Leicester City Launch Professional Women’s Team

Leicester City have announced that they will launch a professional women’s team starting from the 2020/21 season.

The club has supported the independently established Leicester City Women’s Football Club (LCWFC) since its formation in 2004, but the Premier League side has said that, after a period of consultation, it has acquired the team and will collaborate on a ‘long-term strategy for the wide-randing enhancement of women’s football… throughout the region.’

According to the club, the collaboration will go beyond the elite professional level and will also include the promotion of grassroots women’s football in the local area.

The move has also seen King Power International, Leicester’s parent company, complete the acquisition of LCWFC, which will join the club’s senior and underage men’s teams at the core of the club, and has also transferred the side’s FA Women’s Championship licence.

Leicester City will also retain the women’s team’s previous management, playing and support staff set-up, who will all now go full-time. 

Former LCWFC chairman Rohan Morgan will become an advisor to an LCFC Women’s Football Leadership Group, led by Leicester City CEO Susan Whelan.

Leicester City Chairman Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha said: “This is a really proud day. The introduction of a women’s team embedded within the club has been an ambition of ours for some time and today it can start to be realised.

“The club’s co-operation with LCWFC since 2004 has been a valuable gateway to the women’s game. Its chairman, Rohan Morgan, and its staff and players deserve great credit for the solid foundations they have built and we’re really excited to see how we can progress with the setup in-house.

“LCFC Women will carry the standard, but our vision for developing the women’s game in Leicester is wide-ranging. We want to build on the recent success of women’s football to inspire a generation of young girls and to ensure opportunities exist for the gifted among them to have a future in the game.

“Exactly 10 years on from King Power first arriving in Leicester, this is a significant expansion in our vision for the club – both in terms of diversification and our dedication to football for all; and in our ongoing commitment to excellence in every one of the club’s pursuits.”

Rohan Morgan said: “This is an amazing step forward, both for our team and for women’s football in the city. For many years now, we have proudly represented Leicester City in the women’s game and tried to build an organisation with solid foundations, high standards and the potential for growth.

“Officially joining the Leicester City family is the best possible endorsement of that work and I’m extremely proud of every player, member of staff and volunteer – several of whom will be continuing the journey with us – that has helped bring us to this point. Thanks to the belief of Khun Aiyawatt, Susan Whelan and everyone at Leicester City, we have an incredible opportunity to build on that potential and be a part of the club’s vision for success.”