Full name | Aston Villa Football Club |
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Nickname(s) | Villans, The Villa, The Lions, The Claret & Blue Army |
Short name | Villa, AVFC |
Founded | 21 November 1874 |
Ground | Villa Park |
Capacity | 42,682 |
Owner | Recon Sports Limited |
Chairman | Tony Xia |
Manager | Steve Bruce |
League | Championship |
2015–16 | Premier League, 20th (relegated) |
Website | Club home page |
Aston Villa Football Club (/ˈæstən ˈvɪlə/; nicknamed Villa, The Villa, The Villans, The Lions) is a professional association football club based in Aston, Birmingham, that plays in the Championship, the second level of English football. Founded in 1874, they have played at their current home ground, Villa Park, since 1897. Aston Villa were one of the founder members of the Football League in 1888. They were also one of the founder members of the Premier League in 1992.
Aston Villa are one of only five English clubs to be crowned champions of Europe, having won the 1981–82 European Cup. They have also won the First Division Championship seven times, the FA Cup seven times, the Football League Cup five times, and the UEFA Super Cup once.
They have a fierce local rivalry with Birmingham City and the Second City derby between the sides has been played since 1879. The club's traditional kit colours are claret shirts with sky blue sleeves, white shorts and sky blue socks. Their traditional badge is of a rampant lion, which was introduced by the club's Scottish chairman William McGregor in honour of the Royal Standard of Scotland.