Waterlooville F.C. was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

football club based in

Waterlooville Waterlooville is a market town in the Borough of Havant in Hampshire, England, approximately north northeast of Portsmouth. It is the largest town in the borough. The town has a population of about 64,350 and is surrounded by Purbrook, Blendwort ...

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English cities on its south coast, Southampton and Portsmouth, Hampshire ...

. They were known as "The Ville" and played at Jubilee Park in Aston Road. They ceased to exist in 1998 when they merged with Havant Town to form

Havant & Waterlooville Havant & Waterlooville Football Club is a professional football club based in Havant, Hampshire, England. The club participates in the National League South, the sixth tier of English football, after relegation from the National League in the ...

History

The club was established in 1902 and initially played in the Waterlooville and District League.History
Havant & Waterlooville Shortly before

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

they joined the Portsmouth League, immediately winning the Division Three title. After the war they won Division Two and after a few years in Division One they won the title three times in a row. In 1953 they joined the

Hampshire League The Hampshire League was a football league in Hampshire, England. During its heyday its constitution consisted of four divisions with over 60 clubs taking part - this included a vast number of semi-professional teams and Reserve/’A’ sides of ...

and in 1968–69 reached the first round of the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

for the first time, where they lost 2–1 to

Kettering Town Kettering Town Football Club is a football club based in Burton Latimer, Northamptonshire, England. They are currently members of and play at Latimer Park in Burton Latimer. Kettering were the first club to wear sponsorship on their shirts in ...

. In 1971 the club were promoted to Division One South of the Southern League. They won the division in their first season and were promoted to the Premier Division. However, they finished bottom of the Premier Division the following season and were relegated back to Division One South.England – Southern League Final Tables
RSSSF In 1976–77 they reached the first round of the FA Cup again, losing 2–1 at home to

Wycombe Wanderers Wycombe Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire. The team compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. They play their ho ...

in a match which set the Jubilee Park attendance record of 4,500. When the league was reorganised in 1982 they were placed in the Premier Division, but were relegated back to Division One South in 1982–83, despite also reaching the final of the Southern League Cup, losing to Alvechurch. The following season, under the stewardship of manager John Milkins, they again reached the first round of the FA Cup, holding

Northampton Town Northampton Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Northampton, England. The team plays in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1897, the club competed in the Midland ...

to two 1–1 draws, before losing a second replay 2–0. Ville lifted the Southern League Cup in 1986–87 after winning both legs of the two-legged final against Hednesford Town. The following season they finished second and were promoted back to the Premier Division. In 1988–89 they reached the first round of the FA Cup for the fourth and final time, losing 4–1 at home to

Aylesbury United Aylesbury United Football Club is a football club based in Chesham, Buckinghamshire, England. They are currently members of Division One Central of the Southern League and play at Chesham United's Meadow ground, having been evicted from their ...

. They remained in the Premier Division until relegation at the end of the 1993–94 season. In 1998 the club merged with Havant Town to form

. Residential housing, known as Coronation Road, was built on the site of Jubilee Park. The rows of poplar trees which marked the southern and western boundaries of the football ground remain.

Honours

*Southern League **Division One South champions 1971–72 **League Cup runners-up 1982–83 **League Cup winners 1986–87 **Southern Division runners-up 1987–88

Former players

Notable former players include three who went on to play professional football in England,

Paul Hardyman Paul George Hardyman (born 11 May 1964 in Portsmouth) is an English former footballer and coach. He was a left-back for Portsmouth, Sunderland, Bristol Rovers, Barnet, Wycombe and Slough Town. He is currently Academy manager and assistant coach ...

(transferred to Portsmouth in 1983),

Guy Whittingham Guy Whittingham (born 10 November 1964) is an English football manager and former professional footballer. As a player, he was a striker from 1988 until 2005, notably in the Premier League for Aston Villa and Sheffield Wednesday. Having start ...

(to

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

via

Yeovil Town Yeovil Town may refer to: * Yeovil Town F.C., an English football team based in Yeovil, Somerset * Yeovil Town L.F.C. Bridgwater United Women's Football Club are an English women's association football club based in Bridgwater, Somerset who wer ...

in 1989) and Paul Moody (to

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

in 1991). Additionally, several players joined Ville after a professional career, including Vince Hilaire,

Billy Gilbert William Gilbert Barron (September 12, 1894 – September 23, 1971), known professionally as Billy Gilbert, was an American actor and comedian. He was known for his comic sneeze routines. He appeared in over 200 feature films, short subjects ...

, Joe Laidlaw and Gary Stanley. Calvin Hore holds the club record for player appearances, with 801. He made his debut, aged 16, in September 1980, and aside from one season on the books of Portsmouth (1981–82), was a regular first team member until the club played its last match in May 1998. He was also club captain for most of the 1990s.

References

{{Authority control Association football clubs established in 1902 Association football clubs disestablished in 1998 Defunct football clubs in England Football clubs in Hampshire 1998 disestablishments in England 1902 establishments in England Portsmouth Saturday Football League Hampshire League Southern Football League clubs