Spion Kop (stadiums)

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources:  –  ·  ·  · scholar · JSTOR (April 2009) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

Boer soldiers at Spion Kop hill, 1900

Spion Kop, Manor Ground

Spion Kop (or Kop for short) is a colloquial name or term for a number of single tier terraces and stands at sports stadiums, particularly in the United Kingdom.

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.

History[]

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.^[1]

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. Two years later in 1906, Liverpool Echo sports editor 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 when it was extended to a 27,000 capacity and a cantilever roof was added. 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.^{[citation needed]}

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.^{[citation needed]}

Liverpool's Spion Kop (capacity 27,000, although crowds of 30,000+ have been recorded) was redesigned in 1994 (completed) to comply with 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, which was the largest single tier stand in the country until the opening of the new Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. The South Stand of the new stadium has 17,500 seats and has an incline of 34 degrees, making it one of the steepest stands in the country.^[2]

Composition[]

There is much debate about what type of stand constitutes a Kop.^{[citation needed]} 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 was 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.

Kops[]

Spion Kop at Anfield, the home of Liverpool F.C.

The Kop at Meadow Lane

The Kop at St Andrew's

The South Stand at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium

References[]

Sources[]

• Inglis, Simon. The Football Grounds of England and Wales (Collins Willow, 1982)
• Kelly, Stephen F. The Kop, (Virgin Books, 2005)
• Pearce, James. How Kop tuned in to glory days, Liverpool Echo. 23 August 2006.
• Chapple, Mike. Spion Kop's mixture of myth and magic Liverpool Daily Post, 25 August 2006.

External links[]

• The incredible story behind the Kop Guided by local historian Raymond Heron, BBC Sport's Mark Lawrenson visits Spion Kop in South Africa.