Full name | Notts County Ladies Football Club |
---|---|
Nickname(s) | Lady Magpies |
Founded | 1995 (as Lincoln Ladies) 2014 (as Notts County Ladies) |
Ground |
Meadow Lane Nottingham |
Capacity | 20,229 |
Chief Executive | Matthew Alexander |
Chairman | Ray Trew |
Manager | Rick Passmoor |
League | FA WSL |
2014 | 6th |
Website | Club home page |
Notts County Ladies Football Club is a women's football club based in Nottingham, England. They currently play in the FA WSL, the top tier in the English women's football league system. Like the club's male affiliate Notts County FC, they play their home games at Meadow Lane.
Notts County Ladies were created in 2014 when Lincoln Ladies were controversially relocated from Lincoln to Nottingham and rebranded. The club were originally formed in Lincoln in 1995 and also spent a period known as Lincoln City Ladies while affiliated to Lincoln City. Sincil Bank and other smaller venues staged the club's matches during their time in Lincoln. The club was named OOH Lincoln Ladies from 2008 until 2010, due to sponsorship from Ray Trew's OOH Media PLC.
Lincoln Ladies FC were founded in 1995 and began playing in the East Midlands Combination League. The club was promoted in each of the following seasons, bar one, until reaching the FA Women's Premier League Northern Division in 2002. This feat was achieved with the same core group of players. The team finished as league runners-up in four successive seasons (2006–07, 2007–08, 2008–09, 2009–10) and reached the semi-final of the FA Women's Cup in 2007–08.
A five-year sponsorship deal with former Lincoln City F.C. board member Ray Trew in June 2008 led to the club's change of name to OOH Lincoln Ladies. Trew had previously sponsored the club through his SportsTV company, and made available extra funds for signings such as England internationals Kay Hawke and Amanda Barr to assist the club's promotion bid.