Ballymena United Women F.C. Explained

Clubname:Ballymena United Women
Fullname:Ballymena United Women Football Club
Founded:1994 (as Allstars F.C.)
Ground:Ballymena Showgrounds,
Ballymena, County Antrim
Capacity:4,390
Manager:William Devine
League:Women's Premiership (Northern Ireland)
Season:2022
Position:2th (promoted)
Pattern B1:_whitecollar
Leftarm1:AAD0FF
Body1:AAD0FF
Rightarm1:AAD0FF
Shorts1:15317E
Socks1:AAD0FF
Pattern Sh2:_white stripes
Leftarm2:FFD801
Body2:FFD801
Rightarm2:FFD801
Shorts2:0000FF
Socks2:FFFFF

Ballymena United Women Football Club is a women's association football club based in Ballymena, County Antrim, Northern Ireland. They were founded in 1994 as Allstars F.C. before amalgamating with Ballymena United F.C. to become their women's team in 2003.[1] The club currently plays in the Women's Premiership (Northern Ireland) and play their home matches at Ballymena Showgrounds

History

Allstars F.C. were founded in 1994 by Kelly Barr. When they were founded, they had no permanent home ground and lived a nomadic existence. They started a rivalry in Belfast with fellow women's team Probation F.C.[2] In 2003, Allstars joined up with Ballymena United men's team to become their official women's team. This coincided with an unbeaten start to their Women's Premier League campaign. Ballymena United Allstars in the end failed to win the league, finishing fourth behind Glentoran Belfast United L.F.C.[3] Owing to renovations, they were unable to use Ballymena Showgrounds for a number of home matches and were only being offered a "disgraceful and embarrassing" pitch in a local park as a replacement.

In the following years, Ballymena United Allstars often finished in mid-table in the Women's Premier League. In 2005, they reached the semi-finals of the IFA Women's Challenge Cup but lost 2–0 to Northland Raiders F.C.[4] In 2012, they made the final of the Premier League Cup however they lost 2–0 to Glentoran Belfast United.[5] In 2014, they finished 3rd last above Shankill United Predators F.C., just avoiding the promotion/relegation playoff.[6] In 2015, the club finished last in the Women's Premier League with only 2 draws and were relegated to the Women's Championship.[7]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: No Home Comfort! . Ballymena Times . 2003-06-26 . 2016-01-26.
  2. Web site: Allstars team reform for charity football fixture . Ballymena Times . 2013-04-29 . 2016-01-26.
  3. Web site: Northern Ireland (Women) 2003 . Rsssf.com . 2005-01-19 . 2016-01-26.
  4. Web site: Northern Ireland (Women) 2004/05 . Rsssf.com . 2006-06-24 . 2016-01-26.
  5. Web site: Northern Ireland – List of Women Cup Winners . Rsssf.com . 2015-09-23 . 2016-01-26.
  6. Web site: Northern Ireland (Women) 2014 . Rsssf.com . 2015-09-23 . 2016-01-26.
  7. Web site: Northern Ireland (Women) 2015 . Rsssf.com . 2015-11-12 . 2016-01-26.