Tottenham Hotspur Football Club Women, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is an English women's football club affiliated with Tottenham Hotspur. The club currently plays in the Women's Super League (WSL), the top flight of women's football in England. The club gained promotion for the WSL after finishing second in the 2018–19 FA Women's Championship.
Tottenham Hotspur plays its home games at Brisbane Road in Leyton, and occasionally at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. The club has been training full-time at Hotspur Way since 2020.
The club has won twelve titles, the most recent being the overall FA Women's Premier League in the 2016–17 season.
History
Early years and amateur era (1985–2017) In 1985, the club was founded as Broxbourne Ladies by Sue Sharples and Kay Lovelock, following the folding of East Herts College. Permission was obtained to change the club's name to Tottenham Hotspur Ladies F.C. in the 1991–92 season. The reserve team started in 1992–93. In the 1996–97 season, the club's teams started playing in the national division. In the 2015–16 season, the club completed a historic double as they won the Ryman's Women's Cup and the FA Women's Premier League Cup. In the same season they finished runners up in the Capital Cup nearly completing a cup treble. The following season was the team's most successful, claiming the quadruple including winning promotion to the WSL 2.
Promotion campaigns (2017–2019) At the start of the 2017–18 campaign, the club made high-profile signings such as former England U20 midfielder Coral-Jade Haines and Wales international forward Sarah Wiltshire. The season saw the team claim their first ever victory over a top flight side, beating Bristol City in their FA Women's League Cup matchup. The club finished their first season in a professional league in seventh place out of ten sides. In March 2018 it was confirmed that the club would apply to remain in the newly re-branded Women's Championship and would compete in the upcoming season. There were several moves in made the lead up to their first season in the newly reformed Championship, this included the return of Welsh international Megan Wynne who played on loan for the club in 2015 as well as the departure of long time players Katie O’Leary and Shannon Moloney who played for the side for five and seven years respectively. The club announced on 26 April 2019, that the team would be renamed to Tottenham Hotspur Women starting with the next season as well as the appointment of Heather Cowan as Head of Women's Football. After a 1–1 draw with Aston Villa on 1 May 2019, Spurs secured a promotion spot to the FA Women's Super League for the first time in their history. Their licence for the top flight was officially confirmed on 10 May 2019.
Women's Super League and professionalisation (2019–present) On 17 November 2019, the North London derby against Arsenal at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium recorded an attendance figure of 38,262, the highest ever for a Women's Super League match at the time.
In the 2020 summer transfer window Spurs reinforced their squad with a mix of players with WSL and NWSL experience. On 12 September, 2020, United States women's national team forward Alex Morgan signed with Spurs on a contract that reportedly ran from September through December 2020, with an option to extend the deal through the end of the 2020–21 FA WSL season. Still trying to regain fitness having not played since August 2019 and giving birth in May 2020, Morgan eventually made her Spurs debut nearly two months after signing, on 7 November, appearing as a 69th minute substitute in a 1–1 WSL draw against Reading. Spurs had started the season winless in their first seven matches, just one spot above last place and relegation. Due to this form, Rehanne Skinner was appointed as the new head coach of Tottenham on 19 November 2020, replacing long time managers Karen Hills and Juan Amorós. Hills had been in charge of the first team since August 2009 while Spurs were playing in the then-third tier South East Combination Women's Football League and Amoros joined the club soon after in February 2011. On 6 December 2020 in Skinner's first match in charge, Spurs took their first league win of the season with a 3–1 victory over Brighton & Hove Albion. The match also featured Morgan's first goal for the club, an 84th-minute penalty. On 21 December, Tottenham Hotspur announced that Morgan would end her contract with the club and return to the US. Spurs would finish the season in 8th place, well clear of relegation and just a place under their initial WSL finish in the 2019–20 FA WSL season.
