A lot of a football club's identity comes from its stadium, where memories are made for fans by watching their side from the terraces. This can span over multiple generations of supporters for clubs that stay at the same ground, while teams that have moved home can often lose parts of their identity.

Certain sides have been forced to move grounds for a multitude of different reasons, although most motives come back to the question of money. But many clubs have stayed in their stadiums for over 100 years, making their grounds some of the most iconic, traditional and priceless venues in the world.

All the 25 oldest active football stadiums in the world are based in the United Kingdom, the self-declared inventors of football. Clubs in England, Scotland and Wales still play in venues that have been around since the 19th century. Here's a closer look at the oldest stadiums in the world.

9 Turf Moor – 1883

Burnley

Home of Burnley Football Club since 1883, the site that Turf Moor stands on has been home to sport since 1843 when Burnley Cricket Club initially played at the venue. The football club moved to an additional pitch on the site in 1883, and the first grandstand was added in 1885. Burnley's unbroken stint at Turf Moor makes the ground the second-longest continuously used stadium in English football, as the club enters its 140th season at the ground in 2024/25.

Turf Moor was the first football stadium to have been visited by a member of the royal family when Prince Albert Victor visited for a match between the Clarets and Bolton Wanderers in 1886. The record attendance for the ground is 54,775, set in 1924 in an FA Cup game between Burnley and Huddersfield.

8 Tannadice Park – 1882

Dundee United

The only Scottish ground on this list, Tannadice Park has been used for football since the late 19th century when the site was initially known as Clepington Park. It played host to several now-defunct football teams in the city of Dundee, before the Tangerines moved into the stadium upon their formation in 1909, when they were known as Dundee Hibernian. The club has played there ever since, and the ground has undergone several redevelopment projects over its lifetime, to make it suitable for modern requirements, all while maintaining its tradition.

Tannadice is also known for its proximity to familiar foes Dundee FC's ground Dens Park, which makes the rivalry all the more fierce as the grounds are a meagre 0.2 miles away from each other. The stadium has played host to some of Dundee United's most famous days, including a win over Barcelona in the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup in 1966 in front of 28,000 fans, a record attendance.

7 Ewood Park – 1881

Blackburn Rovers

Ewood Park initially hosted four Blackburn Rovers fixtures in 1881, when it was known as Ewood Bridge, but the club then moved to the nearby Leamington Road, where it won three FA Cups and built a 700-person grandstand. Due to an increase in costs, however, the club then returned to the newly-built Ewood in 1890, where it continues to play to this day.

The site has been renovated on several occasions, most recently in 1995, after the club had won the Premier League title. The record attendance at the ground is 61,783, set during an FA Cup tie against rivals Bolton Wanderers in March 1929, and the stadium now holds a capacity of 31,367.

6 Deepdale – 1880

Preston North End

Deepdale has been the home of Preston North End since 1880 when the club was formally established. The ground had actually hosted football two years prior, when Preston was primarily a cricket club, but became a full-time football stadium in 1880 when North End decided to focus on football and become a professional team. Preston were one of the Football League's founding members and became the first side to win a league title in England at the ground in 1888/89.

Deepdale's stint as Preston's home for 144 years now makes it the longest continuously-used stadium in the world. The ground went through multiple renovations between 1995 and 2001 that saw three of the stands refurbished or rebuilt, leaving the current capacity at 23,404.

5 Stamford Bridge – 1877

Chelsea

Stamford Bridge is famously the home of Chelsea, but it was initially the familiar setting for the London Athletic Club from its opening in 1877 until the Blues were formed in 1905. The ground formerly sported an athletics track around the pitch and hosted multiple events in other sports, including cricket, baseball and even speedway on the former outer track.

The Bridge was initially offered to nearby rivals Fulham in the 1870s, but the club could not afford to move to the ground. The stadium was renovated to make it an all-seater in 1998, prompting the merciful removal of the running track to make it a purpose-built football stadium, which now hosts 40,343 people.

4 Rodney Parade – 1877

Newport County

League Two side Newport County have only played their football at Rodney Parade since 2012, but the ground has been used for several different sports since it was first opened in 1877. Rodney Parade is the only stadium on this list that is still used for other sports in addition to football, as the venue is still home to Dragons RFC, a regional Welsh rugby union club. The Welsh side played at Sommerton Park from its foundation in 1912 until 1989, when the club went bankrupt, and then again from 1990-92, before moving to Spytty Stadium in 1994, but they moved to Rodney Parade as their previous ground no longer met requirements.

3 Field Mill – 1861

Mansfield Town

Field Mill is the home of newly-promoted League One side Mansfield Town and has been since 1919. Like many stadiums of its era, the ground was initially a multi-sport venue and hosted athletics, cricket and cycling in addition to football. The stadium was initially home to a club named after the Greenhalgh family, who owned the mill the site was home to, with the club having various names including Mansfield Greenhalgh and Field Mill Football Club. When that club folded, Mansfield Mechanics briefly played at Field Mill before Mansfield Town took residency, where they have played ever since.

The ground was built some time before 1861, with its exact date unknown. The venue underwent a complete redevelopment in 1999, with three of its four stands demolished for new, more modern facilities in lieu of the club moving to a new ground. The Bishop Street End, which was not rebuilt, was condemned in 2006 for safety reasons, and despite rumours, has not been redeveloped in the intervening years.

2 Bramall Lane – 1855

Sheffield United

Bramall Lane was opened in 1855 as a cricket ground, making the stadium nearly 170 years old. The first football match at the venue was hosted in 1862, and was initially the permanent home of Sheffield FC, officially the world's oldest club, between 1873 and 1884, before the Blades moved into the ground upon their formation in 1889. Bramall Lane hosted cricket as the home of Yorkshire CC from its opening until 1973, when the construction of the South Stand covered the cricket square and made the ground only suitable for football. The iconic stadium was heavily impacted by the Taylor Report and was forced to make significant refurbishments, becoming an all-seater in 1994 as all four stands were redeveloped between 1991 and 2006.

1 Racecourse Ground – 1807

Wrexham

The Racecourse Ground hosted its first football match two years after Bramall Lane but has existed as a venue since 1807, making it the oldest site in football history. Home to Wrexham AFC since 1864, it is the oldest international football stadium in world football, having staged the first match for the Welsh national team in 1877. The famous old stadium has hosted more Welsh international matches than any other ground. The club is well-known in modern times for its Hollywood ownership but has a rich history spanning nearly 160 years.

All the stadium's stands have undergone redevelopment over its lifetime. Most recently the ground's 'Spion Kop' stand, which was at one point the largest all-standing terrace in the Football League, was demolished in 2023 for redevelopment, having been unused since 2008 on safety grounds.