LUFC Women in the new Red Bull home kit, team shot with the Julie Chipchase trophy won in August 24

Follow Leeds Utd Women

Keep up-to-date with LUFC Women’s 2024-25 season in FA Womens National League - Division One North, as well as Womens FA Cup and regional cup competitions.

Click here for FAWNLs webpage where you can see all the  fixtures, results, and table updates.

Home matches for 2024/25 are again being played at Garforth Town FC: click here for all the info.

Click here for all the updates on LUFCs website.

Upcoming fixtures

** HOME **    Wed 25 Sept ko 7.45pm - Doncaster Belles

Sun 29 Sept ko 2.00pm - Middlesborough (Away) FAWNL Cup

Sun 6 Oct ko 2.00pm - Cheadle Town (Away)

Sun 13 Oct - Mancunian Unity, FA Cup  (details tbc)

** HOME ** Sun 27 Oct ko 2.00pm - Barnsley

Ready for kick-off!

LUFC Women are getting geared up for the new season, with the first match at home (Garforth) v Huddersfield Town on Sunday 18th August, ko 2.00pm. And before the full season kicks off we will be taking on Doncaster Belles in the traditional curtain-raiser Julie Chipchase Trophy: this time away, on Sunday 4th August, ko 2.00pm.

You can see the full fixture list on the FAWNL site, and all the info about Garforth Town, using the links above. Take a minute too to look at the FAWNL news item about former player Jodie Hunter who progressed from the white of LUFC to the black ref’s kit.

There’s also exciting news about three new signings (so far!): defender Shauna Legge, striker Drew Greene, and midfielder Ellie White (pictured) on the LUFC website.

And we’ll be giving the team our full support as always: look out for updates here and on our socials.

*UPDATED 5 Aug*: Returning Striker Amy Woodruff and ‘keeper Charlotte Oates become signings 4 & 5 for LUFC Women; AND victory over Doncaster Belles to win the Julie Chipchase Trophy, in a 3-1 away win and goals coming from three different scorers.

See the full report here on the club website.

01.08.24

Ellie White smiling and holding the new home shirt in front of the ‘Side before self every time’ banner at ER
FAWNL Table with top 6:- Hull City 53pts; Middlesborough 46; Durham Cestria 43 (GD 25); Barnsley 43 (GD 23); Stockport Cty 35; LUFC 34

Mid-table finish for LUFC

It was a disappointing end to a frustrating and weather-disrupted season for LUFC Women, ending with two home defeats, 1-5 to Hull City and 0-2 to Chester-le-Street. Hull eventually finished champions on 53 points with a 7-point margin over Middlesborough (in a league where only one team is promoted), and LUFC at mid-table 6th on 34 points.

Jess Rousseau - with 25 goals from 27 appearances – was top scorer, although the Golden Boot award  went to Hull’s Helen Lynskey (22 in 30 appearances). Katie Astle was 5th scorer with 12 goals from 20 appearances.

We look forward to the new campaign and are already discussing how we can continue our active support to LUFC Women throughout the season to come.

Continue to visit here and the club and FAWNL links above for all the updates.

10.05.24

Winning New Year!

It turned out that a busy cup spell ended in disappointment. Our FAWNL Cup run was short-lived, but LUFC Women can be proud of a 3-4 loss to Halifax of the Northern Prem.

In the Women’s FA Cup LUFC won 6-2 at Didsbury & Cholton, but in the next round lost on pens after a 1-1 away at Darwen. So no repeat of last season’s heroics against Arsenal.

Then there came a frustrating sequence of games postponed due to frozen or flooded pitches, with the result that there was no action until the first weekend of the new year: but that was an impressive 4-2 win over Donny Belles. That leaves the team clear in 4th place with a game in hand… but a daunting 9pts behind Barnsley in single promo spot.

We were happy to see our banners featuring prominently in coverage of that win, and will continue to support the team in the months to come. See the links at the top of the page for all the info.

