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London City Lionesses

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This article is about the association football club formed under this name in 2019. For its origins, see Millwall Lionesses L.F.C.

London City Lionesses
Full nameLondon City Lionesses Football Club
Founded13 May 2019; 5 years ago (13 May 2019)
GroundHayes Lane, Bromley
Capacity5,150
OwnerMichele Kang
Head coachJocelyn Prêcheur
LeagueWomen's Championship
2023–24Women's Championship, 8th of 12
Websitehttps://www.londoncitylionesses.com

London City Lionesses is a professional women's association football club based in Hayes, Bromley, England.[1] The team competes in the Women's Championship, the second tier of English women's football. The club was founded in May 2019, as an independent breakaway club from Millwall Lionesses.[2][3]

History

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On 13 May 2019, a statement was released by Millwall F.C. announcing that the board of directors and senior management at the team's official women's affiliate, Millwall Lionesses, had declared their intentions to split from the club, becoming an independent entity and operating under a new name.[4][5] The breakaway was already agreed in principle by the FA.[6] The transfer of Millwall's Championship licence was officially approved by the FA on 29 June 2019.[7] The newly-independent club's operations were funded from 2019 by blockchain entrepreneur Anthony Culligan and his wife Diane, with Diane Culligan serving as chairwoman and running the club's operations.[1][8]

The start of the 2022-23 season saw considerable optimism from club management after England's triumph in the 2022 Euros drove an increase in club season-ticket sales.[9] The Lionesses hit challenges later that season, however, with their manager Melissa Phillips resigning in January 2023 to take an assistant manager role with Angel City FC, despite the club sitting in first place.[10][11] In June 2023, all 20 of the club's players sent a collective message to owner Diane Culligan asking her to sell the club or raise additional investment, citing financial instability, a lack of players signed for the upcoming season and the lack of a permanent manager.[12] On 15 December 2023, the Culligans sold the club to entrepreneur and Washington Spirit owner Michele Kang for an undisclosed price.[13]

On 27 June 2024 Kang announced[14] the signing of Kosovare Asllani, captain of the Sweden national side, and the appointment of Jocelyn Prêcheur, formerly of Paris St Germain, as the new manager. The signing of Asllani, who has previously played for Manchester City, Real Madrid and AC Milan, was described as "a statement of intent that will have raised eyebrows around the global women's game."[14] It was also announced that the club would move from Princes Park (Dartford) to Hayes Lane in Bromley under a ground-sharing agreement with Bromley F.C.

On 27 July 2024, Kang announced the launch of Kynisca Sports International Ltd., a worldwide multi-team organisation to provide the infrastructure to support the development of London City Lionesses alongside sister clubs Washington Spirit and Olympique Lyonnais Féminin.[15] [16] Under Kynisca, it was intended that each club would retain its own established identity, but that there would be a shared, central capability for aspects such as performance science and technology, data analytics, global scouting, and sporting staff development.

Players

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Current squad

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As of 28 October 2024.[17]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK Republic of Ireland IRL Grace Moloney
2 DF New Zealand NZL Grace Neville
3 DF Scotland SCO Emma Mukandi
4 DF England ENG Georgia Brougham
5 DF England ENG Teyah Goldie (on loan from Arsenal)
6 DF Republic of Ireland IRL Megan Campbell
7 MF China CHN Shen Mengyu
8 MF England ENG Connie Scofield
9 FW Sweden SWE Kosovare Asllani
10 MF England ENG Gesa Marashi
11 FW Serbia SRB Miljana Ivanović
12 GK England ENG Hermione Cull
13 MF Cameroon CMR Charlène Meyong
14 MF Spain ESP María Pérez
No. Pos. Nation Player
15 MF Sweden SWE Sofia Jakobsson
16 MF Sweden SWE Julia Roddar
17 MF England ENG Lucy Fitzgerald
18 FW England ENG Danielle Carter
19 FW Finland FIN Lotta Lindström
20 DF England ENG Maddi Wilde
22 DF England ENG Cerys Brown (on loan from Chelsea)
23 FW England ENG Isobel Goodwin
25 MF Nigeria NGA Rofiat Imuran
27 DF United States USA Corrine Henson
28 GK England ENG Sophie Hillyerd
31 MF Republic of Ireland IRL Ruesha Littlejohn
32 GK England ENG Emily Orman (on loan from Chelsea)
33 FW England ENG Chantelle Boye-Hlorkah

Out on loan

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Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
21 FW England ENG Amelia Ajao (at AFC Wimbledon Women until 30 June 2025)

Former players

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For details of current and former players, see Category:London City Lionesses players.

Club staff

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As of 26 June 2024.[18]
Position Staff
Director of football England Ronald Thompson
Manager France Jocelyn Prêcheur
Goalkeeper coach England Darren Smith

Managerial history

[edit]

Information correct as of 27 June 2024. Only competitive matches are counted.

