Chris Venables

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Chris Venables
Venables playing for Bala Town in 2016
Personal information
Full name Christopher Venables
Date of birth (1985-07-28) 28 July 1985 (age 40)
Place of birth Shrewsbury, England[1]
Height 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Position(s) Midfielder, striker
Team information
Current team
 Penybont
Number 9
Youth career
Shrewsbury Town
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2003–2007 Caersws 91 (25)
2007–2008 Welshpool Town 29 (8)
2008–2009 Aberystwyth Town 27 (3)
2009–2012 Llanelli Town 100 (19)
2012–2016 Aberystwyth Town 98 (73)
2016–2023 Bala Town 185 (90)
2023– Penybont 57 (28)
International career
Wales Semi-Pro U23 5
2018–2019 Wales Semi-Pro 2 (1)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 27 September 2025

Christopher Venables (born 28 July 1985) is a Welsh semi-professional footballer who plays as a striker for Cymru Premier club Penybont. He has been described as "one of the most acclaimed players ... [and has] earned a reputation as one of the most talented and consistent players in the league".[2]

Early life

[edit]

Venables was born on 28 July 1985. He is a native of Llandinam, Wales. He attended Llanidloes High School in Powys,[2] and grew up supporting Caersws. As a youth player, he joined the academy of English club Shrewsbury Town.

Club career

[edit]

Venables mainly operates as a midfielder or striker.[3] He started his career with Caersws, with whom he won the 2007 Welsh League Cup.[4] He then spent a season each with Welshpool Town and Aberystwyth Town, appearing in the 2009 Welsh Cup final with the latter, before signing for Llanelli Town in 2009.[5] In the 2010–11 season, Llanelli won the Welsh Cup, with Venables scoring his side's fourth goal in a 4–1 defeat of Bangor City.[6] While with Llanelli, he played in both legs of the first qualifying round of the UEFA Europa League on three occasions, but they would be eliminated by their opponents each time.[5] Due to the club's Welsh Cup win, they qualified for the second qualifying round, facing Dinamo Tbilisi. Venables only played in the second leg, which saw Llanelli fall to a 5–0 loss.[7]

In January 2013, he returned to Aberystwyth Town,[1] where he moved further upfield to the striker position, becoming better known for his goalscoring prowess.[8] In the 2013–14 season, Aber reached the 2014 Welsh Cup final against The New Saints. Owing to a first-half Venables brace, Aber were on the cusp of winning their first Welsh Cup since the 1899–1900 season, but the team would go on to concede three unanswered goals in the second-half.[9] However as runners-up, Aber qualified for the first qualifying round of the Europa League, since The New Saints won the league and thus qualified for the second qualifying round of the Champions League. Although Venables played in both legs, Aber were defeated 9–0 on aggregate by Derry City.[10][11] During the calendar year of 2014, Venables scored 39 times, outscoring that year's Ballon d'Or winner, Cristiano Ronaldo, by one goal and Lionel Messi by four.[1] As of December 2014, he had an average of 1.24 goals per game, behind Ronaldo's average of 1.64 goals per game.[12] He was the league's top scorer for three consecutive seasons, and was the Player of the Season in back-to-back seasons.[13]

In July 2016, he signed for Bala Town.[5] In the 2016–17 season, Bala won the Welsh Cup for the first time, with Venables assisting Kieran Smith for the winning goal in a 2–1 victory over The New Saints.[14] Having finished third in the league, Bala qualified for the first qualifying round of the Europa League, but were knocked out by Vaduz, with Venables scoring Bala's only goal over two legs.[15] In the 2019–20 season, Venables led the league in goalscoring again, before the season was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[16] At the time, Bala were third in the league, and given that the season abruptly ended, they were awarded with qualification for the Europa League. On 27 August 2020, Venables' sole goal against Valletta saw Bala progress to the second qualifying round for the first time in their history.[17] However, they would be knocked out by Standard Liège, with Venables having a first-half penalty saved.[18] On 2 May 2021, he scored a hat-trick against Barry Town United, securing qualification for the Conference League.[19] His first goal of the match was also his 200th in Cymru Premier history, becoming the fifth player to have done so, after Marc Lloyd Williams, Rhys Griffiths, Michael Wilde and Lee Hunt.[19] On 17 May, Venables received his fifth Golden Boot.[20] Despite an early exit from the Conference League against Larne,[21] Venables helped the club achieve second place in the 2021–22 season, securing qualification for the Conference League once again. In July 2022, Bala faced Sligo Rovers over two legs, which ended in a penalty shoot-out victory for the Irish side; Venables had been one of three players to successfully convert his penalty.[22] In what became Venables' final season with Bala, the club finished fifth and reached both domestic cup finals, defeating Connah's Quay Nomads on penalties in the 2023 Welsh League Cup final,[23] but were comfortably beaten 6–0 by The New Saints in the 2023 Welsh Cup final.[24]