8.01.24

Action shot of LUFC attacking, with M-Out banner hung next to goal
Team celebrate FAWNL Plate win 2023

Cup Double coming up!

It's a cup double for LUFC Women! Sunday 22nd October it's Vitality Women’s FA Cup action v Chester of Vanarama National League North. RESULT: from 2-1 at HT LUFC won 7-1, drawn away to W Didsbury & Cholton 12.11.23

Then a week later Sunday 29th it’s FAWNL Cup action and Halifax - not only a local derby but they are Northern Premier division which is one tier above us… so a great test of our promotion ambitions.

Both matches are 2.00pm kick-offs, and home ties played at Garforth Town: see all the info on the link at the top of the  page.

19.10.23 updated 24.10.23

Great start, big crowds…!

Despite losing manager Rick Passmore to West Ham Utd it’s been a flying start to the season, with three wins out of four in FAWNL, and one cup win.

The facilities at Garforth Town are great and attendances at over-400 are significantly up on last season. They deserve that: the play is a high standard, real and close up, and the players are fantastic with the fans.

We will be there this season. Come along and find out what you’ve been missing! See the links above for everything you need to know.

16.09.23

New season, new home

Two important announcements for the new 2023/24 league season, with the publication of LUFC Women’s fixtures AND a change of home venue.

The season kicks off on Sunday 20th August vs Stockport at home, which this season sees a move to Garforth Town’s newly-refurbished stadium. See the details of both on the club website below, and visit the FA Womens National League link at the top of the page to keep up-to-date with fixtures, results and the latest table.

17.07.23

We go again…!

After LUFC Women’s spectacular cup exploits, the FA Womens National League season rather fizzled out, with a final away win at Merseyrail but a disappointing 6th placed finish overall. This saw LUFC finish and 21 points adrift… in a league with only one team promoted.

As other clubs around us strengthen their commitment to the Womens teams, we will watch carefully to see LUFC’s new owners’ approach. But rest assured we will be there to continue our support. MOT

1.05.23

FAWNL table

Cup Winners!

LUFC Women have had a faltering season in the league, but much more success with two great cup runs with wins over sides from higher divisions, including an FA Cup tie against WSL Arsenal and now culminating in a great win in the FA Womens National League Plate.

United were up against Stourbridge Women, who play in the Midlands division of the same tier as LUFC but who are comfortably top of their league.

In a very even and hard-fought game it was clear from the off that Leeds were up for the occasion and fighting for everything (the 4-0 yellow-card count proves that), and on balance had the better of the play - and chances. Macy Ellis scored in the first half, only for Stourbridge to equalise within minutes. Mid-way through the second half Abbie Brown pounced to drive home a fumbled save, and although Stourbridge threatrened again Amy Woodruff made it 3-1 heading cleverly to finish a flowing move down the right.

This was a fully-deserved win for the entire team, and especially for the long-serving trio across the back of Olivia Smart, Bridie Hannon and Cath Hammil.

Marching Out Together had a group at the game, our banners were on display around the pitch, and we were proud when injured skipper Rebekah Bass carried our scarf onto the pitch after the final whistle and it appeared in the photos of the players’ celebrations. We will continue to support in cup and league and with our presence at Tadcaster, and we hope this success is a springboard for even greater support and development by the club, with more trophies in years to come.

26.03.23

Supporting LUFC at Tad

Earlier this season LUFC withdrew the option to sponsor a player, which we had been proud to do over a number of years for Olivia Smart and more recently Laura Bartup.

We were keen to continue to our support in some way, and so have now taken out an advertising board at Tadcaster Albion where Home matches are played. The board is close to the players entrance and directly opposite the position from where LUTV film games and we hope this will give us some good visibility as well as supporting the team.

We are also delighted to be supporting Tadcaster Albion at the same time.

