Category Archives: Women’s Football

Happy 75th Anniversary: Manchester Corinthians

75 years ago today (5 January 1949) the Manchester Corinthian Ladies Football Club was founded. Guided by founder Percy Ashley, 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.

Happy anniversary to all those who played for or were involved with the club from its formation through to its final days. What a wonderful club to have been a part of!

Over the last decade Dr Gary James has been researching, interviewing, writing about and promoting the Corinthians’ achievements and stories. In December his quest to have a permanent public tribute to the Corinthians reached its conclusion with the unveiling of a blue plaque and other tributes at Fog Lane Park (you can read more about this elsewhere on this site) and over the last five years or so Gary has been planning to produce an authorised history of the club.

The book will be published this summer but the opportunity for people to order and subscribe to the book is now possible. The research undertaken and the publication of the book will be funded entirely by Gary, with those subscribing to the book pre-publication helping to support this wonderful record of a remarkable football club.

Gary says: ‘As well as the interviews and 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 around 300 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.

‘I’m still keen to hear from any former player who can add their voices to the history of the club, though the research and writing stage will be ending soon, so please get in touch as soon as possible. Please email Gary@GJFootballArchive.com with your name, rough dates you played and contact details.’

Those subscribing to the book will get their names included within a special roll of honour published within this authorised history. In addition the book will be signed by author Gary James and posted out to all 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 a founding player back in 1949 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 will finally tell 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 will be explained with the key figures identified and remembered. There’s a remarkable trail of women linking the first game with the last.

The book will be published to a similar style and quality to Gary’s acclaimed Manchester City Women: An Oral History and is destined to be another landmark publication on a major, pioneering women’s football club. See below for details of how to subscribe.

Dozens of former players have been interviewed for this book and their remarkable stories and memories will be 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 will also be 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 will be special features on the major tours of the 1950s and 1960s when Percy Ashley led the Corinthians to major international success.

This book is a must for anyone interested in Manchester or women’s football and will consist of over 300 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 31st March 2024 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.

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.

Manchester Corinthians: The Authorised History

The story of a pioneering women’s club as told to Gary James by those who were there

£19.95

The cover of the book will be worked on by the designer over the coming months but following feedback from former players the maroon has been replaced with a darker blue, more reminiscent of the colour most frequently worn by the Corinthians (based on the reports, programmes and other material found so far and the majority of comments from players). This may still change of course (‘The Authorised History’ will probably change colour too). The back will contain later images and wording.

If you’d like to purchase Gary James’ earlier book on women’s football then a limited number of copies, signed by Gary, are still available. You can order here:

Manchester City Women: An Oral History book

The first history of Manchester City’s women’s team, taking the story of the club from formation in 1988 until 2019-20 season. £16.95 including UK postage (outside UK contact for additional postage costs)

£16.95

Manchester Corinthians Book Latest

The research and writing for the authorised history of the Manchester Corinthians is continuing. I’ve spent much of the last few months traveling the country continuing to interview former players and visiting archives. The book will be out next year and we’ll be announcing some further news on it soon, including the opportunity for people to subscribe to the book.

As well as the interviews and archive trips there’s been a concerted effort to compile as comprehensive list as possible on women who played for the club. There’s still some way to go but so far I’ve managed to compile a list of over 260 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 a few of those and hopefully more to come.

Obviously, I’m still keen to hear from any former player who can add their voices to the history of the club. Please email Gary@GJFootballArchive.com with your name, rough dates you played and contact details.

The cover of the book will be worked on by the designer over the coming months but following feedback from former players the maroon has been replaced with a darker blue, more reminiscent of the colour most frequently worn by the Corinthians (based on the reports, programmes and other material found so far and the majority of comments from players). This may still change of course (‘The Authorised History’ will probably change colour too). The back will contain later images and wording.

If anyone is wondering about the size and scale of the book, it will be similar in style to the Manchester City Women book I produced a few years back.

