Crystal Palace F.C. (Women)

Women's association football club based in southeast London

Football club

Crystal Palace Women

Full name| Crystal Palace Football Club Women
Nickname(s)| The Eagles
Founded| 1992
Ground| VBS Community Stadium
Capacity| 5,013
Chairman| Steve Parish
Manager| Leif Gunnar Smerud
League| Women's Super League
2023–24| Women's Championship, 1st of 12 (promoted)

Home colours

Away colours

Third colours

|
|

Current season

Crystal Palace Football Club Women is a women's association football club based in South London, England, which competes in the Women's Super League, the highest level of English women's football. The team, known as the "Eagles", is affiliated to the men's equivalent Crystal Palace F.C..

The club play its home matches at the VBS Community Stadium in Sutton, South London, as well as select matches at Selhurst Park. They previously played at Hayes Lane, the home ground of Bromley F.C., between 2014 and 2023.

## History

[edit]

The club was formed in 1992 as Crystal Palace Ladies F.C.. Since 2003, the club has risen up England's football pyramid, winning the South East Combination Women's Football League in 2003–04, and they later achieved their first cup success defeating Chelsea in the Surrey FA County Cup final in 2011. Palace won the London and South East Women's Regional Football League title in 2013–14, gaining promotion to the FA Women's National League regional section. They won the South East Division One title in 2015–16, after going the whole season undefeated. The club also won the Surrey FA County Cup that same season against AFC Wimbledon in the final.

In 2018, Palace were given semi-professional status, and secured a Tier 2 license, allowing them to become a founding member of the FA Women's Championship, the second highest tier in women’s football.[1] Then in 2019, it was announced by the club they would play under the name "Crystal Palace F.C." instead of "Crystal Palace Ladies F.C.", following the growing trend within the women's game at that time to move away from the term "Ladies".[2]

Following mixed results in their first three years in the Women's Championship, Palace recorded back-to-back top-five finishes in the 2021–22 and 2022–23 seasons.[3] It was around this time that the club officially became part of the CPFC Limited group in June 2022, and they received full professional status in 2023, followed by the securing of a Tier 1 license in April 2024, which would allow their eventual entry into the Women's Super League (WSL).[4]

In the summer of 2023, the club appointed Grace Williams,[5] as Head of Women’s Football, and Laura Kaminski,[6] as Head Coach. This resulted in Palace gaining promotion to the Women's Super League as champions at the end of the 2023–24 Championship season. The club scored 55 goals – and conceded just 20 – in 22 matches. It also marked Palace’s inaugural promotion to the top-flight of women’s football.[7] The promotion was sealed with a final-day draw against Sunderland at Selhurst Park, in front of a record crowd of 6,796.[8]

## Players

[edit]

### Current squad

[edit]

As of 31 January 2025[9]

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 |  DEN | Katrine Veje
3  | DF |  ENG | Felicity Gibbons
4  | MF |  SCO | Chloe Arthur
5  | MF |  SWE | My Cato
6  | DF |  ENG | Aimee Everett (captain)
8  | FW |  ENG | Molly-Mae Sharpe
9  | FW |  WAL | Elise Hughes
10  | FW |  ENG | Annabel Blanchard
11  | FW |  NED | Ashleigh Weerden
14  | MF |  WAL | Josie Green
15  | MF |  IRL | Hayley Nolan
17  | MF |  ENG | Lexi Potter (on loan from Chelsea)
19  | GK |  FIN | Milla-Maj Majasaari
| No. | Pos. | Nation  | Player

|
|
|

20  | FW |  NZL | Indiah-Paige Riley
21  | FW |  CAN | Clarissa Larisey[10]
22  | MF |  DEN | Mille Gejl
23  | DF |  WAL | Lily Woodham (on loan from Seattle Reign FC)
24  | MF |  ENG | Shanade Hopcroft
27  | FW |  IRL | Abbie Larkin
28  | FW |  USA | Katie Stengel
30  | GK |  USA | Shae Yáñez
47  | GK |  ENG | Annis-Clara Wright
77  | DF |  IRL | Isibeal Atkinson
-- | FW |  FIN | Ria Öling[11]
-- | DF |  NED | Aniek Nouwen (on loan from Chelsea)
-- | DF |  JAM | Allyson Swaby

### Out on loan

[edit]

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

|
|
|

-- | MF |  ENG | Isabella Sibley (at Newcastle United until end of the 2024–25 season)

### Former players

[edit]

For details of current and former players, see Category:Crystal Palace F.C. (Women) players.

