Aston Villa

Lore & Background

During the 1880s, Aston Villa were a pioneer of the modern passing game, introduced by Scotsman George Ramsay, who Villa appointed as the world's first professional football manager in 1886. The club was influential in the sport's move to professionalism in 1885, and it was a Villa director, William McGregor, who founded the world's first Football League in 1888. Ramsay's trophy haul of six League Championships and six FA Cups established Aston Villa as the most successful club in England, a position it held from the 1890s until the 1970s. Villa scored a record 128 goals in 1930–31, however the club began its first decline in the mid-1930s; the 1940s and 1950s were generally a period of mediocrity followed by a steep decline in the 1960s which culminated in a takeover of the club by Doug Ellis in 1968 and Villa's first and only relegation to the third tier of English football in 1969–70. Villa returned to the top tier from the mid-1970s under manager Ron Saunders, who led the club to a seventh top-flight league title in 1980–81. They became only the fourth English club to win the European Cup, in 1981–82, followed by victory in the 1982 European Super Cup. In 1992, Aston Villa were founding members of the Premier League, one of only three sides to have been a founding member of both the Football League and the Premier League. Throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, Villa regularly qualified for European football, but following a period of decline after the departure of Martin O'Neill the club suffered its only relegation from the Premier League in 2015–16. After three seasons in the EFL Championship and two ownership changes, the club returned to the Premier League in 2019. Under Unai Emery, the club qualified for the UEFA Champions League for the first time since 1982–83 and won the Europa League in 2025–26.

Reader's Guide

During its history, Villa has spent 113 seasons in the top-flight, the second highest of any club, and has provided 78 England internationals, also the second highest of any club. Aston Villa is ranked fifth in the all-time English top flight table since its creation in 1888, and is the seventh most successful club in English football by competitive honours. Villa have a fierce local rivalry with Birmingham City and the Second City derby between the teams has been played since 1879. There is also a local rivalry with West Bromwich Albion, with matches between the sides known as the West Midlands derby. The club's traditional kit colours are claret shirts with sky blue sleeves, white shorts and sky blue socks, and its traditional club badge features a rampant lion. The club has been fully owned by V Sports since 2019.

Did You Know?

• Aston Villa is believed to have formed on 21 November 1874 by members of the Aston Villa Wesleyan Chapel in Handsworth.
• The club's first match was against Aston Brook St Mary's Rugby team, played under hybrid rules.