Bath City W.F.C.
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| Full name | Bath City Women's Football Club | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | The Romans | ||
| Founded | 2022 | ||
| Ground | Twerton Park | ||
| Capacity | 8,840 (restricted to 3,528 for safety reasons)[1] | ||
| Owner | Bath City Supporters' Society | ||
| Chairman | Nick Blofeld | ||
| Manager | Matt Abreu | ||
| League | Somerset County Women's league | ||
| Website | http://www.bathcityfc.com/ | ||
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Bath City Women's Football Club is a football club based in Bath, Somerset, England. The club is affiliated to the Somerset FA and currently compete in the South West Regional Women's League Division One, the sixth tier of Women's English football. Though multiple Bath City women's teams have existed in the past, the current team was founded last year, in 2022. The team play their home games at Twerton Park. Like the men's team, the women's squad play in black and white shirts, and are nicknamed “The Romans” which stems from Bath's ancient Roman history.
History
[edit]Previous Teams
[edit]
In June, 1920, the first record of any women's team in Bath was formed as simply; "Bath Ladies Football Club". With The Bath Chronicle at the time stating: "Enthusiastic reception of the proposed club, many ladies have shown their wish to join." Application's for squad entry were received from places as far as Gloucester, Bristol and the Isle of Wight. It was suggested by Chairman Mr Hopkins that the colours ought to be the same as the men's; black and white jerseys, with black shorts, black stockings, white rings, and black woolly caps.[2] A year later In 1921, Bath City Ladies played at Old Trafford in front of 31,000 to raise money for unemployed ex-servicemen in Manchester.[3] The fixture raised £2,000 for the fund to help returning soldiers from the World War 1. On Saturday 28 April 1921, the women's team played Southampton Women's in front of 12,000 at Bristol.[4] However, in the same year, The Football Association banned women's football because the Association felt the physicality of the game was; “unsuitable for women”.[5] Women's football suffered for decades but it was reintroduced around the mid-century and has since progressed significantly.[6]
Current team launch (2022–present)
[edit]The current club were founded in June 2022.[7] On 29 August 2022, for the final game of pre-season preparation, The Bath City women’s team won 9–0 against Wells City ladies.[8] However the club started the league campaign poorly. On Sunday 2 September 2022, the team competed in their first ever competitive league match, in which they lost 4–0 to Penhill ladies away.[9] Albeit a poor start did not hinder the squad, a run of winning steaks, and good performances placed the club second in the Somerset County women’s league, as of March, 2023.[10] The team achieved promotion in its first ever season, finishing 2nd in the league on 31 points in 18 games, and will go on to play in the South West Regional Football League, the sixth tier of English football.[11]
Stadium
[edit]
The women’s team have stated playing at Twerton since their inception. The stadium has a physical capacity of 8,840 1,006 of which are seats.[12] It has been the home of Bath City F.C. since 1932. From 1986 to 1996 Bristol Rovers played at the ground following their departure from Eastville.[13] From 2020 the ground also became the home stadium for Bristol City Women.[14]
The stadium has four stands; the Bath End, the Grandstand, The Popular Side, and the Bristol End. Though the site opened in 1909, the stadium was not constructed until 1932, with The Grandstand being the first of the four stands to be constructed. The stadium is 2.5 km (1.6 miles) from the city centre. The two bars within the stadium are named after former players: Charlies' (Charlie Fleming), and Randall's (Paul Randall). Twerton Park has undergone several expansions throughout its history, though the decades in which it saw the most development were the 1930s,[15] 1960s and 1980s - including the addition of the family stand, West of The Grandstand. Future expansion is likely to involve the complete redevelopment of The Grandstand and the surrounding car park.[16]
Players
[edit]- As of 3rd February 2023[17]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Club officials
[edit]Coaching and medical staff
[edit]- As of 22 June 2022[18]
| Position | Name |
|---|---|
| Manager |  Matt Abreu[19]
|
| Assistant Manager | Adam Casserly[20]
|
| Sports Scientist | Aaron Hopkinson[21]
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| Goalkeeping Coach | Steve Book[22]
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| Sports Therapist | Sarah Carr[23]
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| Sports Masseur | Omar El Bezra[24]
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| Scout | Mike Ford[25]
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| Kit Manager | Simon Jenkins[26]
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Board of directors
[edit]- As of 17 November 2022[18]
| Position | Name |
|---|---|
| Chairman | Nick Blofeld[27]
|
| Football Chairman | Paul Williams[28]
|
| Community Director | Joy Saunders[29]
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| Sales & Marketing Director | Jon Bickley[30]
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| Commercial Director | Matthew Falk[31]
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| Director | Jane Jones[32]
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| Director | Andrew Pierce[33]
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| Director | John Reynolds[34]
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See also
[edit]
- Bath City men’s
- List of women's association football clubs in England and Wales
- Women's football in England
- List of women's association football clubs
References
[edit]- ^ "Everything you need to know: Twerton Park". Bristol City F.C. 5 August 2020. Retrieved 14 November 2022.
- ^ "Bath City lady footballers: Enthusiastic reception of the proposed club". British Newspaper Archive. Bath Chronicle. 26 June 1920. p. 26. Retrieved 10 March 2023.
- ^ "Bath Ladies football team". British Newspaper Archive. Bath Chronicle. 15 January 1951. p. 2. Retrieved 10 March 2023.
- ^ "Bath Ladies beat Southampton at Bristol". British Newspaper Archive. Bath Chronicle. 23 April 1921. Retrieved 10 March 2023.
- ^ "How the FA banned women's football in 1921 and tried to justify it | Women's football | The Guardian". amp.theguardian.com. Retrieved 9 March 2023.
- ^ "1921: the year when football banned women". HistoryExtra. Retrieved 9 March 2023.
- ^ Frith, Wilf (8 June 2022). "Bath City to start women's team". SheKicks. Retrieved 27 February 2023.
- ^ bcfc (29 August 2022). "BCFC Women hit 9 in final pre-season outing". Bath City FC. Retrieved 8 March 2023.
- ^ "2022-23 Women's Fixtures & Results". Bath City FC. Retrieved 9 March 2023.
- ^ "Somerset County Women's League". fulltime.thefa.com. Retrieved 9 March 2023.
- ^ Howe, Simon (1 June 2023). "Bath City Women promoted!". Bath City FC. Retrieved 2 June 2023.
- ^ "Everything you need to know: Twerton Park". Bristol City. 5 August 2020. Retrieved 9 March 2023.
- ^ "Bristol Rovers Grounds Guide - The Memorial Stadium". Two Blue Quarters. Retrieved 9 March 2023.
- ^ "New home for City Women". Bristol City. 5 August 2020. Retrieved 9 March 2023.
- ^ "New Stand at Twerton". British Newspaper Archive. Bath Chronicle. 24 August 1935. p. 19. Retrieved 13 January 2023.
- ^ Mills, Richard (4 June 2019). "Bath City FC and Twerton High Street development plans revealed". SomersetLive. Retrieved 8 March 2023.
- ^ "Bath City women's squad". Bath City.
- ^ a b "Information". Bath City FC. Archived from the original on 15 October 2020. Retrieved 21 December 2020.
- ^ "Matt Abreu". Bath City FC. Retrieved 11 March 2023.
- ^ "Adam Casserly". Bath City FC. Retrieved 11 March 2023.
- ^ "Aaron Hopkinson". Bath City FC. Retrieved 3 November 2022.
- ^ "Staff Annoucement [sic]". Bath City FC. 11 August 2021. Retrieved 3 November 2022.
- ^ "Sarah Carr". Bath City FC. Retrieved 3 November 2022.
- ^ "Oma El Bezra, Bath City". PressReader. Retrieved 4 November 2022.
- ^ Careers, Sport. "Elite Candidate – Mike Ford". sportcareersagency.com. Archived from the original on 3 November 2022. Retrieved 3 November 2022.
- ^ "Simon Jenkins". Bath City FC. Retrieved 3 November 2022.
- ^ "Chairman Nick Blofeld sends message of thanks to Crowdfunder supporters". Bath City FC. 29 June 2020. Retrieved 3 November 2022.
- ^ "Football Chairman Paul Williams discusses Twerton Park redevelopment". Bath City FC. 22 February 2019. Retrieved 3 November 2022.
- ^ "'My City, My Shirt' – Bath City FC's portraits project to celebrate diversity | Building Control Services | Bath & North East Somerset Council". newsroom.bathnes.gov.uk. Retrieved 3 November 2022.
- ^ "My Publishing Life – Jon Bickley". www.inpublishing.co.uk. 12 September 2017. Retrieved 3 November 2022.
- ^ "Bath City FC Commercial Director Vacancy". Bath City FC. 3 December 2021. Retrieved 3 November 2022.
- ^ bcfc (28 June 2022). "Bath City welcomes new director Jane Jones". Bath City FC. Retrieved 10 March 2023.
- ^ "Pitch maintenance volunteers urgently needed". Bath City FC. 24 December 2020. Retrieved 3 November 2022.
- ^ Jaynes, Anita (8 May 2017). "Royds Withy King advises on Bath City Football Club takeover". The Business Exchange – Bath and Somerset. Retrieved 3 November 2022.