Wembley · Profile

Wembley Stadium stands in Wembley, in the London Borough of Brent, and has been the home of the England national team since 2007. It is owned by the Football Association (FA) and operated through its subsidiary Wembley National Stadium Limited. With a football capacity of 90,000, it is the largest stadium in the United Kingdom. Besides England matches, it stages the FA Cup semi-finals and final, the Community Shield and the League Cup final.

The original Wembley (1923-2000)

The stadium occupies the site of the old Empire Stadium, which opened in 1923. Its first major fixture was the FA Cup final of 28 April 1923, when Bolton Wanderers beat West Ham United 2-0 in front of a crowd that spilled far beyond the stands. The old ground, with its twin towers, hosted the 1948 Olympic Games and the 1966 World Cup final, which England won 4-2 against West Germany after extra time on 30 July, with Bobby Moore as captain. It also staged the Euro 96 final. The last match was played on 7 October 2000, a 1-0 win for Germany over England in qualifying for the 2002 World Cup.

Demolition and construction (2002-2007)

Demolition of the old stadium officially began on 30 September 2002, and building work on the new one ran from 2003 to 2007. The design came from Foster + Partners and HOK Sport, later renamed Populous, and the Australian firm Multiplex was the main contractor. The most striking feature is the steel arch, spanning 315 metres and rising more than 130 metres, which carries much of the roof. The roof is partially retractable, with two moving sections over the east and west ends. The project ran late and over budget, and the stadium was handed over to the FA on 9 March 2007.

Opening in 2007

A charity match with spectators took place on 17 March 2007, and the first official fixture followed on 24 March, a 3-3 draw between the England and Italy under-21 sides. The official opening came with the FA Cup final of 19 May 2007, when Chelsea beat Manchester United 1-0 through an extra-time goal from Didier Drogba before 89,826 spectators. The senior England team played there for the first time on 1 June 2007, a 1-1 friendly draw with Brazil in which John Terry scored for the hosts.

Beyond English football

On 28 October 2007, Wembley hosted the first NFL regular-season game played in Europe, with the New York Giants beating the Miami Dolphins 13-10 in front of 81,176 fans. At the London 2012 Olympic Games it staged both football finals: Mexico took the men’s gold with a 2-1 win over Brazil, and the United States won the women’s title by beating Japan 2-1. Between August 2017 and 2019, Tottenham Hotspur played their home matches there while their new stadium was being built.

European finals

The new Wembley has hosted three Champions League finals. In 2011 Barcelona beat Manchester United 3-1, and in 2013 Bayern Munich defeated Borussia Dortmund 2-1 in the first final between two German clubs. At Euro 2020, postponed by a year because of the pandemic, the stadium staged eight matches, including both semi-finals and the final. England beat Denmark 2-1 in the semi-final on 7 July 2021, then lost the final to Italy on penalties on 11 July after a 1-1 draw. A year later, on 31 July 2022, the England women’s team won Women’s Euro 2022 by beating Germany 2-1 after extra time in front of 87,192 spectators. The third Champions League final was played on 1 June 2024, when Real Madrid beat Borussia Dortmund 2-0 to win their fifteenth European Cup.