Something that surprised me when looking up previous research about football fan culture was the lack of talk about Wembley Stadium as a symbol for English football and its fans. As I looked at other research about football culture, the previous writers all said that football is a large part of the national identity in England. If football is a part of the national identity, then Wembley Stadium be considered one of the symbols for that identity. I had always had an interest in visiting Wembley, but what really intrigued me was finding a claim that all fans should take a “pilgrimage” to Wembley when visiting London. If Wembley means so much to English football, then it is a place that needed to be looked into more. To find out more about Wembley, I decided to take a tour of the famous stadium as one of my first methods of research.

Wembley is more than just a football stadium. It is famous for big rugby matches and even concerts, but for the sake of research, my focus will be on the football aspect.

The image above is self-explanatory: Wembley is a place where English football fans can experience a wonder of emotions, whether it’s through their club team or the England National Team. The Wembley that exists today is the second version of the stadium built in the 2000s, but it holds the same purpose as the original Wembley that was built after the first World War: to provide a place where the people of England can be entertained by the country’s beloved sport.

In its history, Wembley hosted the 1966 World Cup, in which England won. For me, it was really interesting to learn about such a vital part of football history in England as it has a large significance to the country.

97,000 people. To be a part of that crowd in 1966 to experience what the English call “football coming home” would have been exhilarating and breath-taking at the same time. For that World Cup to be won in their own country must have really developed the national identity of football being a part of the people in England. For those who were too young to remember the 1966 World Cup or were not even born yet, walking through the first part of the Wembley Tour. In one of the research articles I read before coming to London, one researcher claimed that iconic moments, such as the 1966 World Cup victory, have helped shape the national identity. To reiterate, the Wembley tour allows people to learn more about why and experience that.

As learning about the history of Wembley was the self-guided part of the tour, going through the stadium itself was guided by one of the tour guides that works at the stadium. For me, a tour like this allows all fans to walk through where their favorite club team may have played a final or have seen their beloved national team play and experience what players and coaching staff get to walk through. What I think people may forget sometimes is that professional footballers are human as well; their experiences may differ just a little bit from ours. The chance to walk through where they walk through gives fans a chance to feel what the players may feel whether they are a Premier League player, a women’s team player, or from League Two.

It is an honor to fans to be able to walk in the footsteps of their favorite players and to some, there is a huge personal meaning. My tour guide told me that Tottenham Hotspur played at Wembley as their home stadium, many Korean people came to see where Heung-min Son’s shirt was hung as he is a sports hero in South Korea. Even though I am an American, I have taken an interest in the England National Team, especially with multiple Manchester City players playing for England. I absolutely loved seeing where players like Raheem Sterling and John Stones have been for friendlies and such.

One thing about the dressing rooms in Wembley is that they were all built equally for all teams. It is a neutral and international stadium, so it was built to suit all teams’ needs. Thus, every team gets the same experience, whether they play in the highest or lowest tier of English football. Thus, any fan of any club can walk through and feel the same as anyone else. It does not matter what level of professional football is being played at Wembley, because it is an honor to play there either way. It is an honor for all fans to be able to walk through there.

Away from the dressing rooms, there is also the tunnel that players come out through. On my tour, we got to walk through the tunnel with our guide playing through the sounds of what it would sound like to walk out to the pitch with 90,000+ fans chanting and singing.

Despite the stadium being empty at that point, it was wonderful to see and feel and imagine what the players that walk through there feel. With part of the men’s European football Championships taking place in 2020, the experience can be further enhances, especially if England ends up winning.

Here’s to you, Wembley.