Ever heard of The Changcuters’ song “Hijrah Ke London”? The song is about a person who moves to London and is missed by the lover he left behind. Why do you think The Changcuters chose the City of London to be told in their song?
There seem to be several reasons why the City of London was chosen for the song. Not only because of the charm and beauty of the city which has become an attraction for world tourists but the culture and traditions there are also very interesting. One of them is because London is in a country famous for its football, namely England, as written in the initial lyrics of the song.
London is one of the cities in England that can be visited to take a football tour, for football lovers of the English Premiere League. If you want to feel a different tourist sensation while satisfying yourself with the ins and outs of English football, visiting the stadiums there is certainly a must-do.
Of course, because in England, including in London, there are home bases for football teams with big names like Arsenal and Chelsea. There are at least six football clubs in London besides the two giant clubs, namely Tottenham Hotspurs, West Ham United, Fulham, and Queen Park Rangers. For football fans, these clubs are not foreign, right?
If you are a fan of these football clubs, when visiting London, you certainly cannot miss visiting their home base even though there are no matches there. There are several stadiums that are the Homebase or home of the football club that must be visited and felt the sensation of the Premier League.
1. Stamford Bridge
Chelsea club fans must be very curious and want to visit the home of the team nicknamed The Blues, namely Stamford Bridge. The location is in Fulham, London, SW6 1HS, the Moore Park Estate or The Bridge area. To get there, you can take the train from Fulham Broadway Station on the District Line by taking the Earls Court-Wimbledon bound trains and getting off at Stamford Bridge.
This 41,798-seat capacity stadium is the 8th largest stadium in the English Premier League and was built in 1876 by the architect named Archibald Leitch. At this stadium, many international matches were held, starting from the semi-finals and final of the FA Cup to trial matches for the English national football team. There’s nothing wrong with taking a vacation to London while watching the matches held there.
Apart from watching the game, a trip to Stamford Bridge can be done on non-matchdays. Visitors can feel the sensation of a match at the stadium by taking a tour provided for 1 hour.
Visitors will be invited to explore all the rooms that are often used by players and staff from the Chelsea team. Starting from the locker room, press conferences, and the hallways that are usually passed by the players and opponents, to the exit from the hallway the view of the magnificent stadium stands will greet you. In the museum area, visitors can see many photos and objects that are characteristic of Chelsea, including displays about the club’s history.
Apart from that, visitors can also take pictures with trophies from various leagues held in Europe, one of which is the Champions League. But to take pictures, visitors must provide money of 10 pounds or around Rp. 200,000 for one photo.
Tours of this stadium, are open every day from 10.00 – 15.00. As for visits to the museum, it opens every 9.30 – 16.00. But to visit this stadium, make sure to find out the schedule of matches that might be held there. The reason is, if there is a European competition, the museum and arena will be closed for two days, namely the day before and when the match is held.
2. Wembley Stadium
Apart from going to Stamford Bridge, football lovers are also not yet ready to become big fans of the Premier League if they have not come to Wembley Stadium. This 90,000-capacity stadium is the second largest stadium in Queen Elizabeth’s Country and is located in the Wembley Park area, in London, England.
Here, visitors can enjoy the view and take pictures in front of the stadium which has its own characteristics. This is because on top of the stadium building, there is a transverse arc with a height of 436 meters and a diameter of 315 meters. This arc is unique because it has an important function to maintain the stability of the stadium building, namely the sliding roof on the north and south sides.
Apart from that, visitors can also take pictures or take pictures in front of the statue of one of the English football legends, namely Bobby Moore, which is in front of the entrance. The statue is said to depict the moment when Bobby Moore led the England national team and won the 1966 World Cup.
3. Emirates Stadium
Another place that cannot be missed is the Emirates Stadium. The stadium, which is the headquarters of the giant club Arsenal, can be visited by taking the train from Victoria, Piccadilly Lines, and the Great Northern rail from Finsbury Park.
The third largest stadium with a capacity of 60,000 people which also prepares tour packages for visitors. There are at least three tour packages to choose from, namely the Self-Guided Tour + Museum for £ 20, the Legends Tour for £ 40, and the museum for £ 8.
The places that will be visited in the tour package are the Director’s Box, a place to watch the match which is reserved for the top brass of the group nicknamed The Gooners and VIP guests. Just like at Stamford Bridge, visitors will also be invited to see the dressing room that is usually used by the Arsenal team and the opposing team. These two locker rooms have different interiors. Arsenal’s dressing room is designed to be very luxurious while the opponent’s locker room is the opposite. That said, the interior design of the opponent’s locker room is deliberately made the other way around with the aim of lowering their mood so that it will affect the match.
However, if visitors choose to use the Legends Tour, it will feel extraordinary because they will be accompanied by legendary Arsenal football figures such as Charlie George, John Radford, Kenny Sansom, Perry Groves, and Lee Dixon. After being satisfied with the tour, visitors can also buy complete original Arsenal souvenirs at the biggest football club souvenir shop in England, namely The Armory.
If you are satisfied with traveling football in London, of course, you have to visit the other biggest stadiums in other cities in England. One of them is the Old Trafford Stadium in Manchester which is also the home of another English giant team, Manchester United. Then if you go to Liverpool, don’t forget to stop by Anfield Stadium which is the headquarters of the Liverpool club.
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4. Anfield Stadium
Anfield Stadium is the pride and headquarters of the famous Liverpool club with the slogan You Walk Never Alone.
5. Old Trafford Stadium
Old Trafford Stadium, a magnificent stadium that is worth a visit for fans of the Manchester United club nicknamed The Red Devils or Red Devils.