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For even more about English soccer,
check out the new site for my upcoming book:
An American’s Guide to English Soccer

 

In my quest to visit all 92 league soccer stadiums (aka football grounds) of England, I have picked up a few things about how to buy tickets for the Premier League and other games. I am by no means any kind of guru, but I have managed since 2014 to see 31 games at 28 grounds, including games at Arsenal, Manchester City, Man U, and Everton. And I’m going back this fall for two trips of about 6 games each over 10 days!

I now offer consulting services to folks wanting to watch soccer in England.

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So here is what I know so far – with more to come as I continue on my quest.

What Does it Cost?

To get into a Premier League match, expect to pay something along the lines of 35 to 50 pounds. Currently, at around $1.60 per pound, that translates to 55-80 dollars. In the Championship (second tier of leagues) I typically pay about 25 quid (40 bucks), and I assume it’s lower than that in lower leagues. For Cup games (see below), I have seen them as low as 15 pounds ($25), and sometimes for Cups they run a “kids for a quid” thing that makes for a real family atmosphere.

Buying Tickets From the Club

This is the simplest and most obvious route for tickets, but there are still some things to know, like how clubs allocate tickets. Basically, they start with season ticket holders, then members (more on that in a moment), then the general public gets a shot. But many games never even make it to the “general public” stage.

It basically depends on which club you’re dealing with, and who they’re playing. Teams have different tiers of games with different pricing and requirements for each. For example, if Manchester City is playing Manchester United, no way that game goes on sale to the general public; there just won’t be any tickets left. And even within the first two levels (season tickets and members) the price will be higher, and there will be a lower ticket-per-person limit, than if City was playing Hull. If you’re determined to see one of these higher-level games involving top clubs, you’ll need a membership or you’ll be dealing with a broker or website (see below).

Many clubs also have a ticket exchange on their website, allowing season ticket holders who can’t make a game re-sell their tickets.

Ticket tip: If you’re buying from a club, it’s critical to pay attention to on-sale dates. Premierleague.com has a ticket-status page for each game, but all they do is aim you at the club sites. Once at the club site, you’ll need to look for the “general sale” date for your match and jump on it that day.

Memberships: Paying for Access

One of the many things England has that America doesn’t is paid club memberships. This is where you pay an annual fee for various perks like the club newsletter, a trinket of some sort, a loyalty-points account … and access to buy tickets before the “general sale” date. There are different levels at each club, and from what I’ve seen you can expect to pay around $50 for this. Some of them have an international membership that gets you a chance to buy tickets for one or two games.

Paying $50 just for the chance to maybe buy a ticket may seem silly, but I’ve been trying for months to get any ticket to Liverpool and Crystal Palace, and I’ve been shut out. I am considering a membership just so I can get into these stadiums at all! I am also a proud member of the Fulham Faithful, which really has more to do with irrational loyalty than anything else. Getting into Fulham these days is no problem, really.

Ticket tip: Check on those international memberships if you’re only trying to get into one game.

Cups: Easier to Get Into

If you’re determined, say, to get into Old Trafford to see Manchester United, you probably won’t care who they’re playing. Unless you’re loaded with cash you won’t see them play Liverpool or Chelsea, but you have a decent chance at some of the lower-level games.

One thing to watch for here is Cup games. (Here’s a quick introduction to the leagues and cups of English soccer). They tend to be during the week and, at least in earlier rounds, against smaller opponents. I got killer seats at Old Trafford (for about $50) for a League Cup game on a Tuesday night in January. It was a semifinal leg, but it was the David Moyes season, and the fans were losing faith. Also, the opponents were Sunderland, not one of the heavyweights of the sport.

Another fun thing about Cup games is that will be more away fans, due to Cup rules. So when I saw Sunderland win at Man U, instead of the usual 3,000 away fans at a League game, there were 9,000 delirious Sunderland fans in the end having the times of their lives.

When I say “Cups,” by the way, I mean the FA Cup and the League Cup. There are also European competitions, but those are tough tickets indeed. For a whole discussion of the leagues and cups of English football, see the link above.

