Wembley Stadium Tour

Wembley Stadium. To be more exact, the new Wembley Stadium that finally opened in time for the 2007 FA Cup Final between Chelsea and Manchester United. This is, in my humble opinion, the stadium that a soccer player should have a desire to go and play at. The facilities were amazing and it was such a beautiful stadium to go and get to spend some time in. The tube ride from the hostel I stayed in to Wembley was a little under an hour, but once I got there, man it was worth it!

Before the actual tour began, walk up Wembley Way was half an experience itself. As you can see from the first picture above, it was a decent trek from the tube station There are plenty of businesses and apartments at the local area and it made for somewhat of a neat, yet daunting walk up to Wembley itself.

There were two statues outside of Wembley that I found to be particularly interesting, and that was one of a Rugby League Challenge Cup winning team (unfortunately, I was unable to find out just who the team or players were) and a statue of the great England and West Ham captain Bobby Moore, the man who lifted the World Cup trophy when England won it back in 1966.

After making it through the little walk back in time, I got the customary digital photos taken (which are somewhere in my email...I think) and a photo taken with a replica of the FA Cup. Wearing my Chelsea jacket and holding that "cup" was something cool...although I would end up losing that at some point on this trip. From there, it was another look at the past of Wembley and the football that had taken place, to include a memory of the first ever Women's FA Cup Final played in 2015, which Chelsea won!

I wish I could remember the name of the tour guide, but much like the lady who did the tour of Twickenham that I took, he was extremely knowledgeable and was highly enthusiastic about his job and was one of those guides who was as much a showman as he was a tour guide. The group was much larger than the one at Twickenham, but there were enough people who participated and asked questions to make it enjoyable.

He took us through a few of the concourse type areas and eventually led us to what I thought to be one of the coolest parts of the tour, the 1948 Olympic Flag!, Fun fact, they actually found that flag in a janitorial closet. I do not recall when they said they found it, but since the games were held in London and the first games held after World War 2, I have no doubts that finding the flag was a huge relief and sense of pride for those who found it.

Much like Twickenham, the group was taken to the away and home team dressing rooms, allowing us to see the players who were part of the squads, at that time, and to see the dressing room that England manager Gareth Southgate uses and to get a glimpse at one of the many suits he wears to matches. As a Chelsea fan, I made sure to point out and take photos of the Chelsea players that played for their respective squads. From the dressing rooms, we made our way to the press room, where players and coaches would get interviewed pre and post match, and even the table that they would sit in for the press conferences.

Then, the big reveal of the pitch of Wembley! Two gentlemen got the guides trivia questions correct and were lucky enough to "captain" two groups of us as we walked out to the sideline of this amazing stadium. Words cannot do justice just how beautiful this stadium is. I was in awe of how big it was and its sheer size. The guide was kind enough to give us a few moments to stand and enjoy the sideline view, and take some photos of us sitting in the bench where Mr. Southgate and his staff sits.

Once we were done with the sideline, we made our way up the "Steps of Wembley" and into the press box, where the winning team of a cup final would collect their winners medals, and the trophy which they were fighting for. We climbed all 107 steps to the cheapest seats in the stadium, as we learned that they were actually free and were only given to people who were invited to be in those seats. What happened next was not something we expected and made this tour just as special as the Twickenham tour!

The last living member (as of the time of writing after the death of Sir Bobby Charlton in October 2023) of the 1966 World Cup winning team and the first man to score a hat trick in the World Cup Final, Sir Geoff Hurst was taking part of the filming of a documentary that day. Much like the photo I got of Jonny Wilkinson at Twickenham, I will not post it, just so I do not get sued or fined! But it was such a treat to see this legendary man and for him to even interact with us for a moment!