The Oldest Soccer Stadiums in the World

The oldest soccer stadiums date back to the late 19th century. Of course, they’re all located in the United Kingdom. Read this article to discover more about them!

The oldest soccer stadiums in the world are located in England. And all of them were built at the end of the 19th century! We’ll tell you all about them and share their main characteristics in the following article.

What are the oldest soccer stadiums?

It isn’t surprising that most of the oldest soccer stadiums are located in England, where this modern sport was born. Many of them have been renovated throughout history and, of course, they all have secrets and interesting anecdotes:

1. Bramall Lane

It’s located in Sheffield, United Kingdom. The Premier League club Sheffield United owns it. It’s the oldest soccer stadium in the world, as it was built and inaugurated in 1855.

It has a seating capacity of just over 30,000. However, prior to the regulations of the Union of European Football Associations, it seated 70,000 spectators.

2. Racecourse Ground: one of the oldest soccer stadiums

This stadium is located in the city of Wrexham, in North Wales. It was founded in 1872. In addition to hosting local team matches, it also hosts Welsh soccer team and rugby matches. It also hosts cricket, Super15 rugby matches, and horse racing.

Although it isn’t the oldest, it holds the Guinness World record for having hosted the first official international soccer match, between Wales and Scotland in 1877. It had a capacity for almost 35,000 spectators until 1989. Then, it was renovated for a capacity of 15,500.

3. Deepdale Park

The third of the oldest soccer stadiums is located in the English city of Preston. It’s the home not only of Preston North End but it also contained the national soccer museum (which closed in 2010). Deepdale opened in 1875. It bears that name because the land on which it stands was originally Deepdale Farm.

The stadium was originally used for cricket and rugby matches. The first soccer game was held there in 1938. Initially, Deepdale had a capacity of almost 43,000 spectators. However, it now has a total capacity of 23,404.

4. Oldest soccer stadiums: Ewood Park

This is the home of the Blackburn Rovers Football Club. It’s located in the English town of Blackburn, Lancashire. It opened its doors in 1890. Today, it has a seating capacity for 31,000 spectators. In its history, Ewood Park has hosted both men and women’s English national soccer team matches.

5. Turf Moor

It’s located in the town of Burnley, Lancashire. This soccer stadium is the home of the local team, Burnley FC, which has played there since 1883. Its four main stands bear the following names: the Bob Lord Stand, the Cricket Field Stand, the James Hargreaves Stand, and the Jimmy McIlroy Stand.

6. Anfield

The home of Liverpool Football Club is one of the oldest soccer stadiums in the world. In fact, it was originally the home of Everton from 1884 to 1891. With a seating capacity of almost 55,000 people, UEFA criteria considers Anfield an elite soccer stadium.

Its four stands are the Anfield Road end, the Sir Kenny Dalglish Stand, the Kop, and the Main Stand. It’s hosted many international matches for the English team. In addition, it was one of the venues of UEFA Euro 1996.

7. Craven Cottage

It’s the home of Fulham FC and is located in the City of London. It’s the oldest in the English capital, as it opened in 1896. In addition, people consider it one of the traditional soccer stadiums of the country. In fact, it has one of the original grandstands with the longest history. Also, it has a seating capacity for 25,700 spectators.

Finally, other of the oldest football stadiums are: Goodison Park (the home of Premier League club Everton, built in 1892); Priestfield (the home of Gillingham Football Club, 1893); Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium, the home ground of the Piraeus football club Olympiacos, built in 1895; Villa Park (the home of Aston Villa, built in 1897); and Fratton Park (the home of Portsmouth FC, built in 1898).