Ticket tip: Pay attention to when the draws for each round are announced, usually right after the previous round is finished. Set up Google News Alerts for “fa cup draw” and “league cup draw” to make sure you know about them. Or just check in regularly at thefacup.com and efl.com, the official name for what everybody calls the League Cup.

Lower Leagues: “I Just Want to See a Game!”

If you’re like me and don’t really care about seeing only the top teams, you should definitely consider going to a Football League game instead of a Premier League game. The English game is arranged in a pyramid, with the Premier League at the top with 20 teams; under that, in three leagues of 24 each, are the Championship, League One, and League Two – collectively called the Football League.

All of these are much easier, and cheaper, tickets to get – unless you’re talking about a rivalry game, a big Cup game, or a late-season game with major consequences in the table (standings).

For example, if you’re going to London and want to catch a game, any game, there are about 16 teams in the greater area, between the four leagues.

 

Here’s a map of the London football geography from hidden-london.com.

This doesn’t even get into the five Conference teams, but let’s keep it fairly simple for now. The same situation is true of other big cities like Manchester and Birmingham, so don’t limit yourself to just the Premier League. In many ways, I find the Football League to be a more enjoyable experience, with smaller stadiums and longtime dedicated fans.

Another Key: Who Are They Playing?

The other thing about getting into these bigger clubs is, of course, who are they playing? Arsenal-Chelsea is a nearly impossible ticket, but Arsenal-Fulham? Or Chelsea-Swansea? Much easier. Some things to watch for here, though: small stadiums and local rivalries. I can’t, for love or money, seem to get a ticket to see Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park, reputed to be among the best places to see a game in the country. It’s because the stadium is small and the fans are super dedicated. (It’s the same thing at bigger clubs like Liverpool, as well.)

I also tried, this spring, to see Nottingham Forest of the Championship play at home. The opponent was Derby County, and there were no tickets available. The ticket office didn’t even return my emails! Finally I dug a little deeper and realized I was trying to get into the East Midlands Derby – “derby” being their word for a local rivalry. And it’s pronounced “darby” for some reason.

Anyway, Forest and Derby County are only 16 miles apart and genuinely hate each other. No way I was getting into that one, unless I ride out on the train with a pocket full of cash (which I have yet to try) or go to a third-party broker.

Ticket tip: You can preview the whole schedule at premierleague.com and, for the lower leagues, at efl.com. Just remember that sometimes dates will change after being posted.

Buying Away Team Tickets

Sometimes the best way to get in is with the visiting team. For example, in my quest to see a game at Liverpool I might decide to buy tickets from West Bromwich Albion when they are playing there. And this might work. But one of my rules for attending English soccer games is “Don’t sit with the away fans unless you’re one of them.” I’m not quite that strict about it, but in my experience, the away fans tend to be the hard-core ones, and life in the away end can get quite rowdy.

I had a great time with the Sunderland people at Chelsea, but I had friends in there, and Sunderland won – which brings me to another rule, “Don’t show your away colors outside the stadium.”

Third Parties: Websites and Touts

Let’s get this term out of the way first: a tout in England is a scalper in the States. I have no experience with them in person, and I really don’t intend to. I have a philosophical problem with re-selling tickets for a profit. Still, I have researched third-party websites just a little.

I would start with the standard “safe ticket buying” link at premierleague.com, where you can also see the latest on tickets for each fixture. They also have a list there of un-authorized re-selling websites.

As for “legit” websites, near as I can tell, that list includes Viagogo, which has official relationships with some of the clubs, and Thomas Cook, which also has official relationships with some clubs and offers “Match Breaks” that include a ticket and a hotel room. Sample price is 350 pounds ($565) for a fancy hotel and a ticket to the Spurs-Everton game.

I hope this post is helpful. If you have any questions, or suggestions, please post a comment below.

See you at the grounds ….

For even more about English soccer,
check out the new site for my upcoming book:
An American’s Guide to English Soccer

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