Thousands of fans welcome home Europa League champions Aston Villa
Thousands of fans trooped to the streets of Birmingham on Thursday to welcome Aston Villa players after they defeated Freiburg 3-0 to win the 2025/26 UEFA Europa League title on Wednesday.
Youri Tielemans, Emiliano Buendía and Morgan Rogers were all on the scoresheet in the finale at the Tüpraş Stadium in Istanbul, ending Aston Villa’s 30-year wait to win a major silverware.
On their return to the UK on Thursday, more than 20,000 supporters were estimated to have gathered at the Centenary Square to see the players with the Europa League trophy, while hundreds lined the streets as the team’s bus paraded through the city.
“And of course we are so, so proud of you. This moment is really fantastic, our heart is your heart, your heart is our heart,” Aston Villa manager Unai Emery said while addressing the crowd at the parade.
Defender Tyrone Mings, who also spoke at the event, stated, “We celebrated very hard,” he said. “I’m sure you guys have too… I just want to say thank you so much. What a fan base, what a set of players. We are so grateful for all of you showing up today.”
“For everyone who could not understand John McGinn, he said thank you for your support. It has been a tough start to the season, down to me! Not scoring goals. The boys said I was playing with a blindfold on. Thankfully I managed to get some goals in the end,” forward Ollie Watkins said.
Before the triumph on Wednesday, Aston Villa had not won any trophy since lifting the EFL Cup title during the 1995/96 season.
We have recently deactivated our website's comment provider in favour of other channels of distribution and commentary. We encourage you to join the conversation on our stories via our Facebook, Twitter and other social media pages.
More from Peoples Gazette
States
Independence: NBA urges Nigerians to expect better future
The NBA said that ordinary Nigerians should be deriving benefit from the subsidy removal rather than hardship.
Agriculture
FG tasks ECOWAS on leveraging financing strategies for agroecology
The federal government has urged stakeholders in the agriculture and finance sectors in the West Africa region to leverage financing strategies to enhance agroecology practices
Politics
Katsina youths pledge to deliver over 2 million votes to Atiku
“Katsina State is Atiku’s political base because it is his second home.”
Economy
JPMorgan gets preliminary CBN approval for Nigerian merchant bank
The CBN described JPMorgan’s proposed expansion as evidence of growing international interest in Nigeria’s financial markets.
Abuja
Rising transport fares force FCT pupils to miss school
Transportation costs have risen sharply in recent months, with transport operators attributing the rise to persistent fuel price increases.
Politics
Atiku derides security deployment to protect Tinubu’s billboards while bandits attack communities
Mr Abubakar said that protecting billboards while citizens are exposed to terrorist attacks shows the poor priorities of Mr Tinubu’s government.
Health
Ebola patient in Nigeria married to Swiss diplomat: Ministry
The couple had been in Uganda since late September but returned to Nigeria earlier this month.
Africa
Ghana to stop raw mineral exports by 2030: Mahama
Mr Mahama reaffirmed that government policy will pivot from merely extracting raw materials to building complete industrial value chains.
