Reading Royals Ladies

Last updated : 03 March 2006 By Richard Turrell

As we look towards the Premier League there’s time to reflect on the other side of the Reading football coin. With women’s football taking a massive increase in popularity the Reading Royals Ladies are currently playing in the second tier of the football league. Over the last few years they have not only developed as a team, but have developed more links with the men’s side and have made numerous appearances on the Madejski pitch. In the next couple of weeks there’ll be a few articles on the Reading mad site dedicated to the Royals Ladies but to kick it all off, here's a brief history.

A brief history (courtesy of www.rrlfc.com)

Doug Cunningham formed the Twyford Comets in 1987 who, after affiliation with Reading FC, became Reading Royals Ladies FC in 1988. Stan Bembenek has been the Club’s main sponsor and Chairman since 1995.

1989 / 90 Reading Royals Ladies won the Thames Valley Girls League, League and Cup “double”.

In 1990 the club expanded to two teams (U16 & U13). The Under 16 side finished runners up in the Middlesex & Brent League with the Under 13’s winning the Thames Valley Girls League.

In the 1991 / 92 season, the Under 14 team won the Thames Valley Girls League. The Under 16 team won the inaugural Southern Region Women’s Football League (WFL), taking both League and Cup honours.

The club expanded to four teams in the 1992 / 93 season (2 x U16, U12 and U14). The two Under 16 teams dominated the Southern Region WFL, taking both League & Cup titles.

By 1993 / 94 the club had teams at all age levels, with many original members forming the backbone of a new ladies team. The ladies won promotion from Southern Region Division 4 in their first season, winning the Division 3 & 4 Plate 5-1 against the champions of Division 3 The Under 16’s finished runners up in the League Cup, with the Under 13’s finishing runners up in the Vale & District Girls League.

In 1994 / 95, the Ladies team won promotion to Division 2 of the Southern Region and moved to Scours lane (Reading Town FC) in 1995.

1996 / 97 the Ladies won the Berks & Bucks County Cup and Southern Region Division One title. The team also finished runners up in the League Cup and reached the fifth round of the Women’s FA Cup.

In 1997 / 98 the Ladies again finished as Southern Region Division One Champions, this time winning the play-offs to gain promotion to the WFA Southern National Division. The ladies were the first team from Berks & Bucks to play at this level. The team also won the Berks and Bucks County Cup for a second time.

In 1998 / 99 the Ladies won the Southern National Division at the first attempt to win promotion to the WFA Premier Division. The Ladies reached the quarterfinals of the AXA Women’s Cup, narrowly losing to WFA Premier League side Tranmere.

The Royals first season (1999 / 2000) in the National Premier Division was short lived and the team were relegated back into the National Southern Division on the penultimate weekend of the season.

In 2000 / 01, following an exodus of players the team was relegated again from the National Southern Division into the South West Combination Women’s League. The Under 16 side secured the “double” by winning the Southern Girls League title and League cup competition. The Under 15’s, 13’s, 12’s and U11 sides formed the nucleus of the new Reading F.C. girls Academy.

In 2001 / 02 the recovery began as the ladies won the Berks and Bucks County Cup against Chelsea from the Southern National League. A very young reserve side finished runners up at the first attempt in the Southern Division of the Southern Region Women’s League. The U15 side won the South West Surrey league title, narrowly missing out on the “double” with defeat in the League Cup Final.

In 2002 / 03 the first team finished runners up in the South West Combination League, reached the fifth round of the F.A. Cup and retained the Berks and Bucks County Cup with a win over Chesham United in the final.

2003 / 2004 saw the first team finish runners up again in the South West combination League (despite winning 20 of their 22 games). The ladies also won the Ambassador (League) Cup for the first time in the clubs history with a 3-1 win over Rover Oxford. The Reserves had a fantastic season winning the Southern Region Premier League and Cup “double” despite being the only Reserve side in the division. Reading F.C. provided our playing kit for the first time, allowing the ladies regular match day programme appearances and granting the ladies two pitch side appearances with Mr Madejski no less!!.

2004 / 2005 culminated in the first team winning the South West Combination to gain promotion back into the Women’s Premier League Southern Division, reach the Fifth round of the F.A. cup again and win the Berks and Bucks County Cup for a record fourth time. The Reserves completed a remarkable and historic back to back “double” by retaining the Southern Region Premier League and League Cup titles.

The priority for 2005 / 06 is to consolidate in the Women’s Premier League and continue to develop individually and collectively.

For more info go to www.rrlfc.com