F.C. Kilmarnock Ladies
| Full name | Football Club Kilmarnock Ladies |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1961 (as Stewarton Thistle) |
| Ground | Rugby Park, Rugby Road, Kilmarnock |
| Capacity | 18,128 |
| Chairman | David Howie |
| Manager | Stewart Hall |
| League | Scottish Women's Premier League |
| 2012 | 12th (relegated) |
| Website | Club home page |
Football Club Kilmarnock Ladies is a women's football team based in Kilmarnock, Ayrshire that plays in the SWFL 1st Division West/South West. Founded as Stewarton Thistle, the club is the oldest women's football team in Scotland and celebrated its 50th anniversary in July 2011.
Local historian Alastair Barclay wrote in 1973 that a girls' soccer team was founded in Stewarton 12 years previously "more or less for laughs" but had quickly eclipsed the modest achievements of the town's male teams.
Sue Lopez recorded in her Women on the Ball book (1997) that the club was formed in 1961 at the Lord Provost's request, to raise money for the Freedom from Hunger campaign. The club enjoyed local success and, with star player Rose Reilly, reached the final of the first ever Women's FA Cup in 1971. Played under the auspices of the English Women's Football Association, the competition admitted Scottish and Welsh teams in its early years. Stewarton Thistle lost 4–1 to Lopez's Southampton at Crystal Palace National Sports Centre.
In 1972 they reached the final again, playing under the name of Lee's Ladies due to a naming–rights sponsorship deal. Southampton beat them again, 3–2 at Eton Park in Burton upon Trent.
In 1999 the club became known as Kilmarnock. The early part of the 2000s saw manager Jim Chapman assemble a strong squad with several Scotland women's national football team players. The club won the league championship twice and was Scotland's representative in the UEFA Women's Cup in 2002–03 and 2003–04.
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