Chelsea Ladies were formed and established in 1992 after a growing demand from Chelsea fans to create a Ladies’ team to join the newly formed Women’s Football Association National Leagues. Chelsea Ladies began in the regional and lower Southern Division of the league pyramid and found themselves unable to get promoted to the top National Division for a number of years. The club was also finding it difficult to establish themselves and as the team struggled to achieve any competitiveness, it looked like Chelsea Ladies were heading for a long period of mediocrity.
That was until 2004 when a pivotal vote in their history changed everything; It was voted that Chelsea Ladies were to be taken over and funded by Chelsea FC’s ‘Football in the Community’ department thus allowing a bigger proportion of funds being allocated to the Ladies team in the hope of competing with the better established teams in Women’s football. This led to the Blues winning their first official silverware as a club. The 2004/2005 Southern Division was won by a margin of 9 points from their closest challenger and finally, the Ladies were going to compete in the top division.
The 2005/2006 season in the National Division, however, was a disaster; the Blues started their campaign gaining only 1 point from a possible 18 and this led to the club parting company with then manager George Michealas. His replacement Shaun Gore didn’t fare much better that year as Chelsea Ladies finished bottom of the table. Luckily, the team managed to get through a play-off against the second placed team in the lower division and therefore were able to hold on to their place in the National.
After that scare, Chelsea Ladies were able to settle and over the next few years were able to steady the ship and improve every season. They registered finishes of 8th, 5th, 3rd and 3rd again in the league while also strengthening their squad, acquiring household names like Casey Stoney and Eniola Aluko.
The league then underwent its transformation into its current format; The Women’s Super League was founded in 2010 and Chelsea Ladies’ application to be a part of it was accepted. From 2010 to 2013, Chelsea were solid if not spectacular in WSL1, they did, however, get to the 2012 FA Women’s Cup Final where they lost on penalties to Birmingham City Ladies. Matt Beard, manager at the time, felt he had taken the team as far as he could and resigned shortly after the loss in the final. He was replaced by current manager Emma Hayes whose fresh input and innovative ideas led Chelsea Ladies to the next level.
In the 2014 season of WSL1, Chelsea ladies finished 2nd, missing out on winning the league on the last day only on goal difference. This heartbreaking scenario spurred them on a year later when Chelsea Ladies finally won their first ever top division title. They also won the FA Cup that year completing an unprecedented domestic double.
Chelsea won the interim FA WSL Spring Series earlier this year as the league transitioned from a Summer League to a Winter League. Chelsea Ladies are now one of the biggest names in Women’s Football and will always have a chance of competing for the top honours. As a result, the team is now qualifying regularly for the Champions League and with that the Blues have another trophy to try and add to their ever-growing cabinet.
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