ABOUT US
There are many ancestral spirits behind the London Bees, but its earliest roots date back to a group of ladies working at Transport for London’s District Line.
In the 1970s the women, looking for a team to play football, banded together and entered the Hounslow & District League – forming the platform for a remarkable rise.
Named in honour of their workplace, District Line Ladies FC appeared in leagues across Greater London before tasting promotion to the Women’s FA National League Southern Division in the early 1990s.
It did not take long afterwards before the squad merged with Wembley FC – becoming Wembley Ladies FC and reaching their zenith in an FA Cup final defeat to Millwall Lionesses in 1997.
Meanwhile Barnet Ladies FC, established by Barnet director Graham Slyper in the mid-80s, had become officially affiliated with the men’s club.
It prompted another merger in 1998 after Wembley’s FA Cup finalists began to leave the club, including teenager and eventual England legend Kelly Smith.
Barnet FC Ladies have been a virtual mainstay in English football’s top tier ever since before London Bees, a brand new franchise, was welcomed into the Women’s Super League fold for 2014.
London Bees first ever fixture in WSL2 resulted in a 3-0 victory over Oxford United Ladies, with 16-year old Lucy Loomes scoring their first ever goal.
In 2016, the Bees experienced their best season to date, taking home a record points haul for the season as well as a historic run to the semi-finals of the Continental Cup, knocking out Chelsea en route.
The 2017 Spring Series saw the Bees get off to a great start and top the league in the early stages. A move to a winter season has seen changes both on and off the pitch.
In 2018 the second tier of women’s football was rebranded as the FA Women’s Championship. The Bees finished 8th in the 2018/19 campaign and followed that up with a 5th place finish the next season before being relegated in 2021. After three difficult seasons in the National League Southern Premier Division, The Bees suffered a second relegation in four seasons.
In the spring of 2024, Dan McKimm was appointed as the Club’s new Head Coach and has brought in an entirely new squad as The Bees enter into a new era in the National League Division One South East.
London Bees is 1 star England accreditation.
