Villa F.C.
Football club
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Villa Football Club is an Irish association football club based in Waterford, Ireland.[1] Their senior men's team competes in the Waterford & District Junior League's Premier Division.
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| Full name | Villa Football Club[1] | ||
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| Nickname | The Villa[2] | ||
| Founded | 1953 | ||
| Ground | Connors Park[3] | ||
| Manager | Conor Coad | ||
| League | Waterford & District Junior League | ||
| Website | https://villafc.ie/ | ||
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The club have qualified for the FAI Cup on three occasions, including in 2007 and 2022.[4][5]
History
Villa Football Club was founded in 1953 in Waterford City, Ireland.[6] The club drew support from the city streets of Sexton Street, Leamy Street and Griffith Place, down as far as Morrison’s Road.[7] Villa first appeared in a 5-a-side tournament in July 1953 and by September had entered two teams in the schoolboy leagues, at under-14 and under-15 level. The club's first league game was against Bolton in September 1953, which resulted in a 3–1 victory.[7] In 1959, the club became the first Waterford side to win the Munster Youth Cup, then known as the Munster Minor Cup, when they beat Cork side Glasheen to win the 1958–59 trophy.[7][8]
In 1978, the club leased the ground beside Ozier Park from the Waterford Junior League. Originally a dumping site, by 1980 it had been renovated into a football pitch, complete with a drainage system and dressing rooms.[2] The ground was named Connors Park after former player, coach and secretary Eugene Connors, who died in 1983.[2]
It has achieved a number of footballing successes[9] in Waterford since its founding. Villa FC's Premier team plays in the Waterford & District Junior League, and has won the competition[10] twice.[11][12] Villa FC also won the FAI Junior Cup in 2022,[13] winning 1:0 in the final, as well as a number of other honours[9] at levels from schoolboy to senior. Villa FC operates from their home ground at Connors Park in Poleberry, Waterford City.[3] A number of former Villa FC players have gone on to success in football leagues outside Ireland, including Kenny McEvoy (Tottenham Hotspur), Lee O'Connor (Manchester United), Jayson Molumby (Brighton), and Timi Sobowale (Manchester City).[14]
In April 2022, Villa beat Inchicore Athletic to qualify for the first round of the FAI Cup.[5]
FAI Junior Cup Win, 2022
In 2022, Villa won the FAI Junior Cup, defeating Pike Rovers from Limerick at Turners Cross in Cork with the winning goal scored by Conor Kilgannon.[15] Speaking of the win after the match, Villa manager Conor Coad noted that it was "a historic day for us and it's been a massive season for us, we've never won our own local Premier League and to go and do that recently and back it up with this win is something we could have only dreamed of at the start of the year".[16]
The club added to their trophy haul with the 2021–22 Waterford Junior League. They added two more league titles before the league transitioned to a calendar year schedule. Villa won the shortened league season in 2024 and went on to add the inaugural league trophy of the summer season in 2025.[17][18]
Current squad
As of 2023/2024 season, the club's "premier" squad included:[19]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Capped players
Republic of Ireland Senior Internationals
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Republic of Ireland U21 Internationals
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Honours
- Winners: 2021–22[13]
All-Ireland President's Junior Cup
- Winners: 2022–23[20]
Waterford and District Junior League
Ardagh Cup
- Winners: 1969-70, 1970-71, 2007-08[citation needed]