Football Heritage: 5 of the Oldest Football Stadiums in the World

Football is the most popular sport in the world today with over 3.5 billion fans. This fascination with football has spawned other industries, among them merchandise manufacturing and gaming. Most leading video games and online casinos such as bestjapanesecasinos.com now feature football-based casino games.

The growth of football stature has also seen development of magnificent football stadiums across the world. These are theatres where players and fans create memories. While you have been fascinated by technology and innovative design of football stadiums used today, more history has been made in venues that you might have heard nothing about. Here is a look at the oldest football stadiums around the world and their current usage.

Bramall Lane

The impressive performance of Sheffield United in the first half of the 2019/2020 season of the English Premier League could say something about their history. They play football at the oldest stadium in the history of football in the world.

The stadium is named after the Bramall Family whose business is file and graver manufacturing. While it is the oldest, it has a capacity of 32,702 fans. It has hosted other important games like cricket and a rock concert. The stadium was built and inaugurated 1855 to originally host cricket matches but later became a home for football.

Sandygate Road

Sandygate Road is regarded as the oldest sporting ground in the world. However, in terms of football, this ground comes second. In fact, Guinness Book of World Records has recognized it as the oldest ground. The stadium was originally used for both cricket and football matches. This taints the purist understanding of football.

Like the oldest stadium, it is in Sheffield at Crosspool in South Yorkshire. It remains a mixed ground for Hallam Football Club and Hallam Cricket Club. Opened in 1860, the first teams to play at the ground were Hallam FC against Sheffield FC on 26th December 1860. This match is still regarded as the first inter-club match to be played around the world. The stadium has an almost laughable capacity of 700 but is proud of a unique football history.

Stamford Bridge

The Stamford Bridge is the home ground for Chelsea Football Club. The stadium is simply referred to as 'The Bridge' and boasts of a sitting capacity of 41,798. The stadium opened its doors in 1877. The highest sitting capacity ever recorded was 82,905 in 1935 during a game against Arsenal. It was home to London Athletic Club before Chelsea took over in 1905.

Anfield

Anfield is the home ground for the 2018/2019 European Champions League Winners, Liverpool Football Club. It is regarded as one of the worlds sports Meccas. The stalwart square shape makes the stadium iconic regardless of the numerous renovations made. Constructed in 1877, the stadium first hosted Everton FC between 1884 and 1891. Liverpool took over the stadium upon establishment in 1892 and have made history at the stadium ever since. There are plans to redevelop the stadium in order to increase its capacity to 58,000 fans.

Old Trafford

Old Trafford stands as the second largest football stadium in United Kingdom. It has served as the home ground for Manchester United since it opened its doors in 1910. It also holds the title for the ninth largest football stadium in Europe. The 75,635 capacity stadium was designed and built by the legendary Architect Archibald Leitch.

Final Thoughts

With the growing popularity of football across the world many other outstanding stadiums will come up. However, these older stadiums still have an irresistible allure and the best players want to play there. If you are an avid football fan, you should also add a visit to these stadiums in your bucket list.