Notable Stadiums in England but never Selected for Major Tournaments

Several stadiums in England which deserve a chance to host major tournaments have never been selected up to this day.

England is one of the most well-known football nations. As such nations, hosting major tournaments is something which they have done more than once. Football nations normally have already established a solid football league system from the top tier for professionals to the regional level for amateurs. Naturally, they have already had big and modern stadiums in place all around the country for hosting international games.

In England, such kinds of stadiums are fairly easy to find. The teams from the top two tiers have had a high-rated home base by FA or UEFA, which means they could be utilised for hosting major tournaments. England has been a host of such international competitions, from 1966 FIFA World Cup, EURO 1996, 2020 and later 2028 plus three editions of the Summer Olympics in 1908, 1948 and 2012. The list could go on when including the host for UEFA competition finals from the Champions League, Europa League/ UEFA Cup plus Cup Winners Cup in the past.

In the upcoming EURO 2028 in the UK and Ireland, the stadiums have been confirmed to host the games. Six out of ten venues are in England. Surprisingly, several venues traditionally selected for major international competition, such as Liverpool’s Anfield and Manchester’s Old Trafford, have been omitted, with Everton’s future stadium and Manchester City’s Etihad / City of Manchester Stadium included as their replacement.

Such change is considerably good. Yet, some other notable modern stadiums in England have not been picked for the foreseeable future. Here are some of the notable ones.

Emirates Stadium (Arsenal)

The Gunners’ home base is one of the largest stadiums in the country. It can hold over 60,700 fans. The stadium was built in 2004 and completed two years later. It was designed by HOK Sport and cost 390 million Pounds for its construction.

Emirates replaced Arsenal’s legendary home base, the compact Highbury. It has been rated four stars by UEFA. Yet, it has never been picked for hosting major tournaments. The stadium located in Ashburton Grove was considered to be one of the venues for EURO 2028 but Tottenham Hotspur Stadium was selected instead.

Since its opening, Emirates has been utilised only for friendly matches but not by the England national team. Brasil has been the main ‘tenant’ of this venue. They have played eight games there, with the last one staged in 2018.

Stamford Bridge (Chelsea)

The next notable yet unfortunate venue is still in London. Chelsea’s home, Stamford Bridge has never been selected or even considered one of the venues for major international tournaments, even though it has been used to hold three FA Cup finals (1920-1922), ten Charity Shield matches and six international friendly matches, the last one was in 2013. The stadium was built in 1877 and last renovated in 1998. The capacity of Stamford Bridge is 40,434 seats.

Molineux Stadium (Wolverhampton)

The home of Wolves is one of the earliest developed stadiums in England. In the 1990s, it was even deemed the most modern one. Molineux has a capacity of 31,750 seats, which will be in full house for the team’s big matches, in which Wolverhampton tickets are sold out.

Even though it has been snubbed for hosting major international tournaments, this venue has been used for staging several international fixtures for England’s senior sides as well as U21 teams. The most recent notable game for The Three Lions here was in 2022 when Gareth Southgate’s men played host to Italy and Hungary in UEFA Nations League matches, resulting in winless for Harry Kane and Co.

Falmer Stadium (Brighton)

The home base of Brighton Albion was built in 2008 and completed in 2011. Since then, the Seagulls have hosted their opposition from the lower tier to the top flight. It can hold over 31,800 people and has been selected to stage major international tournaments for women’s football only, but not for men’s. Falmer Stadium hosted three games in the Women’s EURO 2022. The venue which is also known as AMEX was designed by KSS Design group with the construction cost reaching 93 million Pounds.  

St.Mary’s Stadium (Southampton)

The home base of Southampton began to be in use in 2001. Previously, The Saints played in The Dell, which became too small for the club due to the all-seater policy for all stadiums in the Premier League. Saint Mary’s has been used several times for holding international fixtures. England’s last game in this 32,384-seated venue was in EURO 2020 qualifiers in 2019 when Harry Kane and Co trashed Kosovo 5-3. However, when it comes to hosting major tournaments in men’s football, St. Mary’s has yet to be selected, except for Women’s EURO 2022. Such is fairly strange as it has been known as the largest stadium in South East England.

King Power Stadium (Leicester)

Another four-star rated stadium by UEFA has yet to be selected for hosting major international tournaments. King Power was opened in 2002 with a capacity of 32,312 seats. It replaced Leicester City’s old home base, Filbert Street. Built in 2001, this venue’s construction cost 35-37 million Pounds and was designed by The Miller Partnership.

This venue has been used quite frequently for a number of international matches for the senior teams or England youth sides. The Three Lions last used it in a friendly match against Switzerland in 2018. In 2022, King Power was even picked to hold FA Community Shield 2022 for the clash of Liverpool and Manchester City due to the schedule of the Women’s EURO 2022 final in Wembley.

Stadium of Light (Sunderland)

Some stadiums in the Championship teams deserve a chance to host major tournaments like Stadium of Light. Sunderland’s home base can hold over 49,000 people. Built in 1996 to replace Roker Park, it was expanded in 2000. This four-star venue has been used to stage five international matches with the last one being in 2016.

Pride Park (Derby County)

Pride Park is currently even used in the third tier. The home base of Derby County has 32,956 seats and has been used only for international-friendly games. The first one was in 2001 when England hammered Mexico 4-0 whereas the last one was in 2010 when Brasil thumped Ukraine 2-0. This venue has been mainly selected for holding the games for England U21 and women’s team lately.