Valley FC is a semi-professional football club based in Wellington, New Zealand. The club was founded in 2012 by a group of flatmates living in a run down house in Aro Valley, lead by Thomas Barclay. The first players came from across New Zealand and South East Asia, brought together by their concurrent scholarly pursuits at Victoria University of Wellington and by regular five-a-side football tournaments held indoors at Boyd-Wilson Arena. The club has become a symbol of Wellington culture and supporters are often heard chanting the team motto "V2D" (Valley till I Die). Unlike most clubs, Valley FC is owned and operated by the players association. Decisions with regards to finances, expansion, new signings and transfers are made democratically, usually accompanied by a few good brews.
The concept for Valley FC was born in late 2011. After a season toiling away for University team "The Lazy Greys", Thomas Barclay, Cameron Poole Smith and Hin Siang Tay decided to begin their own football club. The idea was to have a team made up of a hand picked group of friends, rather than a bunch of players thrown together by the bureaucratic processes of a larger club. By the Start of 2012 plans were fully in motion for the formation of this new club. The team was to compete under the banner of the Victoria University of Wellington Association Football Club, but would for all intents and purposes be autonomous. Soon thereafter the side would establish the name "Valley FC" to represent the birthplace of the club and its humble origins, as well as design a new emblem and kit. It has been speculated that Valley FC, in an act of blatant copyright infringement, pilfered the Notts County F.C. emblem and kit design. Valley staff however, maintain that the similarities are purely coincidental.
