Spion Kop (stadiums)

The end of a football stadium with th seats painted red.
The Kop at Anfield, the home of Liverpool F.C.

Spion Kop (or Kop for short) is a colloquial name or term for a number of terraces and stands at sports stadiums attended by hardcore fans, particularly in the United Kingdom. The Spion Kop at Anfield is widely regarded as the most passionate and intimidating Kop in European football.

Their steep nature resembles a hill near Ladysmith, South Africa, that was the scene of the Battle of Spion Kop in January 1900 during the Second Boer War.[1]

History

A steep green hill.
The Spion Kop hill near Ladysmith, South Africa

The first recorded reference to a sports terrace as "Kop" related to Woolwich Arsenal's Manor Ground in 1904.[2] A local newsman likened the silhouette of fans standing on a newly raised bank of earth to soldiers standing atop the hill at the Battle of Spion Kop. In 1906 Liverpool Echo sports editor Ernest Edwards noted of a new open-air embankment at Anfield: "This huge wall of earth has been termed 'Spion Kop', and no doubt this apt name will always be used in future in referring to this spot". The use of the name was given formal recognition in 1928 upon construction of a roof. It is thought to be the first terrace officially named Spion Kop. Many other English football clubs and some Rugby league clubs (such as Wigan's former home Central Park) applied the same name to stands in later years.

Villa Park's old Holte End was historically the largest of all Kop ends, closely followed by the old South Bank at Molineux, both once regularly holding crowds in excess of 30,000. However in the mid-1980s work was completed on Hillsborough's Kop which, with a capacity of around 22,000, became the largest roofed terrace in Europe.

Liverpool's Spion Kop was closed and demolished in 1994 to comply with a requirements of the Taylor Report, which made all-seater stadiums obligatory in the highest two divisions of English football. A new Spion Kop was built in its place with 12,390 seats.

Composition

There is much debate about what type of stand constitutes a Kop. The size and location of the stand in the stadium varies; most are located behind the goal and are occupied by its club's most vocal supporters. It is usually a single-tiered stand and is traditionally terraced. In England, safety regulations brought into effect after the 1989 Hillsborough disaster required many to be made all-seated. A Kop is not necessarily the largest stand in the stadium and does not have to have a particularly large capacity; for example, Chesterfield's former stadium, Saltergate, had a Kop with a capacity of only a few thousand.

Kopites

The supporters who sang on Liverpool's Kop helped make Anfield famous for its atmosphere.[3] "Kopites" is a collective name given to the supporters of Liverpool Football Club.[4]

Kops

The Kop at Meadow Lane
The Kop at St Andrew's
Ground Club Stand
AnfieldLiverpoolSpion Kop[5]
Central Park (demolished 1999)Wigan Warriors RLFCThe Kop (demolished 1999)[6]
Baseball Ground (demolished 2003-04)DerbyPopside Kop (The Popside) (demolished 2003-04)[7]
Bloomfield RoadBlackpoolMortensen Kop[8]
Bramall LaneSheffield UnitedThe Kop[9]
County GroundNorthampton TownSpion Kop[10]
DeepdalePreston North EndBill Shankly Kop[11]
Elland RoadLeeds UnitedThe Kop[12]
Filbert Street (demolished 2003)Leicester CitySpion Kop (Double Decker)[13] (demolished 2003)
Highfield Road (demolished 2006)Coventry CityThe Spion Kop Terrace[14] (demolished 2006)
Hillsborough StadiumSheffield WednesdaySpion Kop[15]
Home ParkPlymouth ArgyleSpion Kop (demolished 2001)
Knowsley Road (demolished 2011)St Helens RLFCThe Kop (demolished 2011)
Manor Ground (demolished c.1913)Woolwich ArsenalSpion Kop[2] (demolished c.1913)
Meadow LaneNotts CountySpion Kop[16]
Oakwell Barnsley Spion Kop[17]
Prenton ParkTranmere RoversThe Bebington Kop[18]
Racecourse GroundWrexhamThe Kop[19]
Recreation GroundChesterfieldSpion Kop[20]
St Andrew'sBirmingham CitySpion Kop[21]
Wilderspool Stadium (demolished 2014)Warrington RLFCSpion Kop (demolished 2014)
Valley ParadeBradford CityThe Kop End[22]
King Power StadiumLeicester CityThe Kop, Fosse Stand[23]
Windsor ParkLinfield / Northern IrelandThe Kop[24]
Parc des PrincesParis Saint-GermainKop of Boulogne[25]

