Aston Villa W.F.C.

Aston Villa Women Football Club is the women's football team of Aston Villa, currently playing in the English women's Super League.[1] The club has been in existence since 1973. Originally titled Solihull F.C., the team affiliated to Aston Villa in 1989, becoming Villa Aztecs, and became the official Aston Villa women's side in 1996. The club have a senior team, a reserve team and several other teams of younger age groups under a Regional Talent Club FA license.

For the men's senior team, see Aston Villa F.C. For the men's U23 and Academy teams, see Aston Villa Under-23s and Academy.

Aston Villa W.F.C.
Full nameAston Villa Women Football Club
Nickname(s)The Villans, The Villa, The Lions
Short nameVilla, AVWFC
Founded1973 (1973) (as Solihull FC)
GroundBescot Stadium, Walsall
Capacity11,000
OwnerNSWE Group
ChairmanNassef Sawiris
ManagerMarcus Bignot
LeagueFA WSL
2019–20FA Women's Championship, 1st of 11 (promoted)
WebsiteClub website

History

Aston Villa Women Football Club was formed in 1973 as Solihull FC. When Aston Villa asked for help in forming a ladies team in 1989, Solihull responded. The club agreed to change their name in 1996 to become the officially recognised ladies team of Aston Villa.

As Villa Aztecs, they reached the 1995 League Cup Final but lost 2–0 to Wimbledon, and played in the 1995–96 FA Women's Premier League but were relegated.

The senior team, renamed to Aston Villa Ladies F.C., continued to play mainly in the 2nd-tier Northern Division. The club won promotion twice more and played in the FA Women's Premier League National Division in 1999–2000[2] and in 2003–04, but ended in the relegation zone in both seasons.

The Lady Villans won the Northern Division for the fourth time in 2011 and gained promotion to the WPL National Division,[3] which had become the 2nd tier below the FA WSL.

On 5 May 2013, the club had its greatest achievement by winning its first ever trophy, the Women's Premier League Cup, beating Leeds United Ladies 5–4 on penalties.[4]

In 2014 they were one of ten teams who were elected to WSL2,[5] and in 2018 to the Women's Championship.[6]

On 4 July 2019, the team was renamed Aston Villa Women F.C., CEO Christian Purslow, said that the name "aligns more appropriately with women’s football in this country".[7] On the same day, Chief Commercial Officer, Nicola Ibbetson, was elected to the FA WSL and Women's Championship board - making Aston Villa Women one of only two Championship clubs to have a representative on the board.[8]

In 2019–20, Villa won promotion to the WSL and entered the top flight of women's football for the first time since 2004.

Players

Current squad
As of 12 January 2021.[9]

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  ENG Sian Rogers
3 DF  ENG Asmita Ale
4 DF  ENG Ella Franklin-Fraiture
5 DF  ENG Elisha N'Dow
6 DF  ENG Anita Asante
7 MF  ENG Emma Follis
8 MF  SCO Chloe Arthur
9 FW  DEN Stine Larsen
10 MF  GER Ramona Petzelberger
11 MF  ENG Amy West
12 FW  ENG Jodie Hutton
13 DF  GER Caroline Siems
No. Pos. Nation Player
14 MF  ENG Emily Syme
15 DF  ENG Natalie Haigh
16 DF  ENG Olivia McLoughlin
17 FW  ENG Sophie Haywood
19 FW  POR Diana Silva
20 FW  JPN Mana Iwabuchi
21 MF  GER Marisa Ewers (captain)
22 FW  ENG Shania Hayles
23 MF  NED Nadine Hanssen
27 GK  ENG Charlotte Clarke[lower-alpha 1]
29 GK  GER Lisa Weiß
  1. Dual registration with Derby County, remains eligible for Aston Villa when called upon

Honours
Nadine Hanssen (left) in Aston Villa's 2018 game at Lewes F.C. Women

Non-playing staff

Corporate hierarchy
Position Name
ChairmanNassef Sawiris
Chief Executive OfficerChristian Purslow
Board MemberWes Edens

Reference:[10]

Management hierarchy
Position Name
ManagerMarcus Bignot
Assistant ManagerJenny Sugarman
CoachCarly Davies
Goalkeeper CoachRichard Steeples
Director of FootballEniola Aluko

Regional Talent Club

The club also run several other teams under the auspices of an FA Tier Two Regional Talent Club. This centre aims to develop the talent from within the local area. The RTC teams include an under-10, under-12, under-14, under-16 and development squad"

In August 2010, Aston Villa Women FC supplied eight players to a 30-strong England Under-17 training camp.[11]

References
  1. "2012/13 National Division table". FA. Retrieved 30 July 2013.
  2. "About Aston Villa Ladies football club". AVLFC. Archived from the original on 16 August 2007. Retrieved 10 September 2007.
  3. "2010/11 Northern Division table". FA. Archived from the original on 23 June 2011. Retrieved 30 July 2013.
  4. "2012/13 FA Women's Premier League Cup fixtures". FA. Retrieved 30 July 2013.
  5. "INTRODUCING ASTON VILLA LADIES". FA Women's Super League. Aston villa women's team have won 18 major trophies. The FA. Retrieved 10 February 2017.
  6. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 19 December 2018. Retrieved 18 December 2018.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  7. Styles, Greg (4 July 2019). "Aston Villa Ladies become Aston Villa Women ahead of new season". Aston Villa F.C. Retrieved 4 July 2019.
  8. "Aston Villa Ladies become Aston Villa Women ahead of new season". avfc.co.uk. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
  9. "Aston Villa Women's Team". Aston Villa FC. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
  10. "Revealed: Aston Villa fan appointed to club's board by Tony Xia". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
  11. "Training camp squad selected". TheFA.com. 3 August 2010. Archived from the original on 2 May 2012. Retrieved 9 October 2010.
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