by Caitlin Kelly (13/12/23).
Above: Leyton Orient celebrate their second successive promotion in the 2022/23 season with two games to spare, finishing their season unbeaten and 10 points clear at the top. Photo: Leyton Orient Official Media.
The current Leyton Orient team lie in the Greater London Women’s Football League Premier Division, the seventh tier of English women’s football, and have been off to a flying start in their first three seasons as a team. But this success hasn’t arisen without prior obstacles, and the story actually began almost 20 years ago.
KIKK United were an independent side founded in 2004 by two Swedes, Andrea Berg and Karin Revelj, with their home being at Mile End Stadium. The name translated from Swedish slang meaning to score in the top corner. The team achieved three league championships and one league runner-up in four seasons, from the 2008/09 season through to the 2011/12 season.
Later, in 2015, the side were given permission to use the name Leyton Orient WFC from the men’s club and competed in the Greater London Women’s Football League. The women’s team ran completely apart from the men’s club despite the established name change. During the six years under the name, the O’s climbed their way up the pyramid earning a solid spot in the fourth tier under the management of Chris Brayford, and bagged a league and cup double in the 2015/16 season.
Although Orient experienced a substantial amount of triumph, themselves and the men’s team continued to run as a separate entity under the same name. Running the teams split from each other, however, did not prove as successful with the board deciding to completely cut ties with the women’s team in 2021, just weeks after a memorable FA Cup third round fixture against Chichester and Selsey – a match that attracted over 4,000 views on the clubs streaming service.
The thought process behind this approach was to create a new academy system from under-9s through to under-18s to eventually engrain players into the first team, mirroring the boy’s academy. The club’s aim was to develop and grow women’s football at Leyton Orient and “pave a better way for girls in the future”. But the reactions from players, volunteers, and a considerable number of fans, however, was not so approving.
Many expressed their concern in the way the situation was dealt with. The former women’s side claimed in their statement it was handled in an “unhelpful and damaging way” being left just nine days to find a new identity, whether that be finding ties with another men’s team or going independent. The club was also offered the licence to operate in the fourth tier, giving players the chance to be eased into the first team at a higher standard of the game. However, this offer was declined, and didn’t want to be negotiated either.
Rea Laudat was on loan from Charlton Athletic to Orient at the time of the events and voiced her concern on Twitter at the time, “I am left utterly flabbergasted by the treatment the women’s team have received. I am tired! We are tired! Tired of being treated unequally! Tired of being treated as a quick fix to financial dismay”. Other players stated it was “a slap in the face” after all their success under the name, and a handful of fans claimed they would not be renewing their season tickets due to this.
The club announced their new identity as London Seaward FC, with the name having ties with the area’s links to the sea. London Seaward became one of the only independently run women’s football clubs in London, making their aim to make sure no other side was treated the way they were and wanting to “prove you don’t need to be someone else’s women’s team to compete” as claimed on their website.
At the beginning of the 2021/22 season, the side began a fresh season in the fourth tier under their new identity for the first time, whilst the “new” Leyton Orient side embarked on their journey up the football pyramid starting from the bottom. A first-ever season for the current side left them third in the table but gained a promotion to the Greater London Women’s Football League Division One North.
Moving swiftly onto the 2022/23 season, Danny Martin was named the new Head Coach of the team along with six new additions to the squad with hopes for another season of victory. This is exactly what was achieved by the group of emerging talent. The O’s completed the season unbeaten with plenty of highly convincing wins. This success led them to earn their second successive promotion, winning the league with two games to spare and 10 points clear at the summit. They were now another step closer to the next tier up in the pyramid.
Now Orient are happily working their way through the Greater London Women’s Football League Premier Division. The team currently sit fifth in the league on 16 points, only six behind the top spot with three games in hand. If they keep their current form up, only having lost one game so far this season, a third promotion would not be out of reach for the team. Also this season, the squad came close to their first-ever FA Cup First Round spot but lost out to tier five Wroxham.
In an interview at the men’s teams’ Brisbane Road stadium last season, captain Grace Alexander stated, “Hopefully we can grow in the next ten years and potentially even be playing WSL, Championship football.” With the way Leyton Orient WFC have kicked off their first few campaigns, this dream is not impossible with the skill and ability this group of gifted players have. The hindrance that may come from aiming for this could potentially be the smaller budget due to being linked with a League One side, compared to one higher up the football hierarchy.
The future is definitely bright for this Leyton Orient WFC side so it would not come as a surprise to see them competing higher up the leagues in years to come.
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