Club History
In The Beginning
Birmingham City Ladies FC was formed in 1968 by a group of girl supporters. Friendly games were played locally up until 1970. The late John Lines played an influential part in those early days and the club thanks him and all the players. Follow this link for photos and more memories of the early days.
In 1970 the Heart of England League was formed. Blues remained in this league until 1973 and due to the restructuring of the league/s later became known as the West Midland Regional League formed in 1974. During this period Birmingham City Ladies won numerous league titles and cups notably in the Seventies and Eighties. To this date Blues remain the only West Midlands team to have reached the WFA Cup semi finals. (73/74 and 87/88 season.)
Grassroots - New Era
In the early nineties Birmingham City Ladies experienced difficult times, moral and confidence was low. It was decided to introduce an Academy for junior teams to become an extension of the club. It would act as a support function in strengthening and creating from within the club`s structure. During this transition period, new and experienced staff members were added to the club structure, and their contribution, experience and skills were instrumental in turning the club around.
In 1998/99 Blues won promotion to the newly formed Combination League and at their first attempt won the league and gained automatic promotion into the National Northern Division. The club continued this fantastic run by winning promotion to the National League after only 2 seasons.
The hard work behind the youth policy started to come to fruition in the early 2000s. Birmingham City Ladies players started to be picked by the England selectors at U19 and U17 levels then Laura Bassett was the first Birmingham City Ladies player to gain full England honours. By 2003 a total of nine of the playing staff were England Internationals at some level, and at the 2003 European U19 Championships in Germany, Birmingham City Ladies provided one third of the squad, more than any other club.
In 2002 Charter Standard was obtained at Junior Level and in 2003 the Club became the first Club in Birmingham County FA to achieve Charter Club Standard at Adult level. The Club was voted FA Charter Standard Club of the Year in 2003.
In 2004 some of the biggest names in Women’s football were brought into the club and in the 2004/2005 season the Senior team finished fourth in the FA Women’s Premier League. Five Birmingham City Ladies players went on to represent England in the Euro 2005 competition with the highlight being Karen Carney’s last minute winner against Finland and her subsequent 10 minute personal interview on Match of the Day.
In 2005 the club’s junior teams joined the inaugural Centre of Excellence league in the Central Warwickshire area.
