Given the ownership of the stadium by
the Football Association (the governing body of English football), the
England national football team is a major user of Wembley. In 2007, the
League Cup final moved back to Wembley from Cardiff following the
FA Cup final and
FA Community Shield. Other showpiece football matches that were previously staged at Wembley, such as the
Football League promotion play-offs and the
Football League Trophy final, have returned to the stadium. In addition, the
Conference National (now National League) play-off final is held at Wembley since 2007, and the
FA Women's Cup final since 2015. The new Wembley was a significant part of the plan for the
2012 Summer Olympics in London; the stadium was the site of several games in both the men's and women's
football tournaments, with the finals being held there. The FA offices at Wembley Stadium, with social areas and boardroom, were designed by architects Gebler Tooth – who were also responsible for Team GB House at the London 2012 Olympics. Additionally, the Rugby League
Challenge Cup Final returned to Wembley Stadium in 2007, and the stadium also hosted both semi-finals of the
2013 Rugby League World Cup. Wembley was one of the 13 venues for the
2015 Rugby World Cup. The
Race of Champions staged their
2007 and
2008 events at the stadium.
Tottenham Hotspur agreed with the operators (Wembley National Stadium Ltd) to use the stadium for all of their European fixtures during the
2016–17 season, before using the stadium for the entire
2017–18 season. They also played most of their home games of the
2018–19 season at Wembley and continued until April 2019 when they moved to
their new stadium.
Regular events Wembley has a series of annual events that under normal circumstances are hosted at the stadium every year. These events cover the sports of
football,
rugby league and
American football.
Football create the
St George's Cross. The first match at the stadium was a game played behind closed doors between Multiplex and Wembley Stadium staff. The first game in front of spectators was between the Geoff Thomas Foundation Charity XI and the Wembley Sponsors Allstars on 17 March 2007. The Geoff Thomas Foundation Charity XI won 2–0 (scorers
Mark Bright and
Simon Jordan). The first official match involving professional players was
England U21s vs
Italy U21s on 24 March 2007, which finished 3–3. Official attendance was 56,700 (although all of the 60,000 tickets that were made available were sold in advance). The first player to score in a
FIFA-sanctioned match was Italian striker
Giampaolo Pazzini after 28 seconds of the same game; he also scored the first
hat-trick at Wembley. The first English player to score in a full-scale match was
David Bentley with a free kick in the same game. Kidderminster striker
James Constable was the first player to score a goal in a final at the new Wembley. Kidderminster became the first team to play at both the old and new stadium. Stevenage Borough were the first team to win a final at the new Wembley beating Kidderminster 3–2, despite trailing 2–0 at half time. The first players to play at both the old and new Wembley Stadiums were
Steve Guppy (for Stevenage Borough) and
Jeff Kenna (for Kidderminster Harriers). Ex-
England international Guppy is also the first player to win a final at both stadia (with
Wycombe Wanderers and
Leicester City in the old Wembley, then Stevenage Borough in the new one).
Ronnie Henry is the first ever player to lift a competitive club trophy at the new Wembley. fans celebrate winning the
FA Cup against
Cardiff City in
2008. The 89,874 attendance is the largest football attendance in the new Wembley's history. The first penalty save and first red card came in the
Conference National playoff final between
Exeter City and
Morecambe. The penalty was saved by
Paul Jones of Exeter City from Morecambe striker
Wayne Curtis. The red card was given to
Matthew Gill of Exeter for a headbutt on
Craig Stanley of Morecambe. The first
Football League teams to play at Wembley in a competitive fixture were
Bristol Rovers and
Shrewsbury Town in the
2007 Football League Two play-off final on 26 May 2007. Shrewsbury Town became the first league team to score at Wembley via a
Stewart Drummond goal, they also the first league team to have a player sent off, in this case –
Marc Tierney. Bristol Rovers won the game 3–1 in front of 61,589 which was a stadium record until the Championship play-off final two days later when
Derby County beat
West Bromwich Albion 1–0 to become the first team at the new stadium to win promotion to the FA Premier League. The first
FA Cup Final at the new Wembley (between
Manchester United and
Chelsea) was on 19 May 2007, with a crowd attendance of 89,826. Chelsea won 1–0 with a goal by
Didier Drogba, making him the first player to score in the FA Cup Final at the new Wembley – the first male player to score in four separate FA Cup Finals. Chelsea goalkeeper
Petr Čech also became the first goalkeeper not to concede a goal in a competitive game at Wembley. Chelsea were the last winners of the cup final at the old Wembley and the first winners at the new. between
Bayern Munich and
Borussia Dortmund. The first game involving the full
England national team was a friendly played on 1 June 2007, against
Brazil. The match saw
captain John Terry become the first England international goal scorer at the new stadium when he scored in the 68th minute.