List of London City Lionesses managers
Name Nationality From To P W D L GF GA Win%[nb 1] Notes
Chris Phillips  England 13 May 2019 15 October 2019 7 4 0 3 11 16 057.14 [19]
John Bayer (interim)  England 15 October 2019 27 May 2020 14 4 3 7 17 27 028.57 [19]
Lisa Fallon  Ireland 27 May 2020 9 October 2020 5 0 1 4 2 11 000.00 [20][21]
Melissa Phillips  United States 9 October 2020 24 January 2023 61 31 12 18 92 65 050.82 [22][23]
Nikita Runnacles (interim)  England 24 January 2023 4 July 2023 12 7 0 5 24 18 058.33 [23]
Carolina Morace  Italy 4 July 2023 7 February 2024 20 7 4 9 29 28 035.00 [24][25]
Darren Smith (interim)  England 7 February 2024 2 March 2024 3 0 1 2 2 8 000.00 [25]
Remi Allen  England 2 March 2024 9 May 2024 6 4 0 2 10 9 066.67 [26][27]
Jocelyn Prêcheur  France 27 June 2024 present 0 0 0 0 0 0 !— [28]
  1. ^ Win% is rounded to two decimal places

Seasons

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Results of league and cup competitions by season
Season Division P W D L F A Pts Pos FA Cup League Cup Name Goals
League Top goalscorer[nb 1]
2019–20 Championship 15 8 2 5 25 24 26 4th R4 GS Elizabeta Ejupi 4
2020–21 Championship 20 6 6 8 19 19 24 6th R4 GS Atlanta Primus 4
2021–22 Championship 22 13 2 7 35 22 41 2nd R4 GS Karin Muya
Amy Rodgers 		7
2022–23 Championship 22 14 3 5 49 20 45 3rd R4 GS Sarah Ewens 14
2023–24 Championship 22 7 4 11 26 36 25 8th R5 QF Chantelle Boye-Hlorkah 8
  1. ^ Goals in all competitions (Championship, FA Cup and League Cup are counted.)

References

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  1. ^ a b Wrack, Suzanne (18 August 2019). "'Equality has to be more than words': London City Lionesses go it alone". The Guardian.
  2. ^ "London City Lionesses: Millwall Supporters Club "saddened" by women's team breakaway". BBC News. 13 May 2019. Retrieved 14 May 2019.
  3. ^ "London City Lionesses: Can a women's team thrive independently?". BBC Sport. 19 September 2019.
  4. ^ "Club Statement: Millwall Lionesses". www.millwallfc.co.uk.
  5. ^ McElwee, Molly (13 May 2019). "Millwall women's team to split from club and form new London City Lionesses outfit". The Telegraph.
  6. ^ "London City Lionesses: FA Women's Football board approve Millwall switch". BBC News. 14 May 2019. Retrieved 14 May 2019.
  7. ^ "London City Lionesses". womenscompetitions.thefa.com.
  8. ^ "The New Lionesses". FC Business. 8 January 2020. Retrieved 23 January 2024.
  9. ^ Staunton, Peter (19 August 2022). "Meet the three-year old London football club ready to write more Lionesses history". Football London. Retrieved 23 January 2024.
  10. ^ "Melissa Phillips: London City Lionesses manager leaves Women's Championship leaders". BBC Sport. 23 January 2023. Retrieved 23 January 2024.
  11. ^ Lacey-Hatton, Jack (24 January 2023). "Women's Championship league leaders lose manager to club owned by Hollywood A-listers". The Mirror. Retrieved 23 January 2024.
  12. ^ Schoninger, Charlie (29 June 2023). "London City Lionesses ask owner to sell: No manager and only four players under contract". The Independent. Retrieved 23 January 2024.
  13. ^ "Washington Spirit owner Kang buys London City Lionesses". ESPN. ESPN News Services. 20 November 2021. Retrieved 15 December 2023.
  14. ^ a b Garry, Tom (27 June 2024). "London City Lionessesstart new era with Asllani signing". The Guardian. Retrieved 23 August 2024.
  15. ^ "MICHELE KANG ANNOUNCES LAUNCH OF KYNISCA SPORTS INTERNATIONAL, LTD". London City Lionesses. 27 July 2024. Retrieved 23 November 2024.
  16. ^ "Kynisca". Retrieved 27 November 2024.
  17. ^ "First Team Squad". Retrieved 23 January 2024.
  18. ^ "Club Staff | London City Lionesses".
  19. ^ a b "London City Lionesses sack manager Chris Phillips". 15 October 2019. Retrieved 15 October 2019.
  20. ^ "Lisa Fallon and Melissa Phillips announced as new London City Lionesses coaching team". London City Lionesses. 27 May 2020.
  21. ^ "Lisa Fallon: London City Lionesses head coach steps down for family reasons". BBC Sport. 9 October 2020.
  22. ^ "Phillips named London City head coach". BBC Sport.
  23. ^ a b "Melissa Phillips departs as London City Lionesses head coach". London City Lionesses. 24 January 2023.
  24. ^ "Italian legend Morace appointed head coach of London City Lionesses". FAWSL Full-Time. 4 July 2023. Retrieved 5 July 2023.
  25. ^ a b "London City Lionesses part company with Carolina Morace & Nicola Williams". London City Lionesses. 7 February 2024.
  26. ^ "London City Lionesses appoint Remi Allen as First Team Head Coach". London City Lionesses. 2 March 2024.
  27. ^ "Remi Allen departs". London City Lionesses. 9 May 2024.
  28. ^ "Jocelyn Prêcheur agrees to become London City Lionesses Head Coach". London City Lionesses. 27 June 2024.
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