England

English football stadiums overview

There are a total of 92 football stadiums in the English Football League, spread across the four professional divisions. In order from top to bottom, those divisions are as follows: English Premier League, Championship, League One and League Two.

Football Ground Guide provides another 70 guides on the stadiums of sides currently playing non-league football, each of which is either in the National League or the Northern/Southern Leagues – this brings the current total number of ground guides on the site to 162.

The 92 professional grounds can be located and accessed using the tabs at the top of this page, while the non-league stadiums can be found via their own dedicated tab.

By Region/City

The English football system is a somewhat misleading name for the four professional divisions as there is a strange phenomenon in which a handful of Welsh teams compete in the pyramid. There are currently four teams which do so, they are: Wrexham AFC, Newport County, Swansea City and Cardiff City.

That leaves a total of 88 teams remaining, each of which are based in England.

London

Thirteen of these are based in the country’s capital London, from some of the most elite sides in Europe such as Arsenal and Chelsea to the newly promoted to League Two Bromley. The full list of London-based teams in the English football system is as follows:

• Arsenal – The Emirates
• Brentford – The Gtech Community Stadium
• Chelsea – Stamford Bridge
• Crystal Palace – Selhurst Park
• Fulham – Craven Cottage
• Tottenham Hotspur – Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
• West Ham United – London Stadium
• Millwall – The Den
• Queen’s Park Rangers – Loftus Road
• Charlton Athletic – The Valley
• Leyton Orient – Brisbane Road
• AFC Wimbledon – Plough Lane
• Bromley – Hayes Lane

Manchester

Home of the biggest club in the country, Manchester United, Manchester is a city with plenty of history in football. In total, there are six teams based in this region, which are as follows:

• Manchester City – The Etihad Stadium
• Manchester United – Old Trafford
• Bolton Wanderers – Toughsheet Community Stadium
• Wigan Athletic – DW Stadium
• Stockport County – Edgeley Park

Liverpool

Despite being a city with a rich football heritage and being the home of English giants Liverpool, Merseyside is represented by just three teams in the country’s four professional divisions. These are:

• Liverpool – Anfield
• Everton – Hill Dickinson Stadium
• Tranmere Rovers – Prenton Park

Midlands

A long-term hub of football in the country, the Midlands are one of, if not the most, important regions in England for the sport.

A total of 17 professional teams currently represent the area, albeit split between the West and East portions of the region. The full list is as follows:

West Midlands

• Aston Villa – Villa Park
• Wolverhampton Wanderers – Molineux
• Birmingham City – St. Andrew’s @ Knighthead Park
• Coventry City – Coventry Building Society Arena
• Stoke City – bet365 Stadium
• West Bromwich Albion – The Hawthorns
• Burton Albion – Pirelli Stadium
• Port Vale – Vale Park
• Shrewsbury Town – Croud Meadow
• Walsall – Bescot Stadium

East Midlands

• Nottingham Forest – The City Ground
• Leicester City – King Power Stadium
• Derby County – Pride Park
• Northampton Town – Sixfields Stadium
• Mansfield Town – Field Mill
• Notts County – Meadow Lane
• Chesterfield – SMH Group Stadium

North East

The North East has just three representatives in the professional English football system, although all three of them are incredibly iconic clubs with rich history within the sport. They are as follows:

• Newcastle United – St James’ Park
• Middlesborough – Riverside Stadium
• Sunderland – Stadium of Light

What are English stadiums like?

England was a leading pioneer in the creation of football as we know it today, and as such, the country is the home of some of the oldest football stadiums in the world. Many of these are still in use today, including grounds as well-known as Liverpool’s Anfield, which opened in 1884.

These older grounds often have a very distinct design, featuring a more traditional four-stand layout that is still used throughout Europe today. However, stadiums that have been more recently constructed, such as the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, feature a more bowl-like design with no separate stands, akin to the aesthetic of American football grounds.

As a general rule of thumb, the atmosphere at football stadiums in England is usually better at the more traditional, older-style four-stand stadiums as fans are often more compact and closer to the pitch.

Key stats

Biggest stadiums in England

As expected, the majority of the biggest stadiums in England are found in the Premier League, where the clubs have the finances required to build and maintain such facilities. However, the biggest of them all is England’s national stadium, Wembley, which boasts a capacity of 90,000.

The top five biggest stadiums in England are as follows:

• Wembley Stadium – 90,000
• Old Trafford – 74,310
• Tottenham Hotspur Stadium – 62,850
• London Stadium – 62,500
• Anfield – 61,276

Best atmosphere

As alluded to, the best atmospheres at football stadiums in England are often found at grounds that are either smaller venues in the lower divisions, although some Premier League stadiums are known to have excellent atmospheres, such as Anfield on Champions League nights.

Leeds United’s Elland Road is another ground with a fantastic atmosphere, while practically every ground in League One and League Two will have a good atmosphere due to the fans being so close to the pitch in most cases.

As a general rule of thumb, the smaller the venue, the better the atmosphere – although there are several exceptions to that rule.

Oldest and most recent stadiums

When discussing the oldest football stadiums in England, the city of Sheffield is the obvious starting point. Not only does it have Brammall Lane, the home of Sheffield United which opened in 1855 and is the second-oldest ground in the country, but it is also the home of Sandygate.

This is officially the oldest football stadium in the world, having been in use since 1804 but is currently used by Hallam FC – a non-league outfit.

Wrexham’s Racecourse Ground only narrowly misses out on being the oldest stadium in the English football system, having opened in 1807.

Past major international tournaments in England

World Cup 1966 – which stadiums were venues?

Of course, the Three Lions’ winning the 1966 World Cup is the unequivocal highlight of the tournament; however, the hosting venues all had their part to play in creating a memorable experience for attending fans.

In total, there were eight selected stadiums, which are as follows:

• Ayresome Park
• Goodison Park
• Hillsborough Stadium
• Old Trafford
• Roker Park
• Villa Park
• Wembley Stadium
• White City Stadium

Euro 1996

Much like the 1966 World Cup, Euro 1996 was hosted in England and again, the honours were split across eight different venues. Wembley Stadium hosted the final, but the full list of selected venues for the tournament is as follows:

• Anfield
• City Ground
• Elland Road
• Hillsborough Stadium
• Old Trafford
• St James’ Park
• Villa Park
• Wembley Stadium

Euro 2028 stadiums in England

Euro 2028 will be held across Ireland and the United Kingdom with a total of 10 stadiums selected for hosting duties – six of which are in England, including Wembley which will host the final.

Those six grounds will be:

• Wembley Stadium
• Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
• The Etihad Stadium
• Bramley-Moore Dock Stadium (New Everton stadium)
• St James’ Park
• Villa Park