Buying Football Tickets in England (2024)

The famous English football atmosphere may not be what it used to be, but attending a football match in England is still a dream for many. Learn how to get you English football tickets in below guide.

Buying football tickets in England is really not that hard, however may require some advance planning. Of course, first of all figure out the match that you wish to attend. This may be your favourite team, or if you’re more flexible, pore over the fixture lists on the BBC website or elsewhere.

When to buy your tickets

Clubscome in pretty much three categories:

1. Those that always sell out immediately, e.g. Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, and Man United.
2. Those that sell out regularly, but usually not immediately and not always, though the games against the top clubs might sell out immediately. These include most other Premier League clubs.
3. Those that rarely sell out perhaps apart from the local derby. These include pretty much all other Football League clubs in the lower divisions and the odd Premier League club (e.g. Sunderland).

Do you want to go to a match of a category 1 club or otherwise involving a top club or local derby, then you’ve got to be prepared, but for a lower league match simply showing up is generally good enough.

So let’s start with the top clubs that always sell out immediately. These are the steps that you need to follow:

• Check the on-sale date of the match in question on the club’s official website. You may notice that different on-sale dates apply for different membership types.
• For above clubs there will likely not be a general sale date given, because there isn’t any. Tickets only go on sale to club members, which means that you’ll have to buy a membership. If a general sale date is given, it doesn’t mean that there will still be tickets available on the general sale.
• So if you want to play it safe, you have to buy a club membership, which tends to add something between £10.00 and £30.00 to your ticket price. The cheapest membership will usually do (check the conditions to be sure), but you’ll likely need a membership for each person attending the match.
• Once you’ve got that sorted, check the on-sale date and time for your membership. Make sure to buy your tickets straightaway when they go on sale. There’s still no guarantee you’ll be able to get tickets for the most important fixtures, but otherwise you’re generally fine.

So how about the clubs that don’t always sell out every match?

• You’re unlikely to need a membership to buy tickets, perhaps unless it’s for the derby or the odd match against the likes of Man United or Liverpool.
• But if it’s for a match against one of the top teams, do make sure to buy straightaway when the tickets go on general sale. This is usually somewhere between one and two months before the match but it depends on the club.
• For most other games, less urgency is required, though as always, the sooner the better, especially if you want multipleseats next to each other.
• If it’s a Premier League club, always buy in advance. Sure, you might find the day before a match that tickets are still available and on sale on the day, but if you know in advance that you’re going to a specific match, there’s no reason not to buy in advance. It’s easy, quick, and at worst saves you waiting in a queue for the ticket office.
• If it’s non-Premier League, you’re nearly always fine showing up before the match and buy a ticket. Some lower league teams still operate the old-fashioned way where you can buy with cash on the turnstiles, but most have moved all ticket sales to the ticket office. But again, it will likelybe more convenient to buy in advance. It’s often a few pounds cheaper too.

How to buy your tickets

Most clubs offer a few different ways to buy tickets.

• Online, and if you’re not local, you’ll likely be buying online. Most websites are rather easy to navigate these days and let you pick your seat. Most clubs will still send the paper ticket to your address, but print@home is also increasingly popular. If it’s a last-minute purchase and there’s not enough time to ship (or if they got lost in the post), you’ll be able to collect the tickets at the stadium.
• By phone, if for some reason you need help beyond what’s available online.
• In person at the ticket office at the stadium, which works well if you live local, but otherwise why make the trip if you can buy online.
• Additional sales points, which are very common in some countries, are rare in England. At best there might be a club store selling tickets in the city centre, but this is rarely the case even for the big clubs.

What tickets to buy

• England’s got modern stadiums, at least in the top leagues, and the stands are close to the pitch, which means that sightlines are usually good from most stands. However, some of the older stadiums (e.g. Goodison Park) still have pillars supporting the roof which means that the view is often somewhat restricted. When it’s restricting the goal, these seats are usually flagged as restricted view, sometimes with somewhat lower prices, which is something to keep an eye on when buying tickets.
• The terraces have still not returned to the Premier League (though they still exist in the lower leagues), but standing is not uncommon in certain sections, usually in the lower tiersbehind the goal. You therefore may wish to avoid these sections if youwish to sit comfortably during the match.