Read
AUTHORPÆDIA is hosted by Authorpædia Foundation, Inc. a U.S. non-profit organization.
Tobias Barreto
| Full name | Ipswich Town Football Club Women | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | The Blues, The Tractor Girls | |||
| Ground | Dellwood Avenue, Felixstowe Portman Road, Ipswich | |||
| Capacity | 2,160 (Dellwood Avenue) 30,056 (Portman Road) | |||
| Owner | Gamechanger 20 Ltd | |||
| Manager | Joe Sheehan | |||
| League | FA Women's National League South | |||
| 2023–24 | FA Women's National League South, 4th of 12 | |||
| Website | www | |||
|
| ||||
Ipswich Town Football Club Women is a women's team affiliated with Ipswich Town Football Club. The club currently competes in the FAWNL South Division, the third tier of women's English football, but will compete in the Women's Championship in the 2025–26 season following promotion.
They play their home games at Dellwood Avenue in Felixstowe, the home of Felixstowe & Walton United, while also playing the occasional game at Portman Road. The club wears the traditional home colours of blue shirts with white shorts and blue socks. Like the men, they have a long-standing rivalry with Norwich City, against whom they contest the East Anglian derby, though in recent years the two clubs have been in separate leagues.
History
It is unknown when the team was founded, but they credited as being one of the first teams to compete in the newly founded Women's Premier League (now defunct) in 1991.[1] The league was created to help bring women's regional football to a more national one and to bring it more in line with the male game. At the time, the league was seen as the tier 1 league in women's English football. Ipswich would go on to stay in the league for 2 more seasons until they were relegated to the Southern Division (now the FAWNL South Division) at the end of the 1993–94 season.
During the COVID-19 pandemic all football was stopped and the FA announced that all results for tiers 3–6 of women's football for the 2019–20 season were declared null and void, denying Town promotion despite being top of the league winning 11 out of 14 games and having a +42 goal difference at the time. When the 2020–21 season started, Town carried on their winning ways by winning their opening 4 games and sitting top of the league scoring 18 and conceding no goals before the season was halted again when the country went into another lockdown. After this lockdown and following a consultation from the FA, Town applied for promotion and were successful in their bid.[2] Following promotion back to the FAWNL South Division, the club turned professional in June 2021 when Sophie Peskett signed Ipswich's first professional women's contract.[3] This was soon followed by Paige Peake, Eloise King, Anna Grey, Abbie Lafayette, Maddie Biggs, Zoe Barratt, Blue Wilson and Town's leading all-time scorer Natasha Thomas all signing professional contracts.
On 19 February 2024, it was announced that Ipswich Town Women would play their first ever game at Portman Road for the game on 23 March 2024 against Chatham Town, with all four stands being open for ticket sales.[4] They went on to win the game 5-0 in front of an attendance of 10,173.[5] On 19 November 2024, it was announced that Ipswich Town Women would return to Portman Road for the upcoming game on 23 March 2025 against Plymouth.[6]
On 27 April 2025, Town went into their final game of the season against Cheltenham Town looking to secure promotion and the title. Already being 3 points ahead of 2nd place Hashtag United and having a far more superior goal difference, promotion looked guaranteed. Town went on to win the match 8–0, winning the league title and secured promotion to the Women's Championship for the first time in the club's history.[7]
Records and statistics
Player records
- Most appearances: Natasha Thomas, 238 (2015–present)
- Most overall goals: Natasha Thomas, 171 (2015–present)
