NTU Women’s FC make historic progress in FA Cup
Published: 27/10/2026
Nottingham Trent University Women’s FC (NTUWFC) reached the first round of the Women’s FA Cup and played in front of the cameras against Loughborough Lightning Women.
In a hard-fought match at Clifton Sports Hub on Sunday, NTU Women’s FC lost 5-2 despite a fantastic showing against a team from two divisions above. NTU matched their opponents throughout and could rightly feel aggrieved not to have been leading at half time.
Highlights of the game included the brace of goals scored by US postgraduate student and sports scholar Hannah Smoot, which took her to five goals in the competition this season, as well as the level of commitment and quality shown by all the players against a side used to playing against professional and semi-professional players on a weekly basis.
Highlights of the match can be seen on the Football Association's (FA's) YouTube channel.
The players performed fantastically to reach the first round of the Women’s FA Cup, winning both their Qualifying Round matches in impressive fashion to reach this stage for the first time ever.
It’s great that we could give the opportunity to participate in such a historic competition to our students, some of whom have come from overseas to study and play here. This performance showed the level they can compete at and the task now is to carry the form and standard into both the BUCS season and the FA East Midlands Women's Regional Football League for the rest of the season.
Daniel Corlett, Head Coach of NTU Women’s FC
Reaching this stage of the Women's FA Cup is a remarkable achievement and the game was a fantastic moment for our student-athletes, coaches and wider university community.
Chris Campbell, Director of NTU Sport
Take a look at some images from the day: