 Aston Villa Football Club ( / <unk> <unk> / ; nicknamed Villa , The Villa , The <unk> , The Lions ) is a professional association football club based in Aston , Birmingham , that plays in the Championship , the second level of English football . Founded in 1874 , they have played at their current home ground , Villa Park , since 1897 . Aston Villa were the <unk> and founding members of the Football League in 1888 . They were also founding members of the Premier League in 1992 . In June 2016 , the club was sold by American businessman Randy Lerner to Recon Group , owned by Chinese businessman Dr Tony <unk> Xia . 