In June 2023, he signed for Penybont.[25] As Penybont finished third the previous season, they qualified for the first qualifying round of the Europa Conference League; their first time competing in Europe. Venables scored the equaliser in the first leg against Santa Coloma,[26] but he would be sent off in the second leg, as the Andorran side scored twice in extra-time to reach the next round.[27] On 26 September 2023, Venables became the Cymru Premier's record appearance holder with 537, overtaking his former teammate Wyn Thomas, marking the occasion by scoring the only goal of the match against Barry Town United.[8] In the return fixture on 10 February 2024, Venables was sent off in the first half, in an eventual 2–2 draw.[28] In the 2024–25 season, Penybont finished as runners-up and qualified for the Conference League first qualifying round, allowing Venables another shot at European football. The qualification was secured when Connah's Quay lost 2–1 to The New Saints in the 2025 Welsh Cup final; had the Nomads won, they would have taken Penybont's spot in the Conference League.[29] Venables appeared in the second leg against Kauno Žalgiris as a second-half substitute, by which point the Lithuanian club had a unassailable lead on aggregate.[30]

International career

[edit]

In 2007, Venables was called up for the first time by the Wales national semi-professional football team at the Four Nations Tournament.[31] He eventually made his debut in 2018, during a 3–2 loss to England C, where he scored a consolation goal.[32] The following year, he was capped again in a 2–2 draw against the same opposition, assisting Adam Roscrow for Wales' second-half equaliser.[33] In the years between his first call up and his debut, he had been capped five times for the under-23 semi-professional national team.[5]

Honours

[edit]

