For his Royal Blue column, Everton FC correspondent Joe Thomas speaks to the 1878s about their plans for the new season - and how you can help
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - DECEMBER 20: Everton fans display a giant tifo ahead of the Premier League match between Everton and Arsenal at Hill Dickinson Stadium on December 20, 2025 in Liverpool, England. (Photo by Chris Brunskill/Fantasista/Getty Images)
Everton fans display a giant tifo ahead of the Premier League match between Everton and Arsenal at Hill Dickinson Stadium. Photo by Chris Brunskill/Fantasista/Getty Images
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The new campaign is upon us and Everton supporters will quickly get a reminder of the incredible work of the 1878s as they produce their season-opening display.
The supporter group, which played a leading role in the celebrations that marked the departure from Goodison Park and produced stunning spectacles through the first season at Hill Dickinson Stadium, have been busy plotting their latest show for the visit of Crystal Palace.
They have massive plans for the coming season too - which is all the more reason to support them through a new initiative run in conjunction with the club and culinary partner Aramark.
For the first three Premier League games, 50p from every pint of Budweiser bought on the concourses within the first 45 minutes of the waterfront ground opening its doors will go into supporting the work of the 1878s.
That means today (Saturday), pints bought between 1pm and 1.45pm inside the ground will support the cause - while for Palace pints bought on the fan plaza between noon and 1pm will also qualify.
The initiative is a major boost for the 1878s, who set up huge tifo displays for the home games with Arsenal and Liverpool last season.
They also put on flag displays for other matches - though the transition from Goodison to Hill Dickinson Stadium was not an easy one given the vast difference in scale between the stands.
A spokesman for the 1878s told the ECHO: “We are just urging people to get in the ground for 1pm. For that first 45 minutes, for every pint of Budweiser, 50p goes towards the funds for future displays and flags so if people can buy a few pints that will help us raise money for more flags and banners for displays.
“The cost of the flags, poles and everything else is much more than at Goodison - everything needs to be bigger because of the size of the South Stand. At the moment we probably have 400 flags and we may need more than double that to fill the South Stand fully, which is our aim.”
David Moyes identified improving Everton’s home form as a key ambition in his press-conference ahead of the game with Palace. Much was made of the difficulty in recreating Goodison’s famously hostile atmosphere on the banks of the Mersey but as the season reached its conclusion, huge steps forward were taken. The 1878s are now hoping to make more strides at the new ground.
The spokesman said: “I think the Chelsea and Liverpool games were the moodiest Hill Dickinson had been and we need that stadium as moody and as noisy and loud as possible. It all comes down to the players but we want to make sure we are trying our best for everyone.
“From our point-of-view we have asked a lot of the fans and we are always grateful to our volunteers and everyone who donates. This is not our full-time job and it is hours of work behind-the-scenes, planning for new ideas. As a group it makes us so proud and our aim is to go bigger and better.”
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The 1878s have plans for new tifos in the future and are always receptive to new ideas. They can also be supported in other ways and the organisation said it was grateful to Everton for providing donations and experiences that can be offered as raffle prizes, such as breakfast at Finch Farm and meeting Seamus Coleman last season.
For Palace, they will have laid out two 45 metre wide flags and so are urging anyone in the South Stand who finds themselves within the display to support it - stressing it will be completed by kick-off.
More details on how to support the 1878s and their work is available here