Diego became the first full international player to score for a visiting team when he scored in stoppage time, with the full-time result being a 1–1 draw. The first competitive senior international was played on 8 September 2007 between England and
Israel. This game ended 3–0. The first player to score international goals at both the old and new stadia was Michael Owen when he scored for England against Israel. On 22 August,
Germany beat England 2–1 to become the first team to beat them in the new stadium. England's first competitive defeat at the new stadium was on 21 November 2007 when
Croatia won 3–2. This match cost England qualification to
UEFA Euro 2008 and head coach
Steve McClaren his job. The
second FA Cup final held at the new stadium took place on 17 May 2008, with
Portsmouth winning the title 1–0 against
Cardiff City;
Nwankwo Kanu scored the only goal. The final's 89,874 crowd attendance remains the largest football attendance in the new Wembley's history. The stadium hosted the
2013 UEFA Champions League final between
Bayern Munich and
Borussia Dortmund, and in September 2019 it was named the host for the
2023 UEFA Champions League final. Due to adjustments of the
2020 final caused by the
COVID-19 pandemic in Europe, it staged the
following season's final between Borussia Dortmund and
Real Madrid instead. During the
2012 Olympics, Great Britain defeated Brazil in the first women's international to take place at the stadium. On 23 November 2014 the England women's team played at the stadium for the first time when they lost 3–0 to Germany in a friendly. The stadium, with pandemic restrictions, hosted the
UEFA Euro 2020, which included all three of England's
Group D, two
round of 16 matches, both
semi-finals, and the
final. On 29 June 2021, in the
round of 16 match at the
UEFA Euro 2020 tournament, England won 2–0 against Germany at Wembley, for the national team's first knockout victory against their
international rivals Germany at a major international football tournament, since the
1966 World Cup final at the
original Wembley Stadium. On 7 July 2021, in the
semi-final match at the UEFA Euro 2020 tournament, England won 2–1 against
Denmark at Wembley, for the national team's first European Championship final ever, with
Italy winning the
final on Sunday 11 July 2021 against
England. The stadium was also used to host the
UEFA Women's Euro 2022, albeit reserved only for the
final on 31 July 2022, where
England also reached the final, won the game against
Germany 2–1 to bring England first ever major European honour. The final was watched by a crowd of 87,192, a record for either the men's or women's European Championship. The stadium will also host matches during
UEFA Euro 2028.
Rugby league and
Hull KR contested the
2023 Challenge Cup final. The
rugby league Challenge Cup Final had been played annually at the old Wembley Stadium since 1929. In 2007, the cup final returned to its traditional home after the rebuilding of Wembley. When
Catalans Dragons played
St. Helens in the
2007 Challenge Cup final, they became the first non-English rugby league team to play in the final. The result saw St Helens retain the cup by a score of 30–8 before 84,241 fans. The first rugby league team to win a game at the new Wembley Stadium, were
Normanton Freeston. The
West Yorkshire secondary school beat
Castleford High School in the Year 7 boys Carnegie
Champion Schools final, which was played immediately prior to the 2007 Challenge Cup Final. The first official try at the renovated Wembley was scored by
James Roby of St Helens, although Luke Metcalfe of Castleford High School scored the first try in the schools game that took place before the 2007 Challenge Cup final.
Castleford Academy (formerly Castleford High School) currently hold the record for the most rugby league appearances at the new Wembley Stadium. On 24 August 2013 their Year 7 Rugby team played RGS High Wycombe in the annual schools curtain-raiser to the Challenge Cup final. This was Castleford Academy's 4th appearance at the stadium since 2007. This puts them joint with
Leeds and one appearance ahead of
Warrington. and three time
Challenge Cup winner
Eric Ashton centres a statue of five rugby league legends outside Wembley. In 2015, a second statue was erected outside Wembley, depicting Rugby League legends
Martin Offiah,
Alex Murphy,
Eric Ashton,
Gus Risman and
Billy Boston. In 2011, international rugby league returned to Wembley for the first time since 1997 when
Wales lost to
New Zealand 0–36 and
Australia beat host nation
England 36–20 in the
2011 Rugby League Four Nations. The semi-finals of the
2013 Rugby League World Cup were played at Wembley Stadium where
defending champions New Zealand beat England 20–18, and eventual tournament champions Australia defeated
Fiji 64–0. The double header drew 67,575 fans to Wembley, the second highest crowd for an international rugby league game at either the original or the new stadium.
Rugby union played
Worcester Warriors in 2010 The first top level
rugby union match was a non-cap match between the
Barbarians and
Australia on 3 December 2008. Between 2009 and 2017, the stadium was used regularly by
Saracens for some major
Aviva Premiership and
Heineken Cup matches. Their Aviva Premiership clash with
Harlequins in 2012 was played before a crowd of 83,761, a world record for a rugby union club match. The same two teams set further records of 83,889 spectators in 2014, and 84,068 in 2015. The stadium was used during the
2015 Rugby World Cup, during which it hosted two pool matches. The 89,019 crowd for the New Zealand versus Argentina game set a new record attendance for a Rugby World Cup game. The Ireland versus Romania match one week later improved this record again to 89,267. Although the 90,000 seat Wembley was the largest stadium used during the 2015 Rugby World Cup, the World Cup Final was held at the 82,000 seat
Twickenham Stadium, the traditional home of the tournament's host, England's
Rugby Football Union.
