Anfield History: The Story of Liverpool's Iconic Ground

Anfield has been Liverpool Football Club’s home since 1892 — but the ground is older than the club itself, and its story runs through some of the most famous nights in English football.

From a pitch that Everton built and then walked away from, to the roar of the Kop and a modern 61,276-seat stadium that kept its soul, here’s the full history of Anfield — the stands, the moments and the details that make it one of the most recognisable grounds in world football (and one of the most requested designs in our Liverpool poster collection).

Before Liverpool FC: Everton at Anfield (1884–1892)

Anfield opened in 1884, and its first tenants weren’t Liverpool at all — they were Everton. The Toffees played their home games here for eight years and even won a Football League title on the pitch in 1891. But a dispute over rent with the ground’s owner, John Houlding, ended the arrangement: Everton moved across Stanley Park to Goodison Park, and Houlding was left with a stadium and no team.

His solution was to found his own club. Liverpool Football Club was created in 1892 specifically to play at Anfield, and it has been the club’s home ever since — the origin of one of football’s greatest rivalries, with the two grounds still barely half a mile apart.

The Kop — the most famous stand in England

The stand that made Anfield legendary was built in 1906 and named the Spion Kop, after a hill in the Second Boer War where many Liverpool soldiers had died. At its peak it was a vast, single-tier terrace that could hold around 28,000 standing supporters, generating a wall of noise that became part of the club’s identity.

Following the Taylor Report, the terraced Kop was demolished and rebuilt as an all-seater stand in 1994. It holds far fewer fans today, but the name — and the atmosphere on a European night — carries the same weight. It’s the stand most fans want captured in a print, and the centrepiece of our iconic grounds collection.

“This Is Anfield” and the Shankly era

No detail sums up Anfield better than the red sign above the players’ tunnel reading This Is Anfield. It was put up in the 1960s by manager Bill Shankly — part warning to opponents, part reminder to his own players of who they were playing for. Home players touch it on the way out; it has become one of the most photographed spots in the ground.

Shankly’s legacy is written all over the stadium: the Shankly Gates, opened in 1982 and carrying the words of the club anthem “You’ll Never Walk Alone”, and the statue of the man himself outside the Kop. The Paisley Gateway, honouring his successor Bob Paisley, followed in 1999.

A place of memory

Anfield is also home to the Hillsborough Memorial, remembering the 97 Liverpool supporters who lost their lives at the 1989 FA Cup semi-final. It is a permanent, deeply respected part of the ground and a reminder that a stadium is never only about the football.

The modern Anfield (2016–2024)

Anfield has been carefully expanded rather than replaced. The redeveloped Main Stand opened in 2016, and the Anfield Road End expansion was completed in 2024, taking the ground to a capacity of 61,276 — now one of the five largest stadiums in the Premier League. The club has confirmed it won’t expand beyond around 61,000, choosing to protect the tight, steep, intimidating feel that makes Anfield what it is rather than chase a bigger number.

Why Anfield makes a great poster

The best football stadium prints are recognisable from across a room and honest to the ground — and Anfield gives you both: the Kop, the floodlights, the red, the arch of the Main Stand roofline. It’s a design that means something to anyone who has stood on Walton Breck Road before kick-off.

• For the fan: browse our full Liverpool FC posters — stadium art, matchday prints and more.
• For the map lover: our football stadium map posters plot the ground in its city.
• For the collector: see every ground in our football stadium poster range and the wider iconic grounds collection.

Anfield is one stadium in a much bigger story. If you enjoyed this, read our history of Wembley and its Twin Towers, or browse our pick of the 20 best football stadium posters for UK fans.

Every print is designed in the UK and made to order — see the Liverpool collection to find your Anfield poster.