Barnsley Women FC, formed in 1982, have always been looking for a permanent place to call home.
Over the past few seasons, they have found a home – in Sheffield.
The Steel City Stadium, a multi-purpose facility with an outdoor 3G pitch with a covered grandstand and office workspaces, is the current home of Barnsley Women F.C, after years of searching for a permanent football facility.
And here it is from a different angle pic.twitter.com/joUdIHArDf
— Barnsley Women’s Football Club (@BarnsleyWFC) April 13, 2025
Over recent years, the club borrowed Wombwell Town’s ground for fixtures on a Sunday, as well as Sheffield FC’s Home of Football Stadium.
Barnsley Women CEO Steve Maddock spoke about the difficulties the club has faced over recent seasons in finding a place to call home.
Maddock said: “We struggled to find a pitch in Barnsley so we had to ask around. The Scarborough Group at the Steel City Stadium have been fantastic with us. We have just renewed there for another three seasons, but the reason we play there is because we don’t have a pitch available in Barnsley.
“We haven’t had much luck in the past,” said Maddock. “We were alerted to some land on Broadway in Barnsley, and had spent about £7,000 on architect fees, for those plans to be pulled last minute. At that point we would have been the only women’s team in the country with their own stadium.
“We were then alerted to space available in Parkside with the Forge partnership. Again, we spent two years developing plans and a structure for our new ground, with Dan Jarvis MP and Stephanie Peacock MP on board, and those plans were pulled again by Barnsley Council.”
As an independent football club, the club has faced real challenges in finding a permanent home ground, and as they are not affiliated with a men’s side, the club do not have the luxury of using other stadiums in the region.
Therefore, the Steel City Stadium has become a vital stepping stone for the club, who ended the season 6th in the National One Midlands league.
However, some plans for the future are beginning to take shape.
Barnsley College and Barnsley Women have become intrinsically linked with the rise of women’s football in the region.
Maddock said: “Barnsley College has 11 acres of land, currently being used as football pitches. This is all about generating the money through sponsorships to be able to fund the development of our new facilities.
“We have already spent a fortune on plans and designs for two new artificial pitches, for the community and for our women and girls’ teams to play on, as well as facilities such as classrooms, workspaces and an indoor football centre.
“This is for the club and for future students at the college. We won’t settle for second best facilities and setups. We’re putting these plans in place because we care about women’s football and our players.”
Talks are continually ongoing between the club and Barnsley College, and there is hope therefore that they can find a place that feels like home.
Stephen Maddock spoke in depth on the issue in part 2 of our exclusive podcast with him.
