Stockport County Football Club have announced the launch of Stockport County Women, marking a significant new chapter for women’s football in Stockport and beyond.
Founded in 1989 as Stockport County Ladies, the club has spent 37 years as a volunteer-run community organisation, providing opportunities for women and girls to play football across the borough.
From the 2026-27 season, the team will compete under the name Stockport County Women – a change that reflects both the evolution of the women’s game and the club’s long-term commitment to equality, opportunity and growth.
Stockport County’s ambition is clear – become a superpower for women’s sport in our region and create the same opportunities for girls and women as the club has built for the men’s team, and to establish Stockport County Women as a future force in the women’s game.
The club has also confirmed the appointment of Tracey Neville as Managing Director of the women’s team – a senior leadership role that underlines the seriousness of Stockport County’s ambition for the women’s game. Neville brings extensive experience from elite sport, where she has operated at the highest levels of performance, governance and cultural change.
Her appointment signals a clear shift from support to strategic leadership, with a long-term focus on building a sustainable, high-performance programme rooted in the community and capable of competing at the very top of the women’s game.
Tracey will sit on a new and dedicated board for Stockport County Women. The board will be appointed in the coming months and oversee the next phase of the team’s development, reinforcing the club’s commitment to leadership, representation and expertise within the women’s programme.
Central to this vision, is a desire to build a legacy of homegrown role models who will inspire females from Stockport to participate in sport. The club’s long-term aim is to create a clear pathway from grassroots football to the elite level and for Stopfordian girls to dream of playing football at the highest level of the women’s game.
The Club’s recent acquisition of Stockport Sports Village, the current home of Stockport County Ladies, is another significant step forward in the development of women’s football in Stockport. The women’s team will benefit from the development of best-in-class facilities at the site over the coming years, providing a home and training facility that reflects the club’s ambitions on and off the pitch.
The growth of the women’s game creates an opportunity to experience football in a more inclusive, welcoming and family-friendly way, while still holding true to the passion and pride that define Stockport County.