The 1980s: 35 Year Ago Today City Women First Ever Home Game

Continuing the series of features on Manchester City in the 1980s with an on this day (12 December) from 1988… On this day Manchester City Ladies (now Women) played their first ever home game. We often focus on the first game of any kind (featured recently – a victory at Boundary Park) but rarely discuss the first home game played by the women’s team. So here goes… It was a 1-1 draw with Oldham Athletic at the Platt Lane Complex. City’s scorer was Heidi Ward and the team was managed by Neil Mather. The squad for this match was:

Michelle Flynn, Donna Davies, Kate Themen, M Hewlett, M Braddock, Paula Hinchcliffe, Tonia Slack, Michelle Mather, Louisa Felton, Donna Haynes, A Marsland, Debbie Darbyshire, Rowena Foxwell, Lisa Burnett, Heidi Ward, C Morgson, Helen Clark, J Walsh (Record of who started/subs not kept). Some of the women are on this photo,

The match report is of that game with the City equaliser described like this: ‘[City in the 2nd half] began pressing for a goal which came from H. Ward, a good drive into the bottom left hand corner of the Oldham net.’

There were other chances for City with Louisa Felton and Heidi Ward coming close to giving City a 2-1 lead but it wasn’t to be.

You can find out more on the City women’s team by following the tags or doing searches below.

A Record Greater Manchester Club Attendance

On this day (11 December) in 2022 I was at the Etihad Stadium when a new record crowd for a women’s club game in Greater Manchester was established. 44,259 watched Manchester City’s women’s team draw 1-1 with Manchester United. The attendance best all home games by Greater Manchester’s clubs; WFA Cup finals played in the area and games played by Dick, Kerr Ladies and other prominent women’s clubs over the previous 140 years or so. For those wondering the top five highest club attendances as recorded in Greater Manchester by the end of December 2022 were:

  • 44,259 City v United, Etihad, December 2022
  • 43,615 United v City, Old Trafford, November 2023
  • 31,213 City V United, Etihad, September 2019
  • 31,000 (occasionally reported as 35,000) Dick, Kerr Ladies v Bath Ladies, Old Trafford, January 1921
  • 30,196 United V Aston Villa, Old Trafford, December 2022

You can read about the first competitive women’s Manchester Derby, which occurred in 1990, here:

The 1st and Latest Women’s Manchester Derby in the League

The 1980s: City’s Women’s Team’s First Game

Continuing my new daily series of articles for subscribers started earlier this month covering the 1980s. The last ten days or so have taken a seasonal journey through a truly important decade in the history of Manchester City Football Club’s men’s team. But what about the women’s team? Well, today (27 November 2023) marks the 35th anniversary of the women’s team’s first game (as Manchester City Ladies v Oldham Athletic at Boundary Park – I was there!). Today’s article is a 2,200 word long read on this historic first game. Enjoy!

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Today’s feature was the last on the 1980s. I hope you’ve enjoyed them. If you missed the earlier features then start here:

The 1980s: 1980-1981 Gow, Hutchison & McDonald

Happy Anniversary

Today (27 November) is the 35th anniversary of the first game played by Manchester City Ladies (now Women). This was against Oldham Athletic Ladies at Boundary Park. This photo is the earliest press team photo of the club. 

These are pioneering City players and many dedicated considerable time to the club for years. The first ever game ended in a 4-1 City victory with Donna Haynes scoring 2 (including the historic 1st goal). Heidi Ward also scored 2 that day. I was there watching this historic first game and I included some brief details in my first book, published in 1989. 

This match report was in an Oldham newspaper & was reproduced in my 2019 Manchester City Women An Oral History book (see https://gjfootballarchive.com/shop/ for details of it). 

The club was founded via City In The Community (CITC) with Neil Mather playing the lead role as manager of the club. His drive and the determination of the women involved ensured this club had a life. At the time the wider Manchester City club (in particular CITC) did something that few other clubs were doing. The achievements back then and the years of dedication by the women involved ensured this club lived for years.

