About our Reading Women news
Latest news on Reading Women, covering Reading FC Women's fixtures, results, transfers, league position and the Royals' return to Reading Football Club.
Reading FC Women, commonly known as the Royals, are the women's football club affiliated with Reading Football Club in Berkshire. Founded as a standalone women's side in 2006 following an earlier affiliation with a local club, the team progressed steadily through the pyramid to reach the top two divisions of English women's football. After several difficult seasons, Reading Women are working to rebuild towards that level once again. The first team now trains at Bearwood Park and plays selected home matches at the stadium it shares with Reading's men's side.
Reading Women's recent history has been shaped by financial turmoil at the parent club. Under former owner Dai Yongge, Reading Football Club suffered repeated points deductions and relegations, and the women's programme was separated from the main club, run instead by Reading FC Community Trust. The team dropped into the fifth tier of the pyramid, turned part-time, and played home matches away from Reading, at Arbour Park in Slough. Reading Football Club was sold to new ownership under Rob Couhig in 2025, and the women's first team was formally brought back under the club's umbrella for the 2026 to 2027 season.
The reintegration has been widely welcomed by supporters who stayed loyal to Reading Women throughout the years spent away from the town. Club staff have stressed a family-friendly matchday experience and an attacking style of play intended to draw in new fans. Reading's women's and girls' programme continues to act as a pathway for young players across Berkshire. The club's most notable academy product, Fran Kirby, went on to become an established England international.
Reading's links with women's football date back to 1988, when the club affiliated with a local women's team before launching its own side in 2006. The Royals climbed through regional and national divisions, winning promotion into the second tier of the Women's Super League in 2014. They won that division the following year and reached the top flight, with Fran Kirby starring in the promotion campaign before her move to Chelsea for what was then a record transfer fee in the women's game. Reading went on to reach an FA Women's Cup semi-final and spent several seasons in the top division before being relegated in 2023.
Women's football in England has grown considerably in recent years, with rising attendances, broadcast coverage and grassroots participation across every level of the pyramid. Reading Women's renewed link with the parent club is intended to support a similar rebuilding process, with promotion through the Women's National League set as a stated ambition. Restoring the squad depth, coaching resources and matchday support the club once had as a top-flight side remains a significant challenge. Both the football club and its supporters see the reintegration as a foundation for a longer-term return up the pyramid.
Following Reading Women's fixtures, transfers, management changes and progress through the pyramid matters for anyone tracking the club's recovery. This NewsNow feed gathers the latest headlines on Reading FC Women, from match results and league standings to wider developments at Reading Football Club, bringing together comprehensive, up to date coverage in one place.
