Spion Kop (or the Kop for short) is a colloquial name or term for a number of single-tier terraces and stands at sports stadiums, particularly in the United Kingdom. The steep nature resembles the Spion Kop, a hill near Ladysmith, South Africa, which was the scene of the Battle of Spion Kop in January 1900 during the Second Boer War.
The first recorded reference to a sports terrace as "Kop" related to Woolwich Arsenal's Manor Ground in 1904, four years after the Second Boer War. [1] [2] A local newsman likened the silhouette of fans standing on a newly raised bank of earth to soldiers standing atop the hill at the Battle of Spion Kop. Two years later in 1906, Liverpool Echo sports editor Ernest Edwards noted of a new open-air embankment at Anfield:
This huge wall of earth has been termed "Spion Kop", and no doubt this apt name will always be used in future in referring to this spot.
The use of the name for the stand was given recognition at Anfield in 1928 when it was extended to a 27,000 capacity and a cantilever roof was added which amplified the roar of the crowd to create an intense atmosphere. [2] Traditionally, Liverpool's most vocal supporters congregate in this stand and are referred to as kopites. [3] Such is the reputation of the stand that it was claimed that the crowd in the Kop could suck the ball into the goal and it has become one of the most famous football stands in the world. [4]
Liverpool's Spion Kop (capacity 27,000, although crowds of 30,000+ have been recorded) was redesigned in 1994 (completed) to comply with requirements of the Taylor Report, which made all-seater stadiums obligatory in the highest two divisions of English football. A new Spion Kop was built in its place with 12,390 seats, making it the largest single-tier stand in the country at the time. This new Kop still stands and currently houses the club's museum.
Following the opening of the new Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Anfield's Kop ceased to be the largest single-tier stand in the country. The South Stand of the new stadium has 17,500 seats and has an incline of 34 degrees, making it one of the steepest stands in the country. [5]
Manchester United's proposed new 100,000-capacity Old Trafford stadium will reportedly take inspiration from Tottenham's South Stand with a 'new Stretford End' [6] to be a single-tier, steep stand which, due to the overall ground's significantly higher capacity, would likely house 25,000 supporters, indeed a stadium designed to the same proportions but with a 100,000 capacity would actually see this 'new Stretford End' holding as many as 29,000.
Villa Park's old Holte End was historically the largest of all Kop ends, closely followed by the old South Bank at Molineux, both once regularly holding crowds in excess of 30,000. [2]
Many other English football clubs and some rugby league clubs (such as Wigan's former home Central Park) applied the same name to stands in later years.[ citation needed ]
There is much debate about what type of stand constitutes a Kop.[ citation needed ] The size and location of the stand in the stadium varies; most are located behind the goal and are occupied by its club's most vocal supporters. It is usually a single-tiered stand and was traditionally terraced. In England, safety regulations brought into effect after the 1989 Hillsborough disaster required many to be made all-seated. A Kop is not necessarily the largest stand in the stadium and does not have to have a particularly large capacity; for example, Chesterfield's former stadium, Saltergate, had a Kop with a capacity of only a few thousand.
Liverpool Football Club is a professional football club based in Liverpool, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. Founded in 1892, the club joined the Football League the following year and has played its home games at Anfield since its formation. Liverpool is one of the most valuable and widely supported clubs in the world.
The Hillsborough disaster was a fatal crowd crush at a football match at Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, on 15 April 1989. It occurred during an FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest in the two standing-only central pens within the Leppings Lane stand allocated to Liverpool supporters. Shortly before kick-off, police match commander David Duckenfield ordered exit gate C to be opened in an attempt to ease crowding, which led to an influx of supporters entering the pens. This resulted in overcrowding of those pens and the fatal crush; with a total of 97 fatalities and 766 injuries, the disaster is the deadliest in British sporting history. Ninety-four people died on the day; one more died in hospital days later, Tony Bland died in 1993, and in 2021, a 97th person died. Both Bland and the 97th victim had suffered irreversible brain damage on the day. The match was abandoned and restaged at Old Trafford in Manchester on 7 May 1989; Liverpool won and went on to win that season's FA Cup.
Hillsborough Stadium is a football stadium in the area of Owlerton, Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. With a total capacity of 39,732, it has been the home of Sheffield Wednesday Football Club since opening in 1899.
Anfield is a football stadium in the area of Anfield, Liverpool, England, which has been the home of Liverpool since their formation in 1892. The stadium has a seating capacity of 61,276, making it the fifth largest stadium in England. It was originally the home of Everton from 1884 to 1891, before they moved to Goodison Park after a dispute with the club president.
Goodison Park is a football stadium in Walton, Liverpool, England, that has been the home of Premier League club Everton since 1892. It is 2 miles (3 km) north of the city centre, and has an all-seated capacity of 39,414.
