Charlton W

Bromley Borough

The team was formed in 1991 as Bromley Borough by disaffected members of Millwall Lionesses' WFA Cup winning squad. The team broke up in the aftermath of that success and Hope Powell moved with team mate Sue Law to form a new club. They were initially led by Richard Hall with the support of Dan "Le Phyz" Kane. Beginning in the South East Counties League, the club quickly progressed through the divisions. After adding England player Brenda Sempare in 1992, Bromley Borough won all 16 matches in the South East Counties League Division One, scoring 142 goals in the process. The team also reached the semi-final of the Women's FA Cup, where they lost 2–0 to treble-winning Arsenal. In 1993–94 Bromley Borough won the National League Division One South by ten points, securing promotion into the top flight of English women's football. Although they were handed a chastening 10–1 defeat by Doncaster Belles in the fifth round of the FA Women's Cup. Following a swift rise through the divisions, the club won promotion into the National Premier League.

Croydon

The club entered the top-flight as Croydon, having tied up with Croydon F.C., and Debbie Bampton was appointed player-manager in the 1994 close season. She built a strong team which supplied six of England's squad for the 1995 FIFA Women's World Cup including Kerry Davis as well as Bampton, Powell and Sempare. After securing a fourth-placed finish in 1994–95, in 1995–96 Bampton led the team to a domestic double. After losing both domestic Cup finals to Arsenal Ladies in 1998, the club recaptured the League title in 1999. Another League and FA Women's Cup double followed in 2000.

Takeover (2000)

Some of Croydon's players were reportedly unhappy with the club's facilities, and playing for the team was costing the players themselves money. In light of this, Crystal Palace approached Croydon regarding a takeover. The bid was discovered by Mick Everett (Charlton Athletic's general manager) and Keith Boanas (head of Charlton's girls' Centre of Excellence), who believed Charlton could offer better facilities than Palace and proposed a "marriage" between Charlton and Croydon. Croydon's chairman Ken Jarvie was interested initially but became concerned about losing control of the club and rejected the offer. Despite Jarvie's opposition to the takeover, at Croydon's AGM on 9 June 2000, the club's players voted to accept a hostile takeover from Charlton, and Bampton resigned as manager.

Charlton Athletic

The club's first silverware under the new name came in the same year when the Charity Shield was shared with Arsenal, after the match resulted in a draw. Charlton reached the 2003 FA Cup final but lost 3–0 to Fulham. In the following season (2003–04) Charlton finished runners-up in the Premier League, just one point behind winners Arsenal, and again reached the FA Cup final which they lost to Arsenal. The season did bring success to the club, though, with a 1–0 victory over Fulham in the final of the League Cup. In 2004–05, Charlton won both the Community Shield, beating Arsenal 1–0, and the FA Cup, beating Everton 1–0 in the final, and once more finished runners up in the league to Arsenal. In 2005–06, Charlton regained the League Cup, beating Arsenal in the final. However, in this season, and also the 2006–07 season, Charlton finished third in the league, meaning the club missed the opportunity to participate in the UEFA Cup. In May 2007, Charlton were again runners up in the FA Cup, losing to Arsenal in the final. During these successful years under manager Keith Boanas and assistant Matt Beard, the team included several current and former England internationals, notably club captain Casey Stoney, goalkeeper Pauline Cope, Joanne Broadhurst, Eniola Aluko and Katie Chapman. Aluko and Chapman went on to play professionally in the United States.

Controversial disbandment (2007)

The same day as the 2007 FA Cup final, Charlton Athletic's men's team was relegated from the Premier League. It became evident that, in order to ensure the club's financial survival, a number of budget cuts would have to be enacted. On 23 June 2007, it was announced that the disbandment of Charlton's women's set up would form part of this. This decision was criticised by, among others, several of the club's players at the time, including Casey Stoney and Danielle Murphy. Charlton's chief executive, Peter Varney, defended the decision and pointed to the lack of exposure in the media and lack of funding given to the women's game from the Football Association as reasons for undertaking the decision.