An official bid to host Euro 2028 has been launched by the UK and Ireland, but the shortlist of host stadiums does not include Anfield.
A trimmed-down group of 10 footballing arenas has been selected for the final submission, but Liverpool Football Club's iconic stadium was never on the list even though the City of Liverpool has been included as a proposed host city.
Instead, Everton's new stadium, currently being constructed at Bramley Moore Dock, has been included as the Merseyside representative, alongside Wembley, the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Cardiff's Principality Stadium, the Etihad, St James’ Park, Villa Park, Hampden Park, the Aviva Stadium in Dublin and Casement Park in Belfast.
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Also missing out on the list is Old Trafford - English football's largest stadium outside Wembley -, London Stadium, the Stadium of Light and Croke Park in Dublin.
With a capacity of 53,394, which is set to rise to 61,000 once the Anfield Road stand redevelopment is completed, the omission of Anfield may come as a surprise to many, but the reason behind the decision is fairly straightforward. Liverpool's pitch size does not meet UEFA regulations for international tournaments.
The European governing body's guidelines dictate that “the field of play must have the standard dimensions of 105m by 68m". Anfield's pitch is only 101 metres in length and is therefore ineligible. It is for the same reason that the Reds' stadium cannot be used for hosting Champions League or Europa League finals.
Anfield was last used as a tournament stadium during Euro 1996, when the ground hosted Group C matches between Italy, Russia and the Czech Republic. It was also used to stage the quarterfinal contested by France and the Netherlands.
But there will be no repeat in 2028, with the UK and Ireland bid set to go head-to-head with Turkey for the right to host the competition in five years time.
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