Brighton & Hove Albion W.F.C.

Brighton & Hove Albion

Full name	Brighton & Hove Albion Women Football Club
Nickname(s)	The Seagulls, The Albion
Founded	1967; 58 years ago (1967) as Brighton GPO
Ground	Broadfield Stadium, Crawley
Capacity	6,135
Manager	Dario Vidošić
League	Women's Super League
2023–24	WSL, 9th of 12
Website	https://www.brightonandhovealbion.com/women/
Home colours Away colours Third colours
Current season

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.

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 Martlet 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]

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.

Name	Nationality	From	To	Ref.
Tony Tregear	England	2012		[8]
Jay Lovett	England	2013		[9]
John Donoghue	England	Unknown	10 June 2014	[10][11]
James Marrs	England	11 June 2014	22 April 2016	[12][13]
George Parris (interim)	England	23 April 2016	18 July 2017	[13][14]
Hope Powell	England	19 July 2017	31 October 2022	[15]
Amy Merricks (interim)	England	31 October 2022	28 December 2022
Jens Scheuer	Germany	28 December 2022	6 March 2023	[16]
Amy Merricks (interim)	England	6 March 2023	7 April 2023	[17]
Melissa Phillips	United States	7 April 2023	1 February 2024	[18][19][20]
Mikey Harris (interim)	England	1 February 2024	18 May 2024	[21]
Dario Vidošić	Australia	10 July 2024	Present	[22]

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

As of 18 January 2025^[23][24]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 2 DF  NOR Maria Thorisdottir 3 DF  ENG Poppy Pattinson 5 DF  NOR Guro Bergsvand 6 MF  ESP Vicky Losada (captain) 7 FW  TAN Aisha Masaka 8 FW  GER Pauline Bremer 9 FW  ENG Nikita Parris 10 MF  SRB Jelena Čanković 11 MF  JPN Kiko Seike 14 MF  ENG Fran Kirby 16 DF  COL Jorelyn Carabalí 17 MF  ENG Bex Rayner

No. Pos. Nation Player 18 MF  ENG Maisie Symonds 19 DF  NED Marisa Olislagers 20 FW  ESP Bruna Vilamala (on loan from Barcelona) 21 MF  USA Madison Haley 22 MF  SRB Dejana Stefanović 23 DF  NED Marit Auée 27 DF  SCO Rachel McLauchlan 28 GK  GER Melina Loeck 32 GK  ENG Sophie Baggaley 33 MF  AUS Charlize Rule 59 FW  ENG Michelle Agyemang (on loan from Arsenal)

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 12 MF  ENG Libby Bance (at Bristol City until 30 June 2025) 25 GK  ENG Hannah Poulter (at Portsmouth until 30 June 2025) 26 DF  CHN Li Mengwen (at West Ham United until 30 June 2025) 45 FW  ENG Lily Dent (at Portsmouth until 30 June 2025) — DF  ENG Grace McEwen (at Portsmouth until 30 June 2025)

The list includes players named in a senior matchday squad.^{[citation needed]}

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 46 FW  ENG Elliana Martin 47 MF  ENG Evie Milner 48 MF  ENG Tahirah Heron 60 MF  ENG Jess Pegram 61 MF  ENG Mia Balmer 63 MF  ENG Olivia Johnson

• Football in Sussex

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