- Most goals in a season: Natasha Thomas, 28 goals in the 2015–16 season
International
- First international appearance: Natasha Thomas for Jamaica against France on 25 October 2024
- Most international caps: Natasha Thomas, 1 (Jamaica)
Club records
Some club records before the 2003–04 season are missing[8]
Matches
- Record league win: 13–0 against Milton Keynes Dons, Southern Premier Division, 27 October 2024
- Record FA Cup win: 12–0 against Milton Keynes Dons, first round, 3 November 2024
- Record league defeat: 9–0 against Millwall Lionessess, Southern Division, 22 March 2009
- Record FA Cup defeat: 10–0 against Manchester City, fifth round, 16 February 2020
Goals
- Most league goals scored in a season: 89 in 22 matches, Southern Premier Division, 2024–25
- Fewest league goals scored in a season: 14 in 22 matches, Southern Division, 2009–10
- Most league goals conceded in a season: 86 in 18 matches, Premier Division, 1993–94
- Fewest league goals conceded in a season: 10 in 22 matches, Southern Premier Division, 2024–25
Points
- Most points in a season: 58 in 26 games, Southern Premier Division, 2021–22
- Fewest points in a season: 6 in 18 games, Premier Division, 1993–94
Attendances
- Highest attendance at a home match:
- Dellwood Avenue: 2,150 (against Cheltenham Town), Southern Premier Division, 27 April 2025
- Portman Road: 10,807 (against Plymouth Argyle), Southern Premier Division, 23 March 2025
- Lowest attendance at a home match:
- Dellwood Avenue: 16 (against Actonians LFC), Division One South East, 8 January 2017
- Portman Road: 10,173 (against Chatham Town), Southern Premier Division, 23 March 2024
Players
Current squad
- As of 15 March 2025[9]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
|
|
Out on loan
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
|
Former players
Club officials
Non-coaching staff
| Position | Name |
|---|---|
| General Manager |  Rachel Harris
|
| Media & Communications Manager | Kieren Standley
|
Coaching staff
| Position | Name |
|---|---|
| Manager | Joe Sheehan
|
| Assistant Manager | Lauren Phillips
|
| Head of Goalkeeping | Paul Walker
|
| Assistant Coach | Phoebe Webb
|
| Head of Performance | Nicola Stolworthy
|
| Sports Therapist(s) | David Smith/Sophie Wright
|
Women's Player of the Year
| Women's Player of the Year | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Name | Ref |
| 2021–22 | Bonnie Horwood
|
[10] |
| 2022–23 |  Megan Wearing
|
[11] |
| 2023–24 | Sophie Peskett
|
[12] |
Honours
League
- South East Combination League / FAWNL South Division (level 3)
- FAWNL South East Division (level 4)
- Promotion: Ipswich were top of the league in both the 2019–20 and 2020–21 seasons, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, no teams were promoted or relegated. Ipswich won promotion to the National League South via application at the end of the 2020–21 season.
References
- ^ "The Story Of Women's Football In England". The FA. Retrieved 29 April 2025.
- ^ "Tractor Girls Promoted". Ipswich Town FC. Retrieved 29 April 2025.
- ^ "First Pro Female Footballer At Town". Ipswich Town FC. Retrieved 29 April 2025.
- ^ "Ipswich Town F.C. Women To Play At Portman Road". Ipswich Town F.C. Retrieved 15 June 2024.
- ^ "Ipswich Town F.C. Women win at Portman Road". TWTD. Retrieved 15 June 2024.
- ^ "Town Women Set For Portman Road Return". Ipswich Town F.C. Retrieved 22 November 2024.
- ^ "Town Women Thrash Cheltenham to Confirm Title and Promotion". TWTD. Retrieved 27 April 2025.
- ^ "Full Time Results". The FA. 15 December 2024. Retrieved 15 December 2024.
- ^ "Ipswich Town F.C. Women – Squad". Ipswich Town F.C. Retrieved 22 February 2023.
- ^ "Women's Awards at End of Season Dinner". Ipswich Town F.C. 22 April 2022. Retrieved 30 April 2023.
- ^ "Megan Wins Award". TWTD. 29 April 2023. Retrieved 29 April 2023.
- ^ "End of Season Awards". Ipswich Town. 13 April 2024. Retrieved 18 April 2024.