American football and
San Francisco 49ers Wembley has had a long association with
American football. A
United States Football League game was staged there in 1984, and between 1986 and 1993 the old Wembley Stadium hosted eight
National Football League exhibition games featuring 13 different NFL teams. Between the opening of the new stadium in 2007 and 2019, Wembley hosted games during the NFL regular season. As a result of this,
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell stated in October 2009 that "he expected the NFL will start playing multiple regular-season games in Britain in the next few years, an expansion that could lead to putting
a franchise in London." On 28 October 2007, in front of 81,176 fans, the
New York Giants defeated the
Miami Dolphins by a score of 13–10 in the first
NFL regular season game ever to be played in Europe, and the first outside of North America. The first touchdown scored at Wembley was on a run by Giants' quarterback
Eli Manning. On 20 January 2012, the league announced that the
St. Louis Rams would become a temporary tenant of Wembley, playing an annual game at the stadium every year from 2012 to 2014; part of the reason the Rams were chosen was that the team is owned by
Stan Kroenke, who also is majority shareholder in a local Premier League team,
Arsenal. However, the Rams later cancelled their 2013–2014 games, leading to the
Jacksonville Jaguars becoming new temporary tenants and agreeing to host games in London from 2013 to 2016. On 16 October 2012, the NFL announced there were to be two NFL regular season games played at Wembley during the 2013 season. The
Pittsburgh Steelers at
Minnesota Vikings on 29 September 2013, and the
San Francisco 49ers at
Jacksonville Jaguars on 27 October 2013. This is an attempt by the NFL to strengthen the NFL fanbase in London and internationally. Future plans to have a permanent NFL team in London have been suggested. Another first was recorded in 2014 as three regular season NFL games were played at Wembley. The
Oakland Raiders hosted the
Miami Dolphins on 28 September at 6 pm BST, the
Atlanta Falcons hosted the
Detroit Lions on 26 October at 1:30 pm GMT and the
Jacksonville Jaguars hosted the
Dallas Cowboys on 9 November at 6 pm GMT. At 9:30 am ET, the Detroit-Atlanta game was the earliest kick off in NFL history and gave fans a unique four game window on this day. In 2015, another first occurred as the first ever divisional match took place at Wembley between the
American Football Conference – Eastern Division's
Miami Dolphins and
New York Jets. On 30 October 2016, for the first time in an NFL game played outside the US, the game carried into overtime and subsequently
ended in a tie (another first for both Wembley and a
London Game) in a week 8 match between the
Washington Redskins and the
Cincinnati Bengals. The final score was 27–27. The Jaguars' deal was extended to 2020 and they were to become the first team to host two games in London in 2020. The two Jacksonville Jaguars games which were scheduled to be played in autumn 2020, were cancelled in May 2020 meaning that the Jaguars played consecutive annual games at Wembley only until 2019. A new agreement was reached in 2022 which would see Jacksonville continue to host annual games for three years until 2024. The game between the Jaguars and the New England Patriots on 20 October 2024 saw a record crowd for an NFL game at Wembley, with 86,651 in attendance. Wembley Stadium is slated to host its first
college football game in 2026 between
Arizona State and
Kansas. The contest, as part of the new
Union Jack Classic series, will be the first college football match in Britain since 1988.
Boxing On 31 May 2014, Wembley Stadium hosted its first boxing event, featuring
the rematch between Carl Froch and George Groves for the
WBA and
IBF super-middleweight titles. The contest was held in front of a crowd of 80,000, a British post-war attendance record for a boxing event, surpassing the crowd at the
City of Manchester Stadium when it hosted
Ricky Hatton vs. Juan Lazcano in May 2008. The
WBA (Super) and IBF heavyweight championship fight,
Anthony Joshua vs. Wladimir Klitschko, broke the attendance record on 29 April 2017, with an attendance of approximately 90,000. In 2018, Joshua returned to Wembley and defeated
Alexander Povetkin for the WBA (Super), IBF and
WBO heavyweight titles in front of 80,000. The
WBC and
The Ring heavyweight title fight,
Tyson Fury vs. Dillian Whyte, took place on 23 April 2022 in a sold-out Wembley Stadium with 94,000. Fury emerged victorious with a 6th-round TKO. The stadium hosted
Anthony Joshua vs
Daniel Dubois on 21 September 2024 as part of the
Riyadh Season with Dubois emerging victorious by knockout in front of a record 96,000.
Oleksandr Usyk vs. Daniel Dubois heavyweight boxing rematch for the Undisputed Championship was held on 19 July 2025 at the stadium. Usyk emerged victorious by knockout in front of 90,000.
Professional wrestling On 5 April 2023,
Tony Khan, president of American
professional wrestling promotion
All Elite Wrestling (AEW), announced that they would stage an event at the stadium on 27 August 2023, promoted as "
All In London at Wembley Stadium". It would be the promotion's debut in the United Kingdom, as well as their first event held outside of
North America, and the first professional wrestling event overall to be held at the modern Wembley Stadium;
WWE's
SummerSlam was held at the original Wembley in 1992. Wembley hosted
All In on 25 August 2024, where
Bryan Danielson won the
AEW World Championship in the main event. AEW will return to Wembley for
All In on 30 August 2026. ==Music==