Waterlooville F.C. was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

club based in

Waterlooville Waterlooville is a town in the Borough of Havant in Hampshire, England, approximately north northeast of Portsmouth. It is the largest town in the borough. The town had a population of 64,350 in the 2011 Census. It is surrounded by Purbrook, ...

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...

. 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.

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 (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

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 three consecutive titles. 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 o ...

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 Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

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 the and play at Latimer Park. Kettering were the first club to wear sponsorship on their shirts in 1976, and have ...

. 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 a professional association football club based in the town of High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third level of the English football league system. Founded in 188 ...

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 competes in EFL League One, League One, the third level of the English football league system. Founded in 1897, the c ...

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. 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 Havant & Waterlooville. 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) is an English former football player and coach who played as a left-back for Portsmouth, Sunderland, Bristol Rovers, Barnet, Wycombe Wanderers and Slough Town. He was previously the manager of Orange Coun ...

(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 started ...

(to

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

via

Yeovil Town Yeovil Town may refer to: * Yeovil, a town in Somerset, England, with a council named Yeovil Town * Yeovil Town F.C., an English football team based in Yeovil, Somerset * Yeovil Town W.F.C., an English women's football team affiliated with Yeovil T ...

in 1989) and Paul Moody (to

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

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

Vince Hilaire Vincent Mark Hilaire (born 10 October 1959) is an English retired professional footballer who played in the Football League for Crystal Palace, Luton Town, Portsmouth, Leeds United, Stoke City and Exeter City. He was one of the first establishe ...

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 a ...

, Joe Laidlaw, Gary Stanley, and

Ray Pointer Raymond Pointer (10 October 1936 – 26 January 2016) was an English professional footballer and England international who played as a striker. He had a long and successful playing career, totalling over 400 league appearances whilst playing ...

. 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 Defunct football clubs in Hampshire Football clubs in Hampshire 1998 disestablishments in England 1902 establishments in England Portsmouth Saturday Football League Hampshire League Southern Football League clubs