On June 18, 1895, Cliftonville's home ground, Solitude, hosted a match between two sides formed by British Ladies' Football Club players, a game that has since been recognized as the first women’s association football match to take place in Ireland; four days later, on June 22, the British Ladies' played their second match in Belfast, taking on a local male selection.[4][5] Both games were considered a success,[4][5] and were credited to have helped future developments of women's football both in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.[4]
2003–2022: From Cliftonville Girls to Cliftonville Ladies
Cliftonville Ladies initially played as Cliftonville Girls in the regional Greater Belfast League,[6] before joining the Women's Premier League, the top tier of Northern Irish women's football, in 2004.[7] Following their rebranding as Cliftonville Ladies,[8] the club became founding members of the Women's Premiership in 2016, as a result of the Northern Ireland Football League's decision to take over the running of the WPL.[9][10]
On October 26 of the same year, the club won their first ever national title,[1][2] having won 15 of their 16 league matches throughout the season,[1] under head coach John McGrady.[2][16] As a result, they qualified for the UEFA Women's Champions League for the first time in their history.[3]
On March 1, 2023, Cliftonville became the first women's football team in the Irish League to announce professional contracts for their players since their introduction in December 2022,[17] having officially tied down twelve footballers.[17][18][19] However, they did not become the first club to register a professional player in Northern Ireland women's football, with Sion Swifts Ladies' Siobhan Higgins being the first player on a full-time contract to be registered on the Irish FA’s Comet system, instead.[20][21]
In June 2023, Cliftonville were one of the five football teams from the Irish League that took part in the inaugural edition of the All-Island Cup,[22][23] where they reached the final,[24][25] before finishing as runners-up following a defeat to Galway United.[26][27] During the same campaign, the club won their first Women’s County Antrim Cup in eight years,[28] while also lifting the Women’s Premiership League Cup.[29][30]
The youth sector of Cliftonville Ladies includes several ranks, with teams competing at under-9, under-11, under-13, under-15, under-17 and under-19 level.[37] The club's under-19 team, Cliftonville Corinthians,[37][38] plays in the Electric Ireland Women's Academy League, formed and hosted by the Northern Ireland Football League, since its foundation in 2019.[39][40]