15 May 2026
Villa Moving to the Southern League!
By | Dave Rees
Summer Update 1 - 15th May
Welcome to our first update of the summer!
Our media team will be bringing you a weekly update throughout the close season as Villa looks ahead to our first-ever season at Step 3. We plan to bring you this every Friday, but of course this may vary if our media team are not available.
This week’s main headlines include our league allocation, confirmation of our football management team, and our first player announcement as one of the squad commits to Villa for next season.
League Allocation
The season only finished a couple of weeks ago for Hanworth Villa, but the Football Association has already released the initial league allocations for the upcoming campaign.
After spending the last four seasons in the Isthmian South Central Division (Step 4), Villa secured promotion through the play-offs and will now experience life in the Southern League for the very first time.
The non-league pyramid can be complex, particularly when geography across England and Wales is taken into account. In recent years, the borders of the Southern League have edged closer to London, with neighbouring clubs such as Uxbridge FC and Walton & Hersham FC already making the move following promotion.
That means Villa supporters can expect some longer away trips next season, with journeys to the West Country and the West Midlands on the calendar. For fans who enjoy visiting new grounds, there will be plenty of new destinations to tick off alongside the chance to reconnect with some more familiar.
If you missed our social media posts on Thursday, the Pitching In Southern League Premier South Division will consist of:
If you’d like to see the full allocations across Steps 1–6, you can visit the FA website. It is worth noting these are provision placings and are subject to appeals, so we will let you know should anything change.
The increased travel comes with promotion, and it’s a challenge the club has been preparing for throughout the season should promotion become a reality and now it is.
Football Matters
This week, we were also pleased to confirm our first-team management structure for next season.
Simon Haughney will remain as First Team Manager, while Assistant Manager Paul Thomas will continue alongside him as the club takes the next step, you can read the full story here.
We’re also delighted that coach Dean Wells and goalkeeping coach Ben Wilkins have committed to next season at Rectory Meadow.
On the player front, whilst getting players physically signed up is a few weeks away Simon and his team are working hard getting players on board, both from the existing squad and some new faces. At this early stage we are thrilled to announce Brandon Barzey is returning to Rectory Meadow and has committed to us for the new campaign, read the full story here.
Life at Step 3
While Simon and his management team continue building a squad to compete at our new level, our operations and administration teams are working hard behind the scenes to prepare for the demands of hosting and traveling for Step 3 football.
In the coming days and weeks, we’ll bring you more updates, including confirmation of admission prices, season tickets, membership details and, of course, all-important player news.
Be sure to follow us on X, Bluesky, facebook and Instagram, and keep an eye on our website as our media team continues to bring you all the latest updates.
Join Our Media Team
As we prepare for Step 3 football and celebrate our 50th anniversary we’re looking to expand our media coverage and bring more supporters closer to the club.
We’re currently looking for new volunteers to join our media team. Whether you have experience or simply want to get involved and learn, we’d love to hear from you.
We’re looking for people with skills in:
Writing
Content creation
Video production
Audio production
Broadcasting
Social media
Graphic design
Our media team is made up entirely of volunteers, but we can promise valuable experience and the chance to work alongside some fantastic people.
If you're interested, email us at [email protected]
Want to Help in Other Ways?
We’re always looking for people to join our fantastic group of volunteers across the club.
If you have time, skills, or experience you’d like to offer, please get in touch at [email protected]
That’s all for this week’s update — stay tuned for more news throughout the summer.
#UPTHEVILLA