The Hillsborough Stadium Disaster Inquiry report is the report of an inquiry which was overseen by Lord Justice Taylor, into the causes of the Hillsborough disaster in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, on 15 April 1989, as a result of which, at the time of the report, 95 Liverpool fans had died. An interim report was published in August 1989, and the final report was published in January 1990.
Deepdale is a football stadium in the Deepdale area of Preston, England, the home of Preston North End. Deepdale is widely recognised as being the oldest continuously used football stadium in the world, though this is contested.
Fratton Park is a football ground in Portsmouth, Hampshire, England, and is the home of Portsmouth Football Club. Fratton Park's location on Portsea Island is unique in English professional football, as it is the only professional English football ground not located on the mainland of Great Britain. Fratton Park has been the only home football ground in Portsmouth F.C.'s entire history.
Stanley Park was a proposed football stadium in Stanley Park, Liverpool. If built, it would have become home to the Liverpool Football Club. It would have replaced their current stadium at Anfield. The stadium had a planned capacity of 60,000 all-seated. It was also potentially expandable to 73,000 or more.
St Andrew's, known for sponsorship reasons as St. Andrew's @ Knighthead Park, is an association football stadium in the Bordesley district of Birmingham, England. It has been the home ground of Birmingham City Football Club for more than a century. From 2018 to 2021, it was known as St Andrew's Trillion Trophy Stadium.
Meadow Lane is a football stadium in Nottingham, England. It is the home ground of Notts County, who have played there since it opened in 1910. The stadium was also home to Notts County Ladies F.C. from 2014 to 2017.
Bloomfield Road is a football stadium in Blackpool, Lancashire, England, which has been the home of Blackpool Football Club since 1901. It is the third stadium in the club's existence, the previous two being Raikes Hall Gardens and the Athletic Grounds.
Brunton Park is a football stadium and the home of Carlisle United. It is situated in the city of Carlisle and has a certified capacity of 17,949. The ground opened in 1909. Brunton Park's grandstand burned down in 1953 and the stadium flooded completely in 2005 and again in 2015.
An all-seater stadium is a sports stadium in which every spectator has a seat. This is commonplace in professional association football stadiums in nations such as the United Kingdom, Spain, and the Netherlands. Most association football and American football stadiums in the United States and Canadian Football League stadiums in Canada are all-seaters, as are most baseball and track and field stadiums in those countries. A stadium that is not an all-seater has areas for attendees holding standing-room only tickets to stand and view the proceedings. Such standing areas are known as terraces in Britain. Stands with only terraces used to dominate the football attendance in the UK. For instance, the South Bank Stand behind the southern goal at Molineux Stadium, home of Wolverhampton Wanderers, had a maximum of 32,000 standing attenders, while the rest of the stadium hosted a little bit less than that; the total maximum attendance was around 59,000.
The Racecourse Ground, known for sponsorship reasons as the STōK Cae Ras, is a football stadium in Wrexham, Wales. It is the home of Wrexham A.F.C.
Prenton Park is a football stadium in the area of Prenton, Birkenhead, Merseyside, England. It is the home ground of Tranmere Rovers Football Club since opening in 1912, and formerly the home ground of Liverpool Reserves and Liverpool Women. The ground has had several rebuilds, with the most recent occurring in 1995 in response to the requirement of the Taylor Report to become all-seater. The stadium now holds 16,587 in four stands: the Kop, the Johnny King Stand, the Main Stand and the Cowshed for away supporters.
Saltergate, officially the Recreation Ground, was the historic home of Chesterfield Football Club, and was in use from 1871 until the club's relocation in July 2010, a 139-year history that made it one of the oldest football grounds in England at the time of its closure. From the 1920s onward the name 'Saltergate' became predominant in popular references to the ground.
Broadhall Way, known as the Lamex Stadium for sponsorship purposes, is an association football stadium in Stevenage, Hertfordshire. It has been the home ground of Stevenage since the early 1960s, and has a capacity of 7,200 people.
A terrace or terracing in sporting terms refers to the standing area of a sports stadium, particularly in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland. It is a series of concrete steps, with intermittent safety barriers installed at specific locations to prevent an excessive movement of people down its slope.
A large number of English football clubs have ongoing schemes to redevelop existing grounds, or to move to newly constructed stadiums. A trend towards all-seater stadiums was initially prescribed by the Taylor Report, and was originally a condition only of Premier League admission. It has now become a requirement that within three years of a club's first promotion to the Championship all paying spectators are seated, even if the club is subsequently relegated. This page provides an (incomplete) list and description of those clubs who have planned new stadiums or refurbishments, or who have already moved/refurbished since around the time of the Taylor Report.