9.02.23

LUTV screenshot with 3-1 score & players celebrating

FA Cup 4th Rd v Arsenal

LUFC Women’s league season has seen a faltering first half, not helped by disruptions to the schedule due to weather: the team have played only 9 so far, compared to others on 12 or even 13.

But in Cup competitions they have real momentum and have beaten both Brighouse and Stoke City (in Vitality Women’s FA Cup) and West Brom (FAWNL Plate), all from Northern Premier - a division higher.

The Stoke win was a hard-fought and strong performance, marred only by a serious injury to dynamo and captain Bekki Bass (and everyone here sends our love and best wishes for a full recovery). And, it sets up a FA Cup 4th Round tie away at Arsenal, of the full-pro Barclays Women’s Superleague, and featuring Lionesses Beth Mead, Leah Williamson and a host of other internationals.

This will be a fantastic outing for the team and everyone at LUFC Women, and a great reward especially to longer-serving players and friends of ours Cath Hammill, Olivia Smart and Bridie Hannon.

The match will be played on Sunday 29 January at 2.00pm at Meadow Park, Borehamwood. Tickets are available here.

10.01.23

UPDATE - The match ended Arsenal 9 - 0 Leeds but the whites gave a great battling and defiant performance to the end against a team of a different class. We hope they are as proud of themselves as we are of them.

Our support for LUFC Women

We have recently been advised of a change to the commercial arrangements at LUFC Women, whereby sponsorship of individual players is no longer available. We respect the club’s decision but are disappointed for ourselves: we have been immensely proud to support long-serving Olivia Smart over a number of years, and this season Laura Bartup. We are in discussions on alternative ways to support the Women’s team and will provide more news in due course.

At the same time we note Laura’s move to Hull City. We are sad to see her go, but fully understand her decision to be closer to family and work. Thankyou Laura for your support for us and we wish you the very best and every success in your new ventures.

15.10.22

Laura & Olivia pose in home kit at Tadcaster, holding M-Out scarf
Team celebrate

New season & a new gaffer

LUFC have announced significant changes for the new season. Rick Passmore returns to LUFC as manager, with GM Julie Lewis and manager Don O’Hearne moving on. Both have overseen significant progress at the club over a number of years and been excellent ambassadors, including their support for us, and we wish them well in their next steps. See the Club’s announcement here.

Meanwhile FAWNL’s fixtures have been announced and LUFC kick off with a home game against Hull City on Sunday 21 August, ko 2.00pm. Next up are Barnsley (away) and Middlesboro (at Tad). See the links in the panel above for info on Tadcaster Albion and FAWNL with all the details of fixtures.

26.07.22

EGM for club transfer

On 1 June LUFC Women held an Emergency General Meeting of the management committee for the sole purpose of approving the transfer of the registration of the club to Leeds Utd.

This is a positive move which will hopefully strengthen the links between the Womens teams and LUFC, increase their profile, and provide even greater impetus for the drive of the first team for promotion to the Northern Premier League.

We are proud to have actively supported LUFC Women over recent years with sponsorship of long-serving Olivia Smart and now top scorer Laura Bartup, as well as frequent attendance at matches. We hope to be able to continue to do so, and to see the Womens teams go from strength to strength.

1.06.22

4th and proud

So a season disrupted by the pandemic and extreme weather is over for LUFC Women, and lots to be proud of:-

  • a 4th place finish, and inflicting the only defeat on Liverpool Feds’ title-winning campaign, 1-0 at home back in September with a winner from Abbie Brown

  • A county Cup Final defeat only on penalties, after a battling fightback against holders Brighouse from a whole division above

  • A memorable occasion and a 6-0 win in front of a big crowd at Elland Road (with four from Laura Bartup)

  • An increased profile with the club, including regular website features and live updates on all matches (thanks to Andrew ‘Stats’ Dalton)

  • Lots of community work and encouragement to countless young girl players, inspired by fabulous role-models giving real proof that *everyone* can play

We are very proud to have supported the team and to have sponsored top-scoring Laura Bartup, with 22 goals in 30 appearances. We wish everyone a well-earned break over the summer, and are looking forward to next season. #MOT

1.05.22

It’s a cup final!

