Maltese international leaves Luton Town Ladies for London Bees

Luton Town left back Fiona Buttigieg has left the club to join fellow FA Women's National League Division One South East side London Bees ahead of the 2026-27 campaign.

The 27-year-old has spent the past five years with the Hatters, where she made 139 appearances and enjoyed plenty of memorable moments in an orange shirt, including winning promotion to tier four and facing WSL opposition Brighton & Hove Albion in the fourth round of the FA Cup. After a number of years spent with Bearsted in Kent where she grew up, Buttigieg’s first introduction to women’s football came when she joined Gillingham U17s, where she then progressed into the first team.

Whilst with the Gills, Fiona was loaned out to Aylesford, where she put pen to paper on a permanent deal and spent the next six years, making 79 appearances. She then joined Luton and after impressing with the Hatters, earned a call-up to the Malta Women’s national team, going on to make her debut against Cyprus in the UEFA Women's Nations League match and win four caps for her country in total.

Discussing his latest signing with the Bees’ official website, head coach Dan McKimm said: “Fiona’s a great addition to the club and I’m delighted that we’ve been able to land her signature. She’s a current international, which adds more top-level experience to our ranks, and her attitude, outlook and work ethic match perfectly with the club ethos and the culture we have here.

"I felt we missed a left-footed player in wider areas last season, and it’s something I wanted to address this summer, so she’ll bring a nice balance from that perspective. Fi also fits our style of play really well, and she’s got a wicked delivery from wide areas and set pieces.”

On making the move to London and her time with the Hatters, Buttigieg added: “I joined when I was 22 and started when they were in tier five. I got on with the group so well and to see the way we progressed over the five years is really nice. We had a really good FA Cup run, playing Brighton which was an unbelievable experience and then to get promoted to tier four was another amazing experience.

“I feel like the last couple of seasons have been really good for me on a personal level and I think that moving onto a new challenge is something that I want to try out and it seems like a really good fit for me here. It’s really exciting for me, I’ve heard a lot of good things about the club and the group of girls here. I definitely remember the second game (against Bees last season), I think I played all right. It was difficult from our perspective, both our keepers got injured, so it was a tough game and a good challenge.”

A post on the Hatters’ official X page added: “Luton Town Ladies can confirm the departure of defender Fiona Buttigieg. Fi spent 5 years with the hatters making a total of 139 appearances. With the support of the club Fi also represented Malta internationally during her time with us. We thank Fi for all her commitment and efforts and wish her all the best in her future career.”

» The Hatters’ opponents for their second season in the FA Women’s National League Division One South East have been confirmed.

After a seventh placed finish last campaign, the Hatters will go up against Cambridge United, Actonians, London Bees, Milton Keynes Dons, Chatham Town, Stevenage, Saltdean United, Dartford FC, Billericay Town and Queens Park Rangers. Town will approach their season without goalkeeper Sarah Hudson, who has announced her retirement from playing after a highly successful two-year spell at the club which included a double-winning campaign in 2024-25.