When the club was relaunched as Manchester City Women some national newspapers and others in the media suggested this was a new club without a history. That was damaging and hurtful to all those involved back in 1988 and the years that followed. If anything the history of Manchester City Ladies before it became City Women was similar to the majority of women’s clubs. It had gone through the trials and tribulations most face and was kept going by a dedicated band of players and supporters. Unlike Everton and Liverpool (and many others) City did not take over an existing club, they created one back in 1988 when the others had zero interest. So today’s anniversary is important in recognising the wonderful work of these women (and of the men like Neil Mather, Godfrey Williams, Ian Lees and others who were involved over the decades) and of Manchester City itself. 

The club gets criticised often for a lack of history but this is all rubbish spouted by rivals. City have delivered in men’s football longer than many rivals and they’ve delivered in women’s football longer than. many rivals too.  

Later today I’ll be posting a detailed 2,200 word article on the club’s first game back in 1988.

Happy anniversary.

Corinthians on TV Again and Book News

There’s going to be a book on the Manchester Corinthians and yet another TV appearance…

Firstly, the TV appearance: Anne Grimes, Jan Lyons, Margaret Shepherd and Margaret Whitworth will be on Steph’s Packed Lunch tomorrow (25 October 2023) to talk about the Corinthians and their achievements over the decades. Well worth watching if you can.

Next, I’m delighted to formally announce that I will be bringing out a history of the Corinthians. I’ve known some of the Corinthians for over 35 years and work on the book has been ongoing for some time. I first formally interviewed a few Corinthians about their playing careers back in 2016 and have been interviewing others in the years that have followed. The book will be a similar size and scale to my Manchester City Women: An Oral History book. It will be written in a similar format with the voices of the women who played (and the other people involved) telling the story of the club. It will be their words, telling their story as with the City Women book.

I’m still interested in interviewing other Corinthians and also finding other material, so if you played or know someone who did then ask them to get in touch. Similarly, if you’ve got photos or other material I’d be keen to see it.

Thanks to all who have been in touch and supported this project so far. The cover has been posted here – please note this is a draft. The colours and cover photo may change yet.

Manchester Corinthians Book Draft Cover

ITV National News: Corinthians

Last Friday was a special day when all of our plans to recognise the pioneering Manchester Corinthians came together nicely. In terms of media coverage one of the highlights was the ITV national news who did an excellent feature. You can still watch it here if you missed it:

https://www.itv.com/watch/news/manchester-honours-the-team-who-defied-an-fa-ban-on-womens-football/ckpxws1

ITV had already featured the plaque unveiling on their Granada Reports show earlier that day:

https://www.itv.com/news/granada/2023-10-06/honour-for-one-of-the-oldest-womens-football-teams

There was also coverage on BBC North West Tonight (sadly that’s no longer visible online) and various radio stations. There was also a Channel Five News feature too.

I’m still keen to track down other Corinthians (I’m writing the history of the club and am keen to make this the story as told by the women who played for the club). Please get in touch if you’re a former player or have a collection connected with the club: Gary@GJFootballArchive.com

You can find out more on the book which will be published in 2024 here:

Order: Manchester Corinthians Book

There are lots of images from the unveiling on this site, along with stories about the Corinthians. You can find out more on the appeal and on their history here:

Recognising the Manchester Corinthian Ladies Football Team

Photos from the Corinthians Plaque Unveiling

I’ll post more as the week goes by on Friday’s Corinthians plaque unveiling but in the meantime here are a few photos. The majority of these were taken by Jayne Comer, from the Manchester City Women Supporters Club. Thanks for all your help Jayne in capturing the day. Others were by myself, Heidi, the mayor’s office and other attendees.

If you’re wondering what all of this was about have a read of this:

Recognising the Manchester Corinthian Ladies Football Team

Also, 2024 will see the Authorised History of the Corinthians published. You can find out more about that here:

Order: Manchester Corinthians Book

Plaque Unveiling Now!

