Just as with the men's team, their official policy is to sign players native to or trained in football in the greater Basque Country.

After Leioa gained promotion to the new Superliga Femenina in just two years, it was absorbed by Athletic Bilbao, with the process coordinated by Ernesto Valverde and Andoni Zubizarreta.

As a result of their title wins they made four appearances in the UEFA Women's Cup, being knocked out in the group stages by 1.

In June 2017, the club announced they would introduce a second reserve team for the coming season, made up of girls aged 13 to 15.

[9] In January 2019, the club broke the European record for attendance at a women's football match with 48,121 spectators at San Mamés for a Copa de la Reina quarter-final fixture, a 2–0 loss to Atlético Madrid.