Celebrating 125 Years At Goodison

The 2017/18 season will mark 125 years of Everton at Goodison Park – and the Club will celebrate the special anniversary at ‘The Grand Old Lady’ throughout the campaign.

The Blues played their first match at their Goodison home on 2 September 1892, beating Bolton Wanderers 4-2.

The stadium – the first purpose-built football venue in the world – has gone on to become one of football’s best-loved and most respected grounds.

The Club will be marking 125 years throughout the season with matchday activities – starting with Sunday’s pre-season friendly with Sevilla – including special online content, competitions and plenty of prizes and giveaways, as well as the release of an exclusive commemorative range of clothing.

Goodison was first opened on 24 August 1892 by Lord Kinnaird and Frederick Wall of the Football Association, with the first competitive game being played a day after the Bolton exhibition match, on 3 September 1892, a 2-2 draw with Nottingham Forest in the first fixture of the 1892/93 First Division season.

The Grand Old Lady was a ground-breaking development that set the trend for football stadia throughout the country. It was the first stadium to have four-sided stands and then the first to have a three tiered stand (Main Stand). It has also played host to the first World Cup semi-final in Britain held at a Club stadium (West Germany v the Soviet Union in 1966) and the first stadium to have dugouts, undersoil heating and a scoreboard facility.