PIONEERING WOMEN’S FOOTBALL TEAM TO BE RECOGNISED WITH A BLUE PLAQUE

  • Manchester Corinthian Ladies Football Club to be recognised with a blue plaque
  • Unveiling will take place at Fog Lane Park, Didsbury, their home for over 20 years from formation in 1949
  • The plaque, two murals of the team and other tributes will be unveiled at the park on Friday 6 October at noon
  • The plaque and murals were funded by an appeal which included significant donations from the Football Association and Manchester City Council, alongside dozens of individual donations
  • Over 20 players, including a 92 year old who joined the team at formation, will be in attendance

A Blue plaque and other tributes to the pioneering women’s football team Manchester Corinthians will be unveiled on Friday 6 October at noon at the site of their formation, Fog Lane Park, Didsbury, Manchester. In attendance will be over 20 women who played for the club between 1949 and 1983 and representatives from the Football Association, Manchester Football Association, Manchester City Council, football fans, members of the public and former England international Kerry Davis.

One of the former players in attendance will be 92 year old, Dorothy Alcock, who first joined the team at formation in 1949. Others present on the day participated in trophy winning tours across Europe and South America during the fifties, sixties and seventies.

Dorothy Alcock, Manchester Corinthian from formation in 1949

The Corinthians raised significant amounts of money for charity during their existence while also promoting football and female endeavour at a time when participation in the sport was often frowned upon.

During the 1950s, playing as an unofficial England side, the Corinthians won a major European tournament in Germany and were supported on their travels by legendary Manchester City men’s goalkeeper Bert Trautmann.

In 1960 they found success in an unofficial ‘World Cup’ (officially the first ‘Torneo Internacional De Futbol Femenino’) in Venezuela as part of a significant tour of the West Indies and South America. Former player (outside right) Margaret Whitworth recalls: ‘We were treated like film stars. There were crowds everywhere we went. Playing in front of 56,000 was thrilling and the way women’s football was treated was so different to how it was back in England at the time. Here we had to play on park pitches or at other sports grounds, but there we played in major football stadiums.’

During the late 1960s the club’s management played a leading role in the creation of the Women’s Football Association. Both the Corinthians and their sister club the Nomads were founder members but their manager Gladys Aikin became a member of the governing body’s committee. By this time their determination was to see the growth of the game and lifting of all barriers.

The Corinthians continued to play and by the end of the 1970s they were frequently coached by the Manchester City 1956 FA Cup winner Dave Ewing at City’s Platt Lane training complex.

During the 1980s a ground move led to the club being renamed Woodley Ladies, and that club ceased to exist by the end of the decade. Many of the Corinthians from the late 1970s and 1980s became players with Manchester City’s women’s team during its inaugural season of 1988-89.

Today at least one former Corinthian, Lesley Wright, plays walking football at the highest level possible and continues to coach women’s football, continuing the Corinthian influence through to the modern day development of the sport.

The plaque and murals were funded by an appeal which included significant donations from the Football Association and Manchester City Council, alongside dozens of individual donations. The community group, the Friends of Fog Lane Park, have been instrumental in ensuring the Corinthians are remembered and that this aspect of the park’s life is properly recorded and acknowledged. The murals were designed and painted by artist Gavin Renshaw.

Manchester Corinthians mural by artist Gavin Renshaw
Washing in the duck pond, Manchester Corinthians by Artist Gavin Renshaw

About Manchester Corinthian Ladies Football Club

Manchester Corinthian Ladies FC was an English football club founded in 1949 by Percy Ashley. He established the club because his daughter Doris wanted to play football but couldn’t find a team. At this time The FA ban on women’s football using FA affiliated grounds was in place (from 1921; lifted in 1970). During the inaugural seasons the Corinthians played friendlies and in small scale competitions in the UK, but during the mid to late 1950s they embarked on a series of European tours.

Their fame grew and they received invites to play across Europe, in Africa and in South America. Occasionally playing as an unofficial England side in tournaments (these were the days before there was an official England team), they found success often, becoming the most successful women’s team by some distance.

Under the management of Percy Ashley, followed by Gladys Aikin and then George Aikin, the Corinthians were important representatives of women’s football, both internationally and domestically, always contributing to the game’s growth and development.