Athletic Club Femenino is the women's football section of the professional football club Athletic Bilbao, competing in Liga F. Athletic is one of the most successful women's teams in Spain, with five championships. Just as with the men's team, their official policy is to sign players native to or trained in football in the greater Basque Country.A new Cathedral: Athletic Club’s move to a new San Mamés, Simon Lloyd, Joe.co.uk The team plays at the club's facilities in Lezama on the outskirts of Bilbao.
History The team was founded in 2000 as Leioa EFT after CD Sondika disbanded its women's team, which had played in the defunct División de Honor in the 1990s. After Leioa gained promotion to the new Superliga Femenina in just two years, it was absorbed by Athletic Bilbao, with the process coordinated by Ernesto Valverde and Andoni Zubizarreta. At that time a reserve team, Athletic B, was also introduced – they currently compete in the second tier, the Primera Federación.
In their debut season Athletic won the championship, and successfully defended the title in the next two seasons, becoming the first team to be awarded the trophy to keep permanently.A historic triple. El Mundo Deportivo, 18 April 2005 After a disappointing 2006 season, Athletic won its fourth title in 2007. As a result of their title wins they made four appearances in the UEFA Women's Cup, being knocked out in the group stages by 1. FFC Frankfurt in 2004, Djurgårdens IF in 2005, SV Saestum in 2006 and ASDCF Bardolino in 2008.
In June 2008, the club agreed a decision (which was ratified in 2009) for the women's team to become an official women's section rather than be handled like a youth team. Athletic finished third in the next four championships between 2008 and 2011. In 2012 they were runners-up, and reached the Copa de la Reina final for the first time, losing to RCD Espanyol after extra time.Mari Paz dresses as a queen to give Espanyol its sixth Cup. Marca, 10 June 2012 On 5 January 2013, the team celebrated its tenth anniversary, beating Arsenal LFC in a friendly match. They were cup runners-up again in 2014, this time losing on penalties to FC Barcelona, having finished second behind the same club in the league.
On 5 June 2016, Athletic won its fifth league title, nine years after its last success. They competed in the UEFA Women's Champions League the following season, where they were eliminated by Danish champions Fortuna Hjorring in the Round of 32.
In June 2017, the club announced they would introduce a second reserve team for the coming season, made up of girls aged 13 to 15. Later that year, a club proposal to enter another girls team (12/13 years) into a local boys' youth league was rejected by the provincial council.Alega falta de tiempo y de consenso con las demás escuadras femeninas para hacer una excepción con este grupo formado por niñas de 12 y 13 años (The Delegation prevents Athletic from including a team of girls in the men's league), El Correo , 13 October 2017
In January 2019, the club broke the European record for attendance at a women's football match with 48,121 spectators at San Mamés for a Copa de la Reina quarter-final fixture, a 2–0 loss to Atlético Madrid. (however, it only stood for a few months until Barcelona played Atlético in front of a 60,739 crowd). That match was the 14th played by the women's team in the two iterations of the club's main stadium since the first in 2003, with three more played there during the next year.17 years since the first Athletic women’s match at San Mamés, Athletic Club, 30 March 2020
Season to season
As Leioa EFT SeasonDivisionPlaceCopa de la Reina2000–01Reg.1stN/A2001–021ª Nac.1stN/A
As Athletic Bilbao SeasonDivisionPlaceCopa de la Reina2002–031ª1stQuarterfinals2003–041ª1stSemifinals2004–051ª1stQuarterfinals2005–061ª5thQuarterfinals2006–071ª1stQuarterfinals2007–081ª3rdQuarterfinals2008–091ª3rdQuarterfinals2009–101ª3rdQuarterfinals2010–111ª3rdQuarterfinals2011–121ª2ndRunner-up2012–131ª2ndQuarterfinals2013–141ª2ndRunner-up2014–151ª3rdQuarterfinals2015–161ª1stQuarterfinals2016–171ª5thQuarterfinals2017–181ª3rdSemifinals2018–191ª5thQuarterfinals2019–201ª5thSemifinals2020–211ª11th2021–221ª7thRound of 162022–231ª10thSemifinals2023–241ª5thSemifinals2024–251ª4thRound of 162025–261ª7thQuarterfinals
Honours Titles
Official competitions Primera División (5): 2002–03, 2003–04, 2004–05, 2006–07, 2015–16 Euskal Herria Cup (9): 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2021, 2023
Invitational competitions Sport Mundi Tournament (4): 2006, 2007, 2011, 2012 COTIF: 2015 Teresa Herrera Trophy: 2017, 2018 Ramón de Carranza Trophy: 2019Champions of the Carranza, Athletic Bilbao, 15 August 2019, 2021
UEFA competition record
Season Competition Stage Result Opponent Scorers 2003–04 Women's Cup Group stage 2–05–21–8 Neulengbach 1º Dezembro Frankfurt Castrillo, FernándezIturregi 2, Angulo, Ferreira, IbarraJuaristi 2004–05 Women's Cup Qualifying stage 10–31–15–0 Newtownabbey Strikers Maccabi Holon Clujana Sánchez 2, Fernández, Ferreira, Iturregi, Onaindia, Orueta, Vázquez, Zabala + 1 o.g.JuaristiFernández 2, Vázquez 2, Orueta Group stage 2–22–35–1 Arsenal Djurgården/Älvsjö Aegina Iturregi, VázquezFerreira, OlabarrietaVázquez, Fernández, Ibarra, Murua 2005–06 Women's Cup Qualifying stage 6–23–01–1 Glasgow City Rapide Wezemaal Saestum Vázquez 3, Fernández, Gurrutxaga, JuaristiFernández, Juaristi, OruetaFernández 2007–08 Women's Cup Qualifying stage 4–016–00–1 Krka Novo Mesto Birkirkara Bardolino Díez, Ferreira, Murua, VázquezVázquez 7, Juaristi 3, Olabarrieta 2, Díez, Iturregi, Murua, Sánchez 2016–17 Women's Champions League Round of 32 2–11–3 (a.e.t.) Fortuna Hjørring Corres, Oroz Vázquez
Players Current squad As of 26 August 2026
Out on loan
Reserve team
Former players For details of current and former players, see :Category:Athletic Club (women) players.
See also Athletic–Barcelona rivalry Women's Basque derby
References
External links
UEFA profile Athletic Club at Txapeldunak From official website: Team history Appearances Goalscorers A-Z of players Debuts