On Thursday 7th April LUFC Women take on Brighouse Town Women at West Riding FA’s ground at Fleet Lane.

Brighouse are the current holders, and play in the Northern Premier Division - that’s the one LUFC are fighting for promotion to, so it won’t be easy… but it’s a one-off cup game so anything is possible and this team definitely have what it takes!

Your support can make all the difference: please get along if you can. #MOT

28.03.22

Club update Feb 22

As part of our sponsorhsip package of striker Laura Bartup we have received a mid-season update from LUFC covering not only the senior Womens’ ‘up & down season’ so far but also news on how the U23s and U21s have been getting on.

2.02.22

Meet Laura Bartup

Goals, promotion ambitions, and the importance of being a role-model for younger girls: find out more in this great ‘YEP’ article penned by our member Laura Snelson.

August 2021 - Laura Bartup

We are delighted to announce that we are to continue our sponsorship of Leeds United Women… and this season with a new player.

We are thrilled to be sponsoring striker Laura Bartup who joined the club last year. Laura got off to a flying start with a great goal in this season’s final warm-up game, with LUFC-W claiming the Julie Chipchase Memorial Trophy with a 2-0 win over Doncaster Belles… and then scored FOUR in the home match v her former club Barnsley!

We will introduce Laura to you properly very shortly.

Olivia Smart Update Spring ‘21

We are extremely proud to sponsor Olivia Smart of Leeds Utd Women.

Olivia is a great role-model and ambassador for the city and club. She is in her 16th season with LUFC, and is studying to qualify as an advanced practitioner in transplant surgery based at St James’s Hospital in Leeds. And she’s also a great footballer! In between all of that, Olivia was kind enough to find time for a chat to bring us up to date on her football, work and studies, and the impacts of the pandemic.

Last time we spoke you were pressing Barnsley for top spot although with a gap and then the season was suspended. How do you think it might have played out?

Who knows, hopefully it would have been one of those played out until the death with Leeds the winners !!

You completed your 15th season in disappointing circumstances, but then won the Bobby Collins Award. How did that feel?

It’s a privilege to be part of this club - this family - and for them to recognise me off of the pitch is just humbling.

The new season started with a lot of new signings. What impact has that had?

It’s been nice - fresh faces and a change in tack is good for everyone and our football style. In terms of my role I am naturally a defender who doesn’t defend, ha ha !! I press as a higher wing back.

This season was suspended after 6 games with LUFC sitting 4th. What are your hopes for a restart?

Obviously we’re hoping to get back to football and get going again but, sadly there are other priorities now and I think everyone’s very understanding of that.

What stage are you now at in your studies, and have you been able to maintain that in the pandemic?

I’m almost finished, the masters is almost complete. I guess I just have to thank my home life, family and friends for being able to carry out the perfect work life balance!

How has the pandemic affected your transplant role: did things continue and under what conditions?

Yes transplant thankfully continued in Leeds. It slowed as most things did but we still managed to keep the programme here open

We were proud to see you launch the vaccination centre at Elland Rd: what did it mean to you to have those two core parts of your life intersect?

It was nice, sums it up for me. Leeds as a club and a city is home for me and it was just nice to be doing my job at my second home !!

Is it possible for you to sum up your and your colleagues experience & feelings about the pandemic?

I don’t think it’ll ever be possible to sum up what we have all experienced and the effect it will have on everyone I think for the rest of their careers. I think the nature in which everyone has pulled together is truly a remarkable feat of British culture and people.

Thankyou for your time Olivia, good luck for the end of your studies, and we hope to come and see you play before too long. Keep safe.

Olivia Smart Interview 2019

Olivia joined LUFC aged 10 via the RTC (Regional Talent Club) development programme; now 25, this is her 15th year with the club. Cath Hammill joined aged 13 and with 10 years with the club is another Leeds ‘lifer’.

