Reach to launch two new Liverpool FC fan websites after club’s Champions League final win

Reach has revealed plans to launch two new fan websites for Liverpool football club following the team’s Champions League win against Tottenham at the weekend.

Ten journalists will be hired to work across new titles Liverpool.com and LFC Stories, the publisher said. Reach already owns regional daily newspaper the Liverpool Echo.

LFC stories is described as a “premium platform” for long-form pieces on the club while Liverpool.com will be aimed at US supporters and feature analysis and essays from both UK and US writers.

A spokesperson for the publisher told Press Gazette that LFC Stories would be free to access at first with a paywall coming at a later date.

Both websites are expected to go live on 1 July this year and will join other specialist regional football titles in the Reach stable, including Football Scotland and Football London.

Reach group sport content editor Kristian Walsh will lead the Liverpool football club fansites team with journalists working across Liverpool.com, LFC Stories, the Liverpool Echo and the Blood Red podcast.

He said in a statement that he become “fascinated and taken aback by the passion and knowledge” of Liverpool supporters while reporting on the team’s pre-season tour in 2014.

Walsh added: “Though this is a club with a Scouse heartbeat, it is truly unique to see such fervent support by those in the US.

“The sport of soccer is growing evermore there and Liverpool and its culture are at the forefront of that.

“I am hugely excited to be leading this project and not only bringing our US fans closer to Liverpool, but taking Liverpool closer to those same supporters.”

Football editor Jon Birchall added: “The aim at the Liverpool Echo, as with all of our regional brands, is to provide the strongest, most comprehensive coverage of our football clubs available anywhere.

“This expansion across new platforms and new territories is the natural next step in how we give Liverpool supporters the best possible experience from the heart of the city and beyond.”

Reach has revealed plans for the new websites a week after it printed three special editions of the Liverpool Echo for fans who trekked to Madrid for the Champions League final.

Liverpool beat Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 in Madrid on Saturday to claim its sixth European cup. The team paraded through the streets of Liverpool (pictured) the following day.