The Oldest Women's Football Club in the North East Reaches It's 50th Anniversary

As Middlesbrough secured a fifth place finish on their return to the third tier, 2026 also marks a significant milestone for the club. Middlesbrough FC Women is turning 50. Believe it or not, that's older than me (not by much). Over the past five decades the club has undergone a number of changes. Starting in a park in Middlesbrough as Cleveland Spartans in 1976 (the year before the first Star Wars film was released), John Sims - founder of the team - could not have predicted the journey this club would have gone on from Middlesbrough, Stockton, Billingham, Nottinghamshire, the Riverside, Wembley and North Korea. The club has been involved in big occasions, moments of personal achievement and low moments too. From those early days as Cleveland Spartans, Middlesbrough Women have evolved through eras of change — from local parks to national stadiums, from grassroots beginnings to international fixtures. Each decade has carried its own challenges and triumphs, shaping the identity of a club that continues to represent Teesside with pride.

The team underwent a number of name changes due to sponsorships over their early years and eventually moved from the Nottinghamshire League to the the Yorkshire & Humberside Ladies League. In just its sixth year in existence, Cleveland reached the final of the Women's FA Cup against a Lowestoft side boasting four England internationals. The players had to make their own way down to London for the final. The match was played at QPR's Loftus Road on the infamous Omniturf "plastic pitch" with Lowestoft claiming the trophy with a 2-0 scoreline. Involved in that match was Boro legend Marrie 'Maz' Wiezcorek. Maz had joined the team in its first season in 1976 at the age of 19 and earned three international caps for England in the early 80s. Maz played for the team for twenty years before becoming manager for a further sixteen years, stepping down in 2012. The club officially became Middlesbrough FC Ladies in 1997 and, under Maz's leadership reached the second tier - FA Women's Premier League Northern Division - in 2002. 

Unfortunately there isn't a great deal of information available about any women's football team from the 70s, 80s, 90s and early 00s, but we've been able to piece together bits and pieces to help us better understand the origins of the North East's oldest club still in existence today. There are no records of club crests for Cleveland Spartans or a date when the club stopped using that name. We do know that the club officially became Middlesbrough Ladies FC in 1997. Photographs from that 1982 WFA Cup final and the MFC affiliation in the 90s tells us that the crests above were used by team. The team photo from the 1982 WFA Cup final shows the "rampant lion" on their Adidas kits. Having Middlesbrough kits from 2002, when the were "adopted" by Middlessbrough FC and

Cleveland Spartans 1982 WFA Cup final

were named Middlesbrough FC Ladies, onwards tells us they used the club crest at the time which was the 1986 crest and then the current 1876 crest introduced in 2007. In 2017 the club broke away from their affiliation with MFC to become an independent club once again and introduced a new club crest with the image of a Lion's head. After reaffiliation in 2023, they adopted the 1876 crest once more and will wear the new club crest from the 2026/27 season. 

In 2010 Maz Wiezcorek took her Middlesbrough team to North Korea in an arrangement between a travel agency, the British Embassy in Pyongyang the North

Middlesbrough FC Ladies in North Korea

Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs to mark ten years of the British Embassy in North Korea. Boro played two games against April 25th FC and Kalmaegi FC in which the Koreans won both. The team got to meet members of the North Korean team that famously defeated Italy in the 1966 men's World Cup at Ayresome Park. It was the first time a British sports team had ever been to the country and the team were greeted like celebrities. 

As a result of an FA league restructure in 2014 Middlesbrough, then playing in the Northern Combination League, were entered into the new FA Women's Premier League Division One North (still tier 4) along with newly promoted Norton & Stockton Ancients. Two years later Middlesbrough won the

FA WPL Division 1 champions 2016

league earning promotion to the Northern Premier Division where they spent six years before being relegated in 2022. After narrowly missing out on promotion in 2024, Boro went on to win the league in 2025, but were taken to the final day by a newly promoted Cheadle Town Stingers side. In the 2025/26 season Boro made history once again as they hosted Cheadle at Bishop Auckland's Heritage Park for the first ever live televised FA Cup First Round tie in which Boro won 4-0 (I was there). Middlesbrough have won numerous North Riding County Cups, league cups and various league titles throughout their history with the 1982 WFA Cup Final, winning against Chelsea at Wembley and reaching the second tier in 2002 undoubtedly among the highlights. 

With the club's stated ambitions and the progress made so far since re-joining MFC, Middlesbrough Women look set for another 50 years of new records.