Leeds Utd Women FC play in the Women’s National League North, and there are Midlands and South Divisions, too. There is just one team promoted each season up to the Premier League, and above that the FA Women’s Super League with Man City, Chelsea, Arsenal and the rest.

You came back from holiday and the bench to score in the 2-0 over Bolton Wdrs. LUFC went out of the cup last w/end then Sunday you scored again to help beat Norton.

Olivia: Ha ha yes you could say that goal against Bolton was a *slight* deflection!!! The goal against Norton was another odd one too – it hit the bar and bounced down and looked like a goal but no-one was sure… I waited what seemed ages for the ref to confirm! We don’t have VAR but that’s what it must feel like! None of my goals have been straightforward recently… I reckon I’ll have my own slot on ‘Question of Sport’ soon… “What decision was this?”, ha ha.

It seems recently as though you have been playing in a more wing-back mode on the left, getting much further forward and getting crosses in (and the same with Cath Hammill on the right?). Is that a new role for both of you?

Olivia: Yes it is, in fact the whole team is really well-organised this season and we all know our roles, and yes a much higher press is a key part of our game. I’m used to playing midfield so I’m ok with the up-and-back and covering more of the pitch, but Cath was a centre-half before so it’s been much more demanding on her – she’s doing brilliantly though and getting in some great attacking play and crosses.

Dan O’Hare won Manager of the month for November: how do you think the team is developing/learning under him? How is everyone feeling at this stage of the season compared to last year?

Olivia: If you look at the game last weekend when we were one up and they equalised with just a short while to go, we would have lost that last year. Dan’s built a lot of determination – grit – into us, and now we grind out results, he’s shown us how to manage the game out. When the opposition score we take a pause, think to ourselves ‘OK, so that’s happened’ and then regroup, push on, and more often than not we now win the game.

We have a really strong squad this season – Dan has kept us all together but also brought in some really good new girls including Kirsty Johnson from Doncaster, a keeper, and also Millie Kenyon, a striker from Sheffield. These are great signings, but Dan isn’t just looking at footballing ability (though the new girls are really strong!) he is also picking based on personality and ‘fit’… we are a tight knit group and he wants to retain and build on that. Dan has managed to build a strong ‘family’ feel around us… a bit like Bielsa for the men. And also, another similarity, when the new girls come in he doesn’t throw them straight into it, he gives them – and us – time to get used to each other and properly get used to the group and how they fit in.

Mind you, he’s not always happy: he ‘feels’ everything and is fighting for promotion with us… he had a go at us last week for “too much banter”, ha ha.

We work really hard too and it’s paying off, both for fitness and for the group. We don’t have matches every week, and when it’s an ‘off’ week we either train or we play another team – if we can at a higher level than us.

The biggest difference though is over a couple of years: two seasons ago we were staring at relegation… now we are pushing for promotion and that’s fantastic.

Barnsley are taking some catching and they still have a game in hand. They are well organised, very disciplined….. but, I can’t see them going the entire season unbeaten: we have to focus on our performance and make sure that when they do slip up we take full advantage.

Tell us a bit about the relationship with the club, do you get much contact with the men’s team?

Oh yes it’s fantastic! And that’s another way Dan is building the team up: we train and play at Thorp Arch, and Dan uses a lot of the same techniques as Marcelo Bielsa and the men do – for example they have a training routing called ‘Murder Ball’ and we do the exact same thing. Marcelo is always around, and often comes to watch us train and practice.

Julie Lewis, the General Manager, is really important in how we are developing. She played for Leeds United as a youngster, and she gets it. And… she’s a woman too and that does make a difference – but… she’s definitely NOT a mother-figure, ha ha. Bringing Julie in was Angus [Kinnear]’s decision and that speaks volumes; he doesn’t just talk about it, he delivers.

