History
The team was founded in 1998, following a merger between the Bristol Rovers girls' teams and Welsh side Cable-Tel L.F.C.. This merger came about as Bristol Rovers only had girls teams up to the under 16 age group level, so when girls reached the age of 16 they were forced to leave the club. The merger with Cable-Tel meant that Bristol Rovers had a senior squad, and more importantly it gave them a place in the South West Combination league, only two levels below the top flight of women's football in England. This new merged team took the name Bristol Rovers W.F.C. and played their home games at The Beeches, the location of the training ground and administrative offices of Bristol Rovers F.C.
The name of the club was changed to Bristol Academy at the beginning of the 2005–06 season to reflect the added investment and commitment of the Bristol Academy of Sport.
The team, like their male counterparts, have been somewhat nomadic since their formation, having played home matches at The Beeches, Yate Town F.C.'s Lodge Road ground, Mangotsfield United F.C.'s Cossham Street Stadium, Bristol Rovers' Memorial Stadium, Fry's Sports Ground in Keynsham, The Hand Stadium in Clevedon, Bishop Sutton. and Almondsbury Town's Oaklands Park.
In summer 2009 the club had a funding crisis. Manager Gary Green was sacked, Corinne Yorston left for Arsenal, Stef Curtis for Chelsea and Gwennan Harries for Everton. Without their star players the team finished bottom of the table in 2009–10.
The Club were one of eight founding teams in the FA WSL in April 2011, when they moved into a brand new stadium at South Gloucestershire and Stroud College's Stoke Gifford Campus.
Read more about this topic: Bristol Academy W.F.C.
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