Birmingham City Women

Birmingham City Women were founded in 1968 by a group of female supporters who started out playing local friendlies before entering league football in 1970. Known as the Blues, they climbed steadily through the pyramid to reach the Women's Premier League in 2002. The club's defining chapter came a few years later: in 2005 the men's club withdrew its financial backing and Birmingham nearly folded, saved only by a parent's personal donation and seasons of jumble sales and bucket collections to stay afloat. From that low point they rebuilt to become founder members of the Women's Super League, and in 2012 lifted their first Women's FA Cup, beating Chelsea on penalties. Second place in the WSL soon after took them into the Champions League, where they reached the semi-finals in 2013/14. The club dropped "Ladies" for "Women" in line with the modern game.