References

  1. ↑ Harvey, Oliver (16 June 2010). "How soccer home stands got Kop name from bloody Boer battle". The Sun (London). Retrieved 2010-06-17.
  2. 1 2 "Showdown in Durban". The Globe And Mail. Retrieved 25 June 2010.
  3. ↑ Duke, Greg. Football First 11: Stunning stadiums CNN. 29 October 2008.
  4. ↑ Augustyn, Adam. The Britannica Guide to Soccer. RES 15 August 2011. "In 1906 Anfield's newly constructed terrace grandstand was christened Spion Kop for its resemblance to a hill where a famous South African War battle had been fought, which led to the well-known "Kopites" nickname for Liverpool's fans."
  5. ↑ Pearce, James (23 August 2006). "How Kop tuned in to glory days". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 2010-04-07.
  6. ↑ Hadfield, Dave (3 September 1999). "Rugby League: Curtain falls on house of fame". London: The Independent. Retrieved 2010-04-06.
  7. ↑ "derbycountyfootballhistory.co.uk".
  8. ↑ "Blackpool". Football Ground Guide. Retrieved 2010-04-06.
  9. ↑ "Sheffield United". Football Ground Guide. Retrieved 2010-04-06.
  10. ↑ "County Ground, Northampton". Football Ground Guide. Archived from the original on 25 November 2009. Retrieved 2010-04-09.
  11. ↑ "Preston North End". Football Ground Guide. Retrieved 2010-04-09.
  12. ↑ "ARTISTS IMPRESSIONS – ELLAND ROAD FOR WORLD CUP". Leeds United AFC. 1 December 2009. Retrieved 2010-06-30.
  13. ↑ "Filbert Street Leicester City". Football Ground Guide. Archived from the original on 31 December 2009. Retrieved 2010-04-13.
  14. ↑ "Highfield Road, Coventry City". Football Ground Guide. Archived from the original on 28 March 2008. Retrieved 2010-04-13.
  15. ↑ "The ASD Lighting Kop". Sheffield Wednesday F.C. Retrieved 2010-04-07.
  16. ↑ "Notts County | Club | Meadow Lane | Meadow Lane — The Home Of Notts County FC". Nottscountyfc.premiumtv.co.uk. Retrieved 2010-04-07.
  17. ↑ "My best day in 70 years as a fan, says Dickie". London: dailymail.co.uk. 17 February 2008. Retrieved 2010-06-30.
  18. ↑ "Tranmere Rovers". Football Supporters Federation. Retrieved 2010-04-09.
  19. ↑ "Wrexham". Football Supporters Federation. Retrieved 2010-04-09.
  20. ↑ "Chesterfield". Football Ground Guide. Retrieved 2010-04-20.
  21. ↑ "St Andrew's Stadium Plan" (PDF). Birmingham City F.C. Retrieved 2010-04-07.
  22. ↑ "Bradford City". Football Ground Guide. Retrieved 2010-04-07.
  23. ↑ "The Walkers Stadium". Leicester City F.C. 22 September 2009. Retrieved 2010-04-07.
  24. ↑ "Alex Russell Stand reverts back to "Kop Stand" name". Linfield F.C. 4 December 2008. Retrieved 2010-06-30.
  25. ↑ >"Kop Of Boulogne, une histoire devenue légende". www.lagrinta.fr. 20 October 2013. Retrieved 2015-10-06.

Sources

External links

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