Football Ground Map
Football Ground Map
English football is in the midst of its most popular period ever, with an estimated global audience of over three billion. However, some analysts believe it is closer to four. No sporting brand or organization on the planet can generate the sort of viewing figures and revenue that the EPL brand can.
A handful of stadiums have existed since the inception of the top flight of English football and carry the esteem and folklore that has helped endear so many fans, with no other connection to England, to the enigma of the English game. Below, we examine four of the most underrated stadiums in the EPL.
While this is clearly down to more than one variable, many top teams' footballing culture and heritage help sell the EPL brand's all-around package, especially to international fans. Global betting markets are another driving force behind the visibility and popularity of English football around the world. As mobile betting apps continue to bolster and prop up the market and bettors scour the web looking for the safest betting apps to place their wagers during Euro 2024, this focus will switch back to the EPL upon the conclusion of this year's tournament in Germany.
Underrated stadiums have some type of unique element, such as atmosphere, heritage, matchday experience or capacity. Many of these stadiums are an extension of the community they represent and are the true definition of what English football and its attachment to working-class culture is all about.
It must feel good for you Ipswich fans out there to see the Tractor Boys back in the English top flight. Unlike many teams who have recently found a big fanbase out of nowhere, which correlates with their multibillion-pound wealth conveniently!
Ipswich is a team that has invited the likes of Real Madrid, Barcelona and AC Milan to Portman Road over the last 60 years and has come out the other side unscathed.
Portman Road is 140 years old, meaning it is one of the oldest grounds in the top flight. However, unlike some of the other grounds in the league, it doesn't suffer from either a soulless, corporate feel like many new grounds do or an obvious, aged look which doesn't match the modern game.
As with any building or stadium that's been around for over a century, it does require a bit of work. However, the club is making it their mission to renovate aspects of it in time for the new season. As Ipswich has been outside of the top flight for 20 years, it's great to see one of the oldest grounds in the game back in the top flight. Few football fans can be upset with Ipswich returning to the top flight, apart from Norwich that is. They're a team that hasn't been tainted by the perils of exorbitant wealth, and they are finally reappearing in the division where they belong.
Nottingham Forest was arguably the biggest club outside of the top flight until their return to the Premier League in 2022. Nottingham is the second oldest team in the world and one of only four English teams to have won more than one European Cup, the biggest prize in the domestic game.
The City Ground sits on the banks of the River Trent, just across the water from their city rivals, Notts County. It's a ground that has hosted some of the great European nights in English football and a host of games during Euro 96.
Few people put the City Ground into any list of the top English stadiums. However, as it is one of the oldest and has a fantastic traditional feel and history, it's definitely one of the most underrated and deserves a mention in our list today.
Known locally as "The Originals", Everton FC is the original club in Merseyside. Having originated 14 years before their more successful rivals across the park, many cite the Toffees home ground as the quintessential ground in English football. It boasts all the components you'd attribute to the game as it was before the arrival of the multibillion-pound TV money that flooded the sport in the early 1990s.
Goodison Park has wooden seats, stands and obstructed views and is situated in the heart of Liverpool. Terraced houses surround it, and it has hosted a range of high-level games, including the famous night Everton beat Bayern Munich during their golden era on the way to lifting their only European trophy in the mid-1980s and a collection of 1966 World Cup games.
Although the Toffees are about to move to their new state-of-the-art stadium on the banks of the Mersey, it will be a sad day when they say goodbye to their home since 1878.
It's been a great few years for Villa, and qualifying for the Champions League will help shine a light on their majestic and grand home ground in Aston, Birmingham. No other club ground in English football has hosted more FA Cup semi-finals than Villa Park. Even though it was built in 1897, it has all the modern conveniences without any obstructed views like Goodison Park. It also maintains the cauldron-like feel you get from the biggest clubs in Europe.
Aston Villa is a massive club in English football. While the new generation of football fans might not appreciate this, they've won multiple European Cups and seven English titles. They were one of only three teams to be founding members of the original First Division and the inaugural Premier League in 1992.
As an away fan who has visited Villa Park, I can say it's the most underrated stadium due to its blend of football heritage, the games it's played host to and the true English football feel to it, which is slowly being lost in a sea of vapid new vanity projects. Birmingham City fans probably disagree with us putting Villa in the top spot, but considering few people discuss Villa Park as one of the top stadiums, we will put it at the pinnacle of our list.
All good things have to come to an end, and the same unfortunately has to be said for football stadiums too. This article looks at the grounds which are soon to host their last match, the stadiums whose days are numbered and where fans will be watching their football from next.
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