Athletic Club (women)
| Full name | Athletic Club |
|---|---|
| Nickname(s) |
Las Leonas (The Lionesses) Neskak (Girls) Rojiblancas (Red-Whites) |
| Founded | 2002 |
| Ground | Instalaciones de Lezama, Spain |
| Capacity | 1,500 |
| President | Josu Urrutia |
| Manager | Joseba Agirre |
| League | Primera División |
| 2015–16 | Primera División, 1st |
Athletic Club (women) is the women's football (soccer) section of Athletic Bilbao, currently competing in the Spanish First Division. Athletic is one the most successful women's teams in Spain, with five championships. Just as in the men's team, their official policy is signing players native to or trained in football in the greater Basque Country. It plays in the club's facilities in Lezama.
The team was originally founded in 2000 as Leioa EFT after CD Sondika disbanded its women's team, which had played in the defunct División de Honor in the 1990s. After the new team gained promotion to the new Superliga Femenina in just two years it was absorbed by Athletic Bilbao. In its debut season Athletic won the championship, and it successfully defended the title in the next two seasons, becoming the first team to win the trophy in property. After a disappointing 2006 season, Athletic won its fourth title in 2007. They made consequently four appearances in the UEFA Women's Cup, where it was knocked out in the group stages by 1. FFC Frankfurt in 2004, Djurgårdens IF in 2005, SV Saestum in 2006 and ASDCF Bardolino in 2008.
Athletic was third in the next four championships. In 2012 it was the runner-up, and it reached the national cup's final for the first time, losing to RCD Espanyol after extra time. On 5 January 2013 the team celebrated its tenth anniversary beating Arsenal LFC in a friendly match.
On 5 June 2016, Athletic won its fifth league, nine years after its last success. They competed in the UEFA Women's Champions League the following season, where they were eliminated by Danish champions Fortuna Hjorring in the Round of 32.
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