Stockport County Ladies FC

Stockport County Ladies were founded in 1989/90, when Stockport County became one of the first non-Premiership clubs in the country to set up a women's team, through a partnership with the local authority. The early story had a twist: some members broke away to form a separate club, Stockport Ladies, and the two ran apart for a decade before reuniting in 2000/01 to become one of the biggest girls' and women's clubs in the country. Nicknamed the Hatters, they won the Northern Combination in 2002/03 to reach the Premier League Northern Division, and later the North West Regional title in 2018/19. A landmark moment came in 2022, when they played their first home match at Edgeley Park, beating Leeds United 4-2 in front of a record crowd for a County Ladies game. In a sign of growing ambition, the club appointed former England netball coach Tracey Neville MBE as managing director, and announced it would compete as Stockport County Women from the 2026/27 season.