Manchester United Women Football Club started again on 28 May 2018. This was after the team asked to join the new 2018–19 FA Women's Championship. This was thirteen years after the club stopped playing in 2005. The club's academy had continued through the Manchester United Foundation. For example, Izzy Christiansen and Katie Zelem went through United's Centre of Excellence academy. Casey Stoney was the club's first head coach. She became coach on 8 June. They announced the first 21-player team about a month later.

The team's first game back was on 19 August 2018. They won 1–0 in an away game against Liverpool in the FA Women's League Cup. Lizzie Arnot scored their first competitive goal in thirteen years. Three weeks later, they played their first Championship match. They won 12–0 against Aston Villa. On 17 April 2019, United won promotion to the FA Women's Super League after a 5–0 win against the same team. They won the FA Women's Championship title three days later. This was after 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 first FA WSL campaign. The season's first game was a Manchester derby. It was at the City of Manchester stadium. Manchester City won the match 1–0 in front of a league record attendance of 31,213. United's first division campaign ended early because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The team ended in fourth place on a points per game basis. They won their last game 3–2 against Everton on 23 February 2020. Leah Galton scored twice and Ella Toone scoring once for Manchester United. This was the first game at Everton's new Walton Hall Park stadium. In the FA Cup, Manchester United lost 3–2 to Manchester City in the fourth round. This was the first time they had lost in the first knockout round of a competition. However, they got to the semi-finals in the League Cup for the second time. They lost 1–0 to Chelsea. Chelsea also won in the final.

Ground
When the club joined in the 2018–19 FA Women's Championship, they announced they would be located in Broughton, Salford at The Cliff training ground, when it was ready. Until then, United will play their games at Leigh Sports Village. Moss Lane is the venue when the Sports Village is not available. The club also sometimes play at Ewen Fields. United played an FA Cup fifth round match there against London Bees in February 2019.

Players

Current squad

Club captains

Reserves and academy
Manchester United had a girls academy up to under 16's level even when the senior team did not play between 2005 and 2018. This was because of FA rules. The club's partner charity is The Manchester United Foundation. Its work includes coaching girls at all ages across Greater Manchester. Before the 2019–20 season, Manchester United started a full-time U21 team. It played in the FA WSL Academy League for the first time. Charlotte Healy is the manager. The club's development team had played the WSL Academy Cup final against Arsenal the season before. They lost 5-0.

Academy graduates
The academy players below have also played in the senior team. Bold means the player is still at the club.

 Ella Toone
 Emily Ramsey 
 Fran Bentley 
 Katie Zelem 
 Kirsty Hanson
 Rebecca May  
 Millie Turner 
 Naomi Hartley

Coaching staff

First-team

Academy

Managerial statistics
Information correct as of 23 February 2020. Only competitive matches are counted.

Honours
 FA Women's Championship
 Winners: 2018–19

Seasons

Key

 QF = Quarter-finals
 SF = Semi-finals

Season summary

Records

Notes

References

Other websites

 
MU Women's News  – Manchester United Official Website
MU Women's Videos – Manchester United Official Website

2010s establishments in England
2018 establishments in Europe
English football clubs
Sport in Manchester