Sunderland Ladies · History

The club began in 1989 as a five-a-side team called The Kestrels. Its first match was an informal friendly against Darlington Ladies on 26 July 1989. Over the years it changed its name and base several times. In 2000 it came under the Sunderland AFC umbrella as Sunderland Ladies, the name it carried into the top flight of English women's football, and in 2022 it became Sunderland AFC Women. Its home ground is the Eppleton Colliery Welfare Ground in Hetton-le-Hole, which holds 2,500.

From the Kestrels to Sunderland

Before taking the Sunderland name, the team played as Cowgate Kestrels, RTM Newcastle Kestrels and Blyth Spartans Kestrels. As Blyth Spartans Kestrels it won the Northern Division in 1999–2000, which earned promotion to the top tier. That year it merged with an independent club, Sunderland Ladies, and was linked to the men's Sunderland AFC. The combined side was first called Sunderland Women's FC. The step up proved too big: in 2001–02 the team won one league game all season and went down.

Between two divisions

The next few years swung between the Northern and National Divisions of the FA Women's Premier League. Sunderland won the Northern Division in 2004–05 and only just survived in 2005–06, after a relegation play-off against Bristol City that finished 5–5 on aggregate. They went down again in May 2007. In 2008–09 they won the Northern Division once more, sealing promotion with a 4–0 win away at Preston. Jill Scott and Steph Houghton, both later England internationals, came through the club in this period.

The 2009 FA Cup final

Sunderland reached the 2008–09 FA Women's Cup final by beating Chelsea 3–0 in the semi-final on 22 March 2009. The final was played at Pride Park in Derby on 4 May 2009 against Arsenal, the holders. Arsenal won 2–1 with goals from Katie Chapman and Kim Little, and Kelly McDougall scored for Sunderland. Lucy Bronze, then a Sunderland player, was named player of the match. It was the club's first FA Women's Cup final.

Three titles and a closed door

In 2010 the Football Association turned down the club's bid to join the FA Women's Super League for its first season in 2011. Several players left after the decision, including Lucy Bronze and Jordan Nobbs. Sunderland stayed in the Premier League National Division, which became the second tier in 2011, and won it three years running: 2010–11, 2011–12 and 2012–13. They also won the FA Women's Premier League Cup in 2011–12. Beth Mead was the main scorer in those years, with 18 league goals in 2011–12.

The WSL years

In 2014 the club joined the new WSL 2 and won it at the first attempt. The title was settled on the final day with a 4–0 win over Millwall Lionesses, and Sunderland finished two points ahead of Doncaster Rovers Belles. It was the first direct promotion into WSL 1. Mick Mulhern, manager for around fifteen years, stood down before the top-flight debut, and Carlton Fairweather took over in December 2014. Sunderland finished fourth in WSL 1 in 2015 with 20 points, then seventh in 2016. On 16 March 2017 assistant Melanie Reay was promoted to head coach. Around this time the team played at Mariners Park, home of South Shields. After another seventh place in 2017–18, the club failed to win a licence for either the WSL or the Championship and dropped two divisions to the National League North.

Rebuilding

Sunderland were second in the National League North in 2018–19. In 2019–20 they were top when the season was stopped by the pandemic, and on 5 June 2020 all results were expunged, so there was no promotion. After finishing fifth in 2020–21, the club applied for a place in the Women's Championship, and the FA accepted the application on 2 June 2021. In May 2022 it became Sunderland AFC Women. In 2023 it moved to a hybrid model, with several players on full-time professional contracts. In 2023–24 the team went unbeaten in its first nine league games and finished third. On 13 October 2024 the derby against Newcastle at the Stadium of Light drew 15,387 spectators, a Championship attendance record. In 2025–26, the first season under the WSL 2 name, Sunderland finished eighth of twelve.

New ownership

On 7 April 2026 Sunderland announced the sale of a majority stake in the women's team to Bay Collective, an investment group backed by Sixth Street that also owns Bay FC of the NWSL. WSL Football approved the deal, and Sunderland AFC Women became the second club in Bay Collective's group when the takeover was completed on 18 June 2026.