Everton reveal date of first match at new stadium as test events confirmed | OneFootball

Everton will hold three test events at their new stadium in Liverpool’s Vauxhall district ahead of this year’s planned move from Goodison Park.

The first, a friendly featuring the Premier League club’s Under 18 side and open to 10,000 spectators, will be held on 17 February, the club said.

The Under 21s will play a match in late March or early April with a capacity of 25,000.

“A third test event will be held later in the current season, details of which will be confirmed in due course,” Everton‘s statement said.

The restricted capacities for those events will help obtain licence and safety certificates to operate at full capacity of 52,888 ahead of its official opening, the club added.

Tickets for the first two games, priced £5 for adults and £2.50 for concessions, will be allocated via a ballot that opens on Friday 3 January.

Everton will play 10 more league matches this season at Goodison Park, their home since 1892, with the last game scheduled for 18 May against Southampton.

They will move in to the new arena on Bramley Moore Dock ahead of the start of next season.

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Bramley Moore Dock and the construction of Everton’s new football stadium comes at a critical time (Getty Images)

Everton manager Sean Dyche, meanwhile, has insisted he had bigger issues to concentrate on than Neal Maupay disrespecting the club on social media.

The Frenchman, whose last appearance for the Toffees was in a Carabao Cup win over Doncaster in August 2023, has had an unhappy time at Goodison Park and is currently on loan at Marseille as he sees out the final months of his contract in southern France.

After Everton‘s defeat to Nottingham Forest on Sunday, the forward wrote on X: “Whenever I’m having a bad day, I just check the Everton score and smile.”

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Everton striker Neal Maupay taunted the club’s fans in a post on social media (PA Wire)

But while Maupay is still technically the Premier League club’s player, the Ligue 1 side currently bear the responsibility for him, including financially in terms of his wages.

Dyche laughed it off, saying: “I think it is fair to say there is a bigger picture to Everton Football Club that I am focusing on and I don’t think I need to be too worried about his comments.”