The club began in 1979 as
Red Star Southampton, competing in the
Home Counties League then the Southern Regions League. In 1991 Red Star won the Southern Region Division One and became founder members of the
FA Women's Premier League National Division. winning promotion as
Southern Premier League champions in 1995–96. However the club's second spell in the top-flight lasted only a season, as 1996–97 ended in another relegation. Southampton Saints then won the 1997–98 Southern Premier League and secured a mid-table finish in the 1998–99 National Premier League – being named Most Improved Side at the annual FA Awards. In 1999 the club reached its second
FA Women's Cup final (not including the ten reached by
Southampton W.F.C. in the first 11 years of the competition). This time they were beaten 2–0 by
Arsenal Ladies, before a crowd of 6,450 at
The Valley. The club maintained its top-flight status and was merged into
Southampton F.C. in 2001. The club was relegated in 2002–03 and this time was unable to bounce straight back, missing out on promotion by a point in 2003–04.
Sue Lopez had been appointed manager in 2003. In 2005 Southampton FC were relegated from the men's
Premier League and withdrew their support for Southampton Saints as a result. They had evaded relegation by a point in 2005–06. Yet another relegation saw the club playing at Southern Region level from 2008 until 2010, when they returned to the South West Combination as champions under the guidance of new manager Adam Lee. ==Stadium==