Southampton FC Women

Southampton FC Women in their current form were established in 2017, when Southampton FC, under new ownership, moved to build a competitive senior women's team as the profile of the women's game grew — starting with youth and under-21 sides before launching an adult team for the 2017/18 season. The club's affiliated lineage runs back further, through Southampton Saints (formed 1979 as Red Star), the men's club's previous women's side, which was absorbed by Southampton in 2001 before folding in 2019. Not to be confused with Southampton Women's FC, the separate and historic 1970 club that won the Women's FA Cup eight times in the 1970s, the modern Saints rose quickly: back-to-back promotions carried them up the pyramid, and they won the FA Women's National League South title to reach the second tier. They play at St Mary's Stadium and carry the red-and-white Saints identity.