Ask Your Mam or Nan if She Played for the Corinthians

I’ll be publishing the second edition of the non-profit making book on the Manchester Corinthians soon. I’m desperate to include the names of as many former Corinthians as possible in the book and so I’m making another call for the names of women who played for the Corinthians at some point during the club’s astounding 40+ years to be identified. As with the first edition of the book there will be a list of all known players included within Manchester Corinthians: The Authorised History (second edition). While over 350 names have already been identified, I know there are many other women who played at some point during the club’s history. So please ask your families, spread the news and let me know of anyone who has possibly been missed. If you’ve got the first edition check the list at the back and see if ‘your’ Corinthian is named.

I want to record the names of the players and, where possible, the years they played. So please get in touch. I don’t want anybody to be missed.

It’s worth remembering that some Corinthians had previously kept quiet because of reactions they may have had to playing football in the past. In fact, during my research, I have met women who had not told their families that they played football and so asking the simple question ‘Did you play football, Nan?’ will sometimes bring out a wonderful aspect of your nan’s life. So, I urge you all to ask your mum, mam, ma, mātā, mom, madar, mama, nan, gran, nani, nana, nonna, granny, babushka, grandma (or whatever term of affection you use for your mother or grandmother) about playing sport.

Ask your mam or your nan if she played – you never know what you’ll hear! Granny may well have been one of the club’s pioneering figures – or a leading light at another club whose story needs to be told – but just hasn’t talked about it!

If you find a Corinthian then get in touch. I really don’t want to leave anybody out of my book. But time is short, so please ask now.

As well as asking your mam or your nan, how about helping the book by subscribing to it? You will get a copy of the second edition book (posted out before it appears in the shops) and your name will be included in a special roll of honour published within the book if ordered before publication:

Opportunities to buy multiple copies, sponsor the book or donate to ensure it’s published to the size and standard the women who played deserve exist. Please email Gary@GJFootballArchive.com for more information on those opportunities.

This book is a must for anyone interested in Manchester or women’s football and will consist of over 360 pages. It will be fully illustrated throughout and subscribers can order it now for £19.95 (including UK postage and packaging). All orders received before publication will have the purchaser’s name included within the special roll of honour at the back of the book. You can order the book for someone else – all details will be checked and confirmed before publication.

The book will be published this October (2026).

If you live outside the UK then please contact for details of additional postage costs.

You do not need to have a PayPal account to order – use the ‘Pay with PayPal’ button above and it will give you the option to pay by credit/debit card without creating a PayPal account.

The book will include the story of the club as told by the women involved, alongside a significant amount of archive material. Myths will be corrected and the facts of this pioneering club will be told in an easy to read format.

The club went on to represent Manchester, football and female endeavour for decades, winning major international tournaments in Europe and South America. The Corinthians are, without doubt, one of the most important football clubs ever to come from Manchester and they were a prominent and pioneering club in so many ways.

As well as the interviews and dozens of archive trips there’s been a concerted effort to compile as comprehensive list as possible on women who played for the club. I’ve managed to compile a list of over 350 women who played for the club. Objects and trophies have also been rediscovered. This is the type of detailed research I enjoy. It’s time consuming, difficult and often frustrating but occasionally you find a little gem that adds significantly to our knowledge. There have been quite a few of those.

Those subscribing to the book will receive a copy signed by author Gary James and posted out to subscribers before it appears in any shop or is distributed to any retailer. This is the ONLY way to guarantee your copy.

Manchester Corinthians: The Authorised History will include interviews with players from every era of the club from several founding players back in 1948-49 through to those playing for the club in its final days over 40 years later (yes, that’s right – over 40 years later!). The book tells the story of the club from start to finish via the voices of the women who played. Via these voices the entire history of the club is explained with the key figures identified and remembered. There’s a remarkable trail of women linking the first game with the last.

Over fifty Corinthians have been interviewed for this book and their remarkable stories and memories are supported with an amazing array of photographs, newspaper articles, match programmes, trophies and other items of memorabilia from every era of the club’s existence.

Alongside chapters chronicling the history of the club there are features on founder Percy Ashley, who dedicated his life to promoting women’s football, and on Gladys Aikin (a key figure not only with the Corinthians but also with the early years of the Women’s Football Association) and George Aikin, who continued to take the Corinthians on tours into the 1980s. There are special features on the major tours of the 1950s and 1960s when the Corinthians found major international success.

The cover of the book will be worked on by the designer over the coming months but following feedback from former players the maroon and dark blue options will be replaced with a blue, more reminiscent of the colour first worn by the Corinthians (based on player memories, reports, programmes and other material found so far).

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