The London City Lionesses are top of the Barclays Women’s Championship, embroiled in their second consecutive promotion battle after missing out to Liverpool last season.
Their intriguing story off the field makes them stand out.
The Lionesses have eight games left and Bristol City are hot on their heels with a game in hand. The club's objective is to make it to the Women’s Super League (WSL).
In fact, before they played Tottenham in the FA cup, interim manager Nikita Runnacles said: “That’s the club’s ambition of where we want to be.
“When we approach those games, we do as if we are currently a WSL side.”
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The club is rising rapidly, but these season suffered a setback when their manager Melissa Phillips left to take up a role at Angel City Football Club in Los Angeles last month.
Phillips took over as manager in October 2020. She joined the club initially as an assistant coach the day before the UK-wide lockdown for coronavirus.
She was an encapsulation of the club’s values and left a significant impression around the club. Her shock departure has not put the ambitions of the club on hold, but the impact may still be felt between now and the end of the season.
The club that exists today has a short history after breaking away from Millwall before the 2019-2020 season, but significantly they are the first independent women’s team in London.
This is an accolade and a uniqueness that they embrace and Runnacles said: “We are in a privileged position as an independent club.”
The values, sustainability and progress are all vitally important in selling the club to potential players. The season is currently on an international break and there are three Republic of Ireland players as well as Scottish, New Zealand and Jamaican internationals in the squad.
The highest profile of those is Irish international Kyra Carusa, who joined in January from the Danish Women's League club HB Køge off the back of two league titles.
Carusa has Champions League experience and was MVP of the Danish league. The start to her time in Denmark mirrors the position the Lionesses are now, as neither were in the top flight when she joined, but they both have full faith in their project.
It remains to be seen if London City can enjoy as much success. The highly motivated Carusa said: “I’m very familiar with the moving mountains mentality and that’s why I loved London City and its aspirations for the future.”
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Testament to the structure and coaching the club have in place, they have developed Grace Neville from a youth international with England to a call up to the New Zealand senior squad, as she qualifies through her mother.
Jamie-Lee Napier is another good example. London City managed to sign the Scottish international from current WSL champions Chelsea. Napier was also one of the top ten most promising youngsters, according to UEFA in 2020, which speaks to the influence the club has already built up in the women’s game.
Another important factor when establishing an independent club is growing a fanbase. This comes easier for other sides in women’s football, who have existing fan bases, but this year has seen massive growth for the Lionesses.
They play at Princes Park in Dartford and recorded a record crowd of 416 when they played Sunderland in their most recent home league match on February 5.
A lot of their revenue comes from ticket sales, and they are very reasonably priced compared to teams around the area. The hope is that with the good football they play and the project they are building, the fans will only increase in number.
Winning football matches is an underrated method of growth and development, but the Lionesses are aware that their success will help. With nine wins out of 14 league games, they are performing well in that department, and adding to that number will take them closer to the allure of the WSL.
The way they play is simply summarised by interim manager Runnacles: “We are a very creative and quick-playing team who like to apply pressure all over the pitch and bring entertainment to the game when we have possession.”
Evidence of this is they have eight more goals than anyone else in the WSL 2 so far and play the game on the front foot.
The club is small, but every single member of the wider team is working together to build from scratch, and the finances are an important part of this. They have recently acquired a new sponsor, Capelli Sport, which supplies their kit.
The friendly, driven and exciting club is well on its way to the top tier of English women’s football.
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