2017-2021: The Return
2017/18 was a memorable season for the first team who won the FA Women’s Premier League Southern Division by eight points, with a goal difference of plus 85.
They clinched the title with a 4-0 victory away to Crystal Palace with Kit Graham netting all four - including her 200th goal for the club.
The first team then went on to defeat Northern Division Champions Blackburn Rovers 2-1 at Sheffield United’s Bramall Lane in the FA Women's Premier League play-off final, with goals from Graham and Griffin, to clinch promotion to the Barclays Women’s Championship (previously known as Women's Super League 2).
A hat-trick of success was completed as 1st team won the Capital Senior Cup for 5th time in a row defeating Crystal Palace 2-1.
The first team also reached the Isthmian Women’s Cup final whilst the U21 side (previously known as Reserves) finished third in the FA Women's Premier League Reserve Division South.
Charlton had an extremely successful first season in the Barclay's Women’s Championship (previously known as the FA Women’s Championship), finishing third and just missing out on promotion to the Women’s Super League behind Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur.
The 2019/20 season was an incredibly difficult one for the club. The Championship division started to divide in two with multiple clubs opting to go either full-time or a hybrid model of full-time football.
The season was disrupted midway through due to the outbreak of COVID-19. The season was eventually terminated early with the final season determined by average points per game. The Addicks finished bottom of the table but survived with relegation scrapped for the season.
The 2020/21 season saw the Addicks finish in eighth position.
The season was a unique one for the club with all games taking place behind closed doors due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, which prevented crowds from returning to stadiums.
Charlton were allowed to continue to play under elite sports protocols which included bi-weekly COVID testing for all players and staff. The season saw multiple games postponed due to players from either the home or away team having to isolate. The knock-on result left the Addicks with multiple games in hands, but not many points on the board. A lot of the season was therefore a battle for survival, though good results in March and April secured survival in the division.
In January 2021, it was announced that Thomas Sandgaard had agreed on terms to take the team back into Charlton Athletic as one club.
Two months later, it was announced that Charlton would go full-time from the 2021/22 season with Karen Hills joining the team as Women's First-Team Head Coach, whilst Riteesh Mishra remained with the club as Women's First-Team Assistant Manager.
