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The FA today announced that the newly named London City Lionesses are officially confirmed for another season in the FA Women’s Championship.
The club’s Chair, Diane Culligan said: “We are thrilled to have our position announced by the FA and are excited by the competition ahead. This is the second year of a programme to build this club into a force to be reckoned with and I believe we are on track.
“The FA Women’s Championship is the country’s second-highest division and we’re honoured to be part of it at such an exciting time for women’s football. Everyone at the club is looking forward to the fixtures being announced and we will have a number of exciting developments to announce over the coming days and weeks.”
The London City Lionesses will be unique in the top two tiers as the only independent women’s club – after its break with Millwall FC. The club will continue to play out of the Dartford stadium that they moved to last year and the organisation has ambitions to establish its own base as the country’s first dedicated women’s football facility.
“We have a special character and desire which will run through every aspect of the club,” added Culligan. “The Lionesses started as an independent club and were pioneers of the women’s game. That spirit will flow through the team on and off the field. Financial success, personal success and playing success are interrelated and those qualities are what will drive our accomplishments.”
First-team manager Chris Phillips, who managed the Lionesses’ recovery in the 2018/19 season, confirmed that the board has supported a significant strengthening of the squad for the coming season. “Last year the players surpassed our expectation in the way they competed with the world’s best. This season I am confident we are poised to challenge for a top spot.”
Culligan adds: “Even before the current nationwide feel-good factor in the England women’s team, interest in our club was extremely strong. The domestic women’s game is going from strength to strength and we want to be at the forefront of that. We expect to announce a number of strategic partnerships over the coming months that reflects our ambitious targets.”
For further information and general comment, messages can be sent to: media@londoncitylionesses.com
ENDS