Charlton Women will return to England’s top flight this season after a 19-year absence, completing a remarkable revival under manager Karen Hills.
The Addicks begin life back in the Women’s Super League against Liverpool on Sunday, having secured promotion through one of the most dramatic finishes in the history of the English women’s game.
Charlton were once among the leading forces in women’s football, regularly challenging Arsenal and reaching several major cup finals. Their 2005 FA Cup triumph was the high point of that era, but the team was disbanded two years later after the men’s side were relegated to the Championship.
The club eventually returned to competition with support from the Charlton Community Trust, although sponsorship difficulties and the departure of several players left the side struggling to establish itself. Promotion to the then-Women’s Championship finally arrived in 2018.
A decisive change followed in 2021, when the women’s team came back under Charlton’s control, Hills was appointed head coach and the squad turned professional. The long-term ambition was always a return to the WSL.
Charlton Women’s dramatic route back to the WSL
Charlton appeared to be on course for automatic promotion for much of last season. They went 27 matches unbeaten and led WSL2 heading into the final day, only for a late dip in form to allow Birmingham City and Crystal Palace back into contention.
The decisive match came at The Valley, where Charlton needed victory against Birmingham. They lost 2-0, while Crystal Palace won, leaving the Addicks in third place and facing a promotion-relegation play-off against Leicester City.
The tie was the first of its kind in the English women’s game. After a goalless draw, Charlton prevailed on penalties, with goalkeeper Sophie Whitehouse saving four of Leicester’s five attempts.
Whitehouse had prepared extensively for the shoot-out, studying likely penalty takers and practising with fellow goalkeeper Anna Pedersen. But when Emily van Egmond stepped up, there was no previous data to guide her.
“I just need to save one and that will give us a great opportunity,” Whitehouse recalled. She saved the first Leicester penalty, then produced two more stops as Charlton’s own misses kept the contest alive.
“After that, I was just having fun,” she said. “We’d got this far, so all I could do was my best and be proud of the team regardless.”
Hills, who previously guided Tottenham into the WSL in 2019, described Charlton’s promotion as a “pinch me” moment after years of rebuilding.
“The club deserves to be there,” she told Sky Sports. “We’re here for a reason and we got here on merit. We don’t want to just make numbers up. We want to be competitive and sustainable.”
An underdog approach for Charlton’s WSL return
The challenge now is considerably greater. Charlton will face established top-flight clubs pursuing domestic honours and European qualification, while Hills accepts that her squad does not have the same financial resources as many of their rivals.
Rather than attempting to match the biggest clubs in the transfer market, she believes Charlton can make progress through organisation, resilience and collective effort.
“Unfortunately, we haven’t got an open cheque book that can go and buy the best players in the world,” Hills said. “But sometimes I think that’s a good thing. I like that underdog feel.”
Whitehouse believes that attitude could prove crucial. Charlton, she said, are a team that defends well, works for one another and is comfortable operating without the pressure of being expected to dominate.
“We thrive when we’re the underdogs,” the goalkeeper said. “We know we don’t necessarily have unbelievable superstars, but we all work really hard and I think that’s what’s going to keep us in the league. We’re all like our own superstars.”
For Hills, survival is the immediate priority. The manager wants Charlton to collect enough points to remain in the WSL before building towards a return to the prominence the club enjoyed two decades ago.
“When you’re a new team in the WSL, you’ve got to try and stay in there,” she said. “Then you go and build again and try and keep being progressive.”
Charlton’s first top-flight match since 2008 will be against Liverpool on Sunday, with coverage live on Sky Sports.
