Anfield

Lore & Background

The stadium is named after the surrounding area, Anfield. The word originated in the combination of Old and Middle English words, which mean 'a field on a slope'. Anfield, and its deviations, has been associated with the area since at least 1642. It has been suggested that the name is linked to the influx of Irish people into the spreading city in the 1850s, and was associated with Annefield, outside New Ross, County Wexford, Ireland. Opened in 1884, Anfield was originally owned by John Orrell. The first match at the ground was between Everton and Earlestown on 28 September 1884, which Everton won 5–0. In 1892, negotiations to purchase the land from Orrell escalated into a dispute between John Houlding and the Everton committee, culminating in Everton's move to Goodison Park. Houlding formed Liverpool F.C. and Athletic Grounds Ltd to occupy the stadium. The club's first match at Anfield was a friendly on 1 September 1892 against Rotherham Town, won 7–1. The Spion Kop stand was named after a hill in South Africa where a local regiment suffered heavy losses during the Boer War. The Shankly Gates were erected in 1982, a tribute to former manager Bill Shankly; across them are the words 'You'll Never Walk Alone'. A bronze statue of Bill Shankly was unveiled in 1997 by the Kop Stand, and a bronze statue of Bob Paisley was unveiled in 2020 outside the Centenary Stand (now the Sir Kenny Dalglish Stand).

In Their Own Story

The air inside Anfield is always heavy with anticipation, but on European nights, it feels thick enough to taste. As the players emerge from the tunnel, the roar begins not as a sound, but as a vibration in the concrete beneath your feet. The 'Kop' stands as a wall of red, a sea of scarves held high against the evening sky. When the chorus of 'You'll Never Walk Alone' erupts, it drowns out everything—the traffic outside, the doubts within, even the opposing team's formation. For ninety minutes, time suspends itself in this bowl of grass and stone. A goal is scored, and the stadium dissolves into pure chaos; a miss is met with a collective groan that shakes the floodlights. Here, history isn't read; it is felt in the chest, a heartbeat shared by sixty thousand souls.

Reader's Guide

The stadium has four stands: the Spion Kop, the Main Stand, the Sir Kenny Dalglish Stand, and the Anfield Road End. The record attendance of 61,905 was set at a match between Liverpool and Wolverhampton Wanderers in 1952. The ground converted to an all-seater stadium in 1994 as a result of the Taylor Report. Two gates are named after former Liverpool managers: Bill Shankly and Bob Paisley. The ground is 2 miles (3 km) from Liverpool Lime Street railway station. The club proposed relocating to a new stadium in Stanley Park in 2002; after Fenway Sports Group acquired Liverpool in 2010, the decision was taken to expand Anfield instead. This extension opened on 9 September 2016, increasing capacity to 54,074. Redevelopments to the Anfield Road Stand in 2024 increased capacity to over 61,000.

Did You Know?

• The Spion Kop was named after a hill in South Africa where many Liverpool soldiers died in the Boer War.
• The topmast of the SS Great Eastern, one of the first iron ships, was erected alongside the Kop in 1928 and still serves as a flagpole.
• The Hillsborough memorial is situated next to 97 Avenue in front of the redeveloped main stand, with an eternal flame signifying that those who died will never be forgotten.