Caersws

Llanelli Town

Bala Town

Individual

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c "Aberystwyth's Chris Venables is Europe's top scorer in 2014". BBC Sport. 15 January 2015. Retrieved 30 September 2025.
  2. ^ a b Grosvenor, Gavin (28 September 2023). "Powys football star Venables makes Welsh Premier history". countytimes.co.uk. Retrieved 30 September 2025.
  3. ^ Drury, Jonny (2 February 2020). "A tribute to Chris Venables – A true Cymru Premier custodian and Bala's newly found goal-getter". clwbpeldroed.org. Retrieved 30 September 2025.
  4. ^ March, Ryan (7 October 2023). "The incredible story of Welsh football record breaker Chris Venables". nation.cymru. Retrieved 30 September 2025.
  5. ^ a b c d Jones, Dave (8 July 2016). "Goal ace Venables signs for Bala Town". Daily Post (North Wales). Retrieved 30 September 2025.
  6. ^ a b "Llanelli end Bangor run with first Welsh Cup win". uefa.com. 8 May 2011. Retrieved 30 September 2025.
  7. ^ "Dinamo Tbilisi (GEO) 5–0 Llanelli (WAL)". uefa.com. 21 July 2011. Retrieved 30 September 2025.
  8. ^ a b "537 not out | Chris Venables breaks JD Cymru Premier appearance record". Football Association of Wales. 27 September 2023. Retrieved 30 September 2025.
  9. ^ "Welsh Cup Final: Aberystwyth 2–3 The New Saints". BBC Sport. 3 May 2014. Retrieved 30 September 2025.
  10. ^ "Europa League: Derry City 4–0 Aberystwyth Town". BBC Sport. 4 July 2014. Retrieved 30 September 2025.
  11. ^ "Aberystwyth Town 0–5 Derry City (Derry City win 9–0 on agg)". rte.ie. 10 July 2014. Retrieved 30 September 2025.
  12. ^ Gaskell, Simon (18 December 2014). "Meet the Welsh Premier League star whose goal-scoring exploits are second to Cristiano Ronaldo". Wales Online. Retrieved 30 September 2025.
  13. ^ a b c d e f Jones, Dave (17 September 2019). "How high can Bala's Chris Venables rise in all-time Cymru Premier goalscorers list?". nwsport.co.uk. Retrieved 30 September 2025.
  14. ^ a b Williams, Aled (1 May 2017). "Welsh Cup final: Bala Town 2–1 The New Saints". BBC Sport. Retrieved 30 September 2025.
  15. ^ "Bala (WAL) 1–2 Vaduz (LIE)". uefa.com. 29 June 2017. Retrieved 30 September 2025.
  16. ^ a b "Venables keeps captain's armband". Cambrian News. 27 July 2020. Retrieved 30 September 2025.
  17. ^ "Europa League: Valletta FC 0–1 Bala Town". BBC Sport. 27 August 2020. Retrieved 30 September 2025.
  18. ^ "Europa League: Standard Liege 2–0 Bala Town". BBC Sport. 17 September 2020. Retrieved 30 September 2025.
  19. ^ a b c "Chris Venables: Bala Town skipper celebrates 200th goal and European qualification". BBC Sport. 2 May 2021. Retrieved 30 September 2025.
  20. ^ a b Jones, Dave (17 May 2021). "Chris Venables makes it five Golden Boot titles and second in a row with Bala". nwsport.co.uk. Retrieved 30 September 2025.
  21. ^ "Europa Conference League: Larne 1–0 Bala Town (aggregate: 2–0)". BBC Sport. 15 July 2021. Retrieved 30 September 2025.
  22. ^ "Europa Conference League: Sligo Rovers beat Bala Town on penalties to reach second qualifying round". BBC Sport. 14 July 2022. Retrieved 30 September 2025.
  23. ^ Evans, Tom (28 January 2023). "Ten-man Bala Town end wait for Nathaniel MG Cup win as Connah's Quay pay the penalty". clwbpeldroed.org. Retrieved 30 September 2025.
  24. ^ "Welsh Cup Final: The New Saints 6–0 Bala Town - Saints complete double". BBC Sport. 30 April 2023. Retrieved 30 September 2025.
  25. ^ Jones, Jordan (10 June 2023). "Penybont make triple swoop and Connah's Quay recruit two". clwbpeldroed.org. Retrieved 30 September 2025.
  26. ^ "Europa Conference League: Penybont 1–1 FC Santa - spirited hosts draw on European debut". BBC Sport. 13 July 2023. Retrieved 30 September 2025.
  27. ^ "FC Santa Coloma 2–0 Penybont (Agg 3–1) - Venables sent off as Euro dream ends in extra-time". BBC Sport. 20 July 2023. Retrieved 30 September 2025.
  28. ^ "Cymru Premier round-up: Nomads edge five-goal thriller". BBC Sport. 10 February 2024. Retrieved 30 September 2025.
  29. ^ Jones, Daffyd G (7 May 2025). "Veteran Venables relishes another shot at Europe". BBC Sport. Retrieved 30 September 2025.
  30. ^ "Penybont 1–1 Kauno Žalgiris (Agg 1–4)". BBC Sport. 17 July 2025. Retrieved 30 September 2025.
  31. ^ "Wales Semi Professional Football - 4 Home nations - Inverness, May 19 – 28, 2007". dragonsoccer.co.uk.
  32. ^ Badcock, Matthew (21 March 2018). "A FEJIRI OKENABIRHIE HAT-TRICK FIRES ENGLAND C TO VICTORY OVER WALES IN BARRY". thefa.com. Retrieved 30 September 2025.
  33. ^ Badcock, Matthew (19 March 2019). "NON-LEAGUE LIONS HELD TO 2-2 DRAW BY WALES XI AT SALFORD CITY'S PENINSIULA STADIUM". thefa.com. Retrieved 30 September 2025.
  34. ^ "Nathaniel MG Cup final: Bala Town 0–0 Connah's Quay Nomads (Bala win 4–3 on penalties)". BBC Sport. 28 January 2023. Retrieved 30 September 2025.