Prince William celebrates his favourite football team qualifying for the Champions League
Prince William has praised his long-time favourite football team for qualifying for the Champions League for the first time in an upbeat social media post.
The Prince of Wales said he “can’t wait” for Aston Villa’s next season as he publicly shared his joy following the team’s confirmation they had gained their place in the competition.
The Villa squad had gathered for the team’s end-of-season awards on Tuesday night and were watching on TV as Tottenham slipped to a 2-0 loss to Manchester City - a result that had more ramifications than simply for the Premier League’s title race.
It also meant Villa would be guaranteed to finish in fourth place, above Tottenham, with a game to spare - securing their place in Europe’s top competition for the first time since 1983.
Posting on his Kensington Royal X account, William responded to the news, writing: “We are Champions League! A historic season and an amazing achievement. Thanks to Unai, the whole squad and everyone at @AVFCOfficial. Can’t wait for next season. #UTV! W”
The future King is a well-known Aston Villa fan and has been spotted in the stands on several occasions this season - sometimes with his son Prince George in tow.
The pair were spotted at a game in April in what was their first public outing since the Princess of Wales’ cancer announcement.
George sported an Aston Villa scarf as the pair celebrated the club’s 2-1 win against Lille in the first leg of the Europa Conference League quarter-final.
William’s support for the club has been well-documented over the years. Speaking to the BBC in 2015, he explained why he chose to support Aston Villa over some of the larger clubs.
The prince said: “A long time ago at school I got into football big time. I was looking around for clubs. All my friends at school were either Man United fans or Chelsea fans and I didn’t want to follow the run-of-the-mill teams.
“I wanted to have a team that was more mid-table that could give me more emotional rollercoaster moments.
“Aston Villa’s always had a great history. I have friends of mine who support Aston Villa and one of the first FA Cup games I went to was Bolton v Aston Villa back in 2000. Sadly, Villa went on to lose to Chelsea.
“It was fantastic, I sat with all the fans with my red beanie on, and I was sat with all the Brummie fans and had a great time.
“It was the atmosphere, the camaraderie and I really felt that there was something I could connect with.”
Several years later, in 2020, William doubled down on his reasoning for following the club and added that the history around the team has “always been quite close” to him.
“People like Paul Merson were playing and I thought if people like him can play as well as he does, knowing the struggles he was under at the time...this is a club I can support,” he said.
“I was also born in ‘82, the year we won the [European] Cup, so I feel the history and pedigree around Villa has always been quite close to me.”
