Villa Football Club is an Irish association football club based in Waterford, Ireland. Their senior men's team competes in the Premier Division of the Waterford & District Junior League.
The club have qualified for the FAI Cup on three occasions; in 2007, 2022 and 2024.
Villa Football Club was founded in 1953 by ten men; Shamie Martin, Frank O'Byrne, Frank Farrell, Eddie Wall, Nicky Power, Sid Rellis, Michael Kiely, Billy Howlett, Eddie Wymberry and Eddie Smith. The club drew support from the Waterford city streets of Sexton Street, Leamy Street and Griffith Place, down as far as MorrisonâÂÂs Road. 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 3âÂÂ1 victory. 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 1958âÂÂ59 trophy.
By 1962, the club had entered the Munster Senior League. Villa reached the Munster Junior Cup final in 1963, after a hat-trick from Buddy Purcell saw off the challenge of Limerick club Geraldines in Ozier Park. Due to an internal dispute within the Munster FA, the final of the competition didn't take place until 1964 when Villa lost out narrowly to Blackrock of Cork in Flower Lodge. The club also reached the quarter finals of the FAI Junior Cup in 1964 where they lost to Pike Rovers. Gene Roche, Buddy Purcell, Teddy Madigan and Frankie Mountain all represented Villa F.C. as part of the first Waterford Junior League to win the Inter-league Oscar Traynor Cup in 1964. During this era, some of the club's players progressed to League of Ireland level, including Gene Roche, Ian Nolan, Billy Howlett, Ben Stokes, Sid Rellis, Al Casey, Pat Flynn, Frankie Mountain and Johnny Toms.
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. The ground was named Connors Park after former player, coach and secretary Eugene Connors, who died in 1983.
It has achieved a number of footballing successes in Waterford since its founding. By the 2020âÂÂ21 season, Villa F.C. were competing in the top division of the Waterford & District Junior League, and won the competition for the first time in 2022. The club retained the title the following season. Villa FC also won the FAI Junior Cup in 2022, winning 1:0 in the final, as well as a number of other honours at levels from schoolboy to senior. Villa FC operates from their home ground at Connors Park in Poleberry, Waterford City. 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).
In April 2022, Villa beat Inchicore Athletic to qualify for the first round of the FAI Cup.
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. 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".
The club added to their trophy haul with the 2021âÂÂ22 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.
As of 2023/2024 season, the club's "premier" squad included:
All-Ireland President's Junior Cup
Waterford and District Junior League
Ardagh Cup