## Club staff

[edit]

Position  | Name

|

Chairman  |  Steve Parish[12]
Head of women's football  |  Grace Williams[5]
Head Coach  |  Leif Gunnar Smerud[6]
Assistant Coach  |  Adam Jeffrey[13]
Goalkeeping Coach  |  Daniel Matraszek
Physical Performance Coach  |  Chico Lyons
Physiotherapist  |  Tadej Citti

## Honours

[edit]

### Leagues

[edit]

* Women's Championship
* Champions: 2023–24
* FA Women's National League South East Division One
* Champions: 2015–16
* London and South East Women's Regional Football League
* Champions: 2013–14
* South East Combination Women's Football League
* Champions: 2003–04

### Cups

[edit]

* Surrey County Cup
* Winners: 2010–11, 2015–16
* Runners-up: 2005–06, 2007–08, 2012–13
* Capital Women's Senior Cup
* Runners-up: 2017–18

## In popular culture

[edit]

In 2019, the Palace Women team featured in the first episode of Harry's Heroes: The Full English, a documentary broadcast on the ITV television network. They played a team of male former professional footballers losing the match 1–0.[14]

## See also

[edit]

* Crystal Palace Baltimore

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "CLUB STATEMENT: FA Women's Championship - News - Crystal Palace Ladies FC". 9 February 2019. Archived from the original on 9 February 2019. Retrieved 9 May 2024.
2. ^ "A new identity for Crystal Palace Ladies Football Club". CPFC Official Site. 10 June 2019. Retrieved 10 June 2019.
3. ^ "Crystal Palace Women announce 22/23 squad – with 15 additions - News". Crystal Palace F.C. 4 August 2022. Retrieved 9 May 2024.
4. ^ "Crystal Palace – 23/24 Women's Championship winners! - News". Crystal Palace F.C. 28 April 2024. Archived from the original on 16 May 2024. Retrieved 14 May 2024.
5. ^ a b "Crystal Palace appoint new Head of Women's Football - News". Crystal Palace F.C. 11 May 2023. Retrieved 9 May 2024.
6. ^ a b "Palace Women appoint Laura Kaminski as head coach". cpfc.co.uk. Crystal Palace FC. 14 July 2023. Archived from the original on 27 August 2023. Retrieved 27 August 2023.
7. ^ 'No-one expected this' - Crystal Palace reach WSL, Emma Smith, BBC Sport, 28 April 2024
8. ^ "Report: Palace win Women's Championship crown at Selhurst Park - News". Crystal Palace F.C. 28 April 2024. Archived from the original on 14 May 2024. Retrieved 9 May 2024.
9. ^ "Women Squad". Crystal Palace F.C. Retrieved 13 September 2024.
10. ^ "Palace sign Canada forward Larisey on two and a half year deal". BBC Sport. 18 January 2025. Retrieved 18 January 2025.
11. ^ "Palace Women sign Finland international Ria Öling - News". Crystal Palace F.C. 22 January 2025. Retrieved 22 January 2025.
12. ^ "Parish urges women's league overhaul to build on Euro 2022 - News". Crystal Palace F.C. 11 August 2022. Retrieved 9 May 2024.
13. ^ "Adam Jeffrey joins Palace Women as Assistant Coach". cpfc.co.uk. Crystal Palace FC. 22 August 2023. Archived from the original on 27 August 2023. Retrieved 27 August 2023.
14. ^ Jeffries, Stuart (18 March 2018). "Harry's Heroes review – an answer to the question: 'Who ate all the pies?'". The Guardian. Retrieved 24 March 2019.

## External links

[edit]

* Official website
* Twitter
* Facebook
* Instagram

* v
* t
* e

Crystal Palace Football Club

* Players
* Player of the Year
* Managers
* Head-to-head
* Current season

History|

* History
* Original 1861 club
* Seasons
* Records and statistics

Owners|

* Steve Parish (chairman; 10%)
* John Textor (45%)
* Josh Harris (18%)
* David Blitzer (18%)

Grounds|

* Crystal Palace Stadium
* Herne Hill Velodrome
* The Nest
* Selhurst Park

Rivalries|

* Rivalry with Brighton & Hove Albion
* South London derby

Subsidiary teams|

* U21s / Academy
* Crystal Palace Women

* v
* t
* e

Women's Super League and Women's Championship

Seasons|

| Women's Super League|

* 2011
* 2012
* 2013
* 2014
* 2015
* 2016
* Spring Series
* 2017–18
* 2018–19
* 2019–20
* 2020–21
* 2021–22
* 2022–23
* 2023–24
* 2024–25

|

Championship|

* 2018–19
* 2019–20
* 2020–21
* 2021–22
* 2022–23
* 2023–24
* 2024–25

Clubs|

| 2024–25
Women's Super League|

* Arsenal
* Aston Villa
* Brighton & Hove Albion
* Chelsea
* Crystal Palace
* Everton
* Leicester City
* Liverpool
* Manchester City
* Manchester United
* Tottenham Hotspur
* West Ham United

|

2024–25
Championship|

* Birmingham City
* Blackburn Rovers
* Bristol City
* Charlton Athletic
* Durham
* London City Lionesses
* Newcastle United
* Portsmouth
* Sheffield United
* Southampton
* Sunderland

Competition|

| WSL|

* Clubs
* Records and statistics
* Hat-tricks
* Managers
* Foreign players
* English women's champions

|

Awards|

* Golden Boot
* Golden Glove
* Player of the Season
* Manager of the Season
* The FA Women's Football Awards
* PFA Women's Players' Player of the Year
* PFA Women's Young Player of the Year
* Hall of Fame

Associated
competitions|

* Women's FA Cup
* FA Women's League Cup
* UEFA Women's Champions League
* FA Women's Premier League National Division (defunct)

* Categories: WSL/Championship
* Portal

*[No.]: Number
*[Pos.]: Position
*[DF]: Defender
*[MF]: Midfielder
*[FW]: Forward
*[GK]: Goalkeeper
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*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template