We had a meeting where we said all the things we would ideally like for the Womens team, and we got the lot! We wanted to play at Thorp Arch and use the all-weather pitch, we wanted to play in the proper Leeds United kit, and we wanted to wear the same badge. They said ‘Fine, here you go!’ and gave us all of it. Another thing is that we have squad numbers which are allocated to us, and that is then our number: so if you join, say, at one age category and then move between the teams, you still have your number, and that really makes you feel that you are part of it, that you belong and have your own place. These things are important.

Angus is definitely behind Julie and what we are doing here; Andrea [Radrizzani] too, he’s the same… we have meetings and functions that we go to and they come up to us, they know who we are, know our names and ask how we’re doing. It feels real, personal. The commitment from the club is actually really genuine and we appreciate it a lot. The sponsorship we get from Marching Out and other is really important but it only makes a contribution to running the team: we do get paid, and our expenses covered, and in the end that is covered by the club. I am sure that if (God forbid and we wouldn’t want it again but…) if the club got into the sort of relegation and financial trouble from years ago, I feel sure they would continue to back us even if they were struggling.

The players are great too and we get to see them a lot. I work at St James’s Hospital and for Organ Donor Week I asked Patrick Bamford if he could visit… there are so many demands on their time for community things on top of their training, but Patrick just came straight out and said yes and remembered all about it.

Tell us about your work at St James’s and how you balance that with football?

Olivia: I started out as a junior nurse and eventually moved into operating theatre practice. I am now an organ retrieval and transplant specialist: so, I perform the surgery to recover the organs from the donor and transplant them to the patient who needs them. I work shifts and that includes being part of an on-call rota, plus I am studying at the moment for a Masters in Advanced Practice, so I have to juggle my study time too.

Leeds Teaching Hospitals Trust have been fabulous and allow me to take time when I need it to play. I am really grateful to them for that, and also to my colleagues because it affects them too. It was good when I was able to do something the other way and got Patrick Bamford in to the ward for Organ Donor Week… I walked through in my Leeds Utd training gear instead of my uniform and all the patients were like…. “What?... what are you doing dressed like that….?” and were really surprised when I walked in with Patrick.

It does all take a lot of juggling, and that’s even before you allow for friends, a social life and my family (who have been a fantastic support for me all along). Being a Leeds Utd fan is hard enough work as it is… never mind playing for them on top, ha ha!!

Gareth Thomas was on R4 last week about homophobia and the Football Offences Act. Also Beth Miles did a piece for R4. There is still no openly gay professional male footballer, but in the women’s game things seem more open, relaxed, inclusive. What are your thoughts on that?

Olivia: Oh, that’s complicated. You know, I think women are just better at talking about things – personal things, feelings – whereas men tend to keep things to themselves. For example – men don’t go to the doctor and talk about difficult things. It’s a shame. But sport is a great vehicle to talk about things, what with all the ‘ups & downs’, and the emotion of it. In the women’s game it’s just more mainstream, more normal… a number of the England team have been openly gay for a long time - Hope Powell, Casey Stoney, others; nobody really bothers about that.

I guess there’s the cliché about what ‘masculinity’ is supposed to be, an assumption that there would be a lower level of performance, but that’s just not right. Maybe for the men it’s a bit like mental health, which used to be a taboo subject nobody talked about – but it’s changing, it will become more open and people get more accepting over time.

It’s not just to do with football I don’t think – it’s a wider cultural thing and will probably still get picked on but it will change, it IS getting better even if it’s taking years… but, c’mon, it’s 2020 it’s time things changed!!

We get the other side, of course: a lot of guys will say “Oh right, but you’re all lesbians aren’t you…” and even though it really doesn’t matter, some people can still be hurt by it. But those kind of comments are just ignorance – just like anybody else in society, or any workplace, we may or may not be… as if it matters anyway, ha ha! It’s like the video the club made for Rainbow Laces, “If you can play, you can play.”

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