Nottingham Forest WFC

Nottingham Forest Women were officially founded in 1990 by the club's community arm — though a Forest women's team had played in the Notts and Derby League back in the early 1970s. The founding group had a charming recruitment method: they advertised in the men's official matchday programme, at a game against Everton, to find players. Running as an independent, self-funded club, Forest won their first National League title in 2007/08, but by 2018 faced possible extinction — until owner Evangelos Marinakis began investing in and integrating the women's team. Rebranded Nottingham Forest Women in 2019, adopting the club's crest, they built rapidly under manager Andy Cook, winning the National League Plate and, in 2024/25, a league-and-cup double that finally secured promotion to the second tier. Nicknamed the Reds and the Garibaldis, they carry Forest's identity into the women's game.