Football is the most spectated sport in the world, and with good reason. There is nothing quite like experiencing a live football match, and it has to be felt to be believed. The stadium shakes with the army of fans cheering and jeering, the atmosphere rises and dips with the ebbs and flows of the game and the energy around you is, at times, overwhelming. Not to mention the absolute joy of watching professional clubs battling it out on the pitch for 90 minutes. Without a doubt, going to a live football match is a truly magical event that every football fan should experience at least once in their lifetime.
So, what do you have to do to get your hands on a football ticket? Well, that depends on a few things, like the type of match and the country that you are in or visiting. There are a variety of different channels that are available to you, but some are better than others. So, to help you figure out where to buy football tickets wherever you are, we have created this handy guide. We will detail the different ways to buy football tickets, as well as some of the pro’s and con’s associated with the different ticket channels. So, let’s get started
Where can I buy football tickets?
There are a few different ways to get your hands on football tickets, but some channels are definitely safer than others. We have outlined the most popular ways to find football tickets below, along with their benefits and downsides.
Club box office
The club box office is the official way to get your tickets, and is the primary route to buying football tickets. You can often skirt any additional fees if you can snag a ticket from the box office, which makes them the most affordable option. However, box offices are notorious for selling out their stock of tickets very quickly, especially for popular matches. It is often the case that if you do not have any sort of priority access then you will miss out on tickets from the box office. Although it can be frustrating, it is always advised to try out the box office just in case you get lucky and grab a ticket before they sell out.
Ticket touts
Ticket touts, or scalpers, have been around for as long as live events have charged for tickets. In short, ticket touts are unauthorized sellers of tickets to football matches, and are usually found around stadiums before a match. This is definitely not a recommended way to buy a football ticket, for a number of reasons. For starters, it is illegal in most countries and is usually tied to criminal gangs. Ticket prices are almost always massively inflated, and they are often counterfeit. If you are caught trying to buy a ticket from a scalper, you will most likely have to deal with the police. So, to avoid interactions with criminal gangs and the police, it is best to avoid ticket touts.
Ticket vendors (secondary ticket marketplaces)
Ticket vendors are a fantastic middle ground between the illegal scalpers and the unreliable box office when trying to buy football tickets. Vendors work by creating an online platform for users to purchase and offload their tickets, which creates a bustling network of buyers and sellers. Although not as cheap as the box office, vendors will almost always have tickets available, even for the bigger matches. The only real downside is that prices will be slightly higher than the box office. When compared to ticket touts, though, vendors provide a safe, secure marketplace for you to purchase football tickets if the box office fails you.
If you’re looking to use ticket vendors, we have curated a fantastic resource for you to use that reviews some of the best ticket resellers to be found online. Unfortunately, there are lots of scammers online, so it is highly advised to at least skim through some of our trusted vendors to protect yourself. Once you know the safe platforms, you can buy football tickets safe in the knowledge that you will not be swindled out of your cash.
Our most recommended football secondary ticket marketplaces:
ticketbis
Livefootballtickets
Footballticketpad
How to buy football tickets in Spain
Spain is one of football’s greatest assets, with world class talent regularly emerging from their premier league, La Liga. Global powerhouses such as Real Madrid and Barcelona FC play football in Spain, as well as some of football’s greatest players like Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. If you’re visiting Spain and you’re a football fan, you would be doing yourself a huge favour to catch a live game.
Thankfully, Spanish football caters to tourists very well, provided you know what you’re doing. If you’re looking to buy Barcelona tickets for the Camp Nou, for example, you might want to consider their ‘free seats’ system. Here, season ticket holders release their tickets to any games they are not attending, usually up to 72 hours before the match. Other ways to get your football tickets are at the box office – either physically or online. Contacting the Bernabeu directly for Real Madrid tickets is a great option, but tickets sell out very quickly.
The best alternative is using one of our aforementioned ticket vendors. Certain resellers have specialties in European leagues, so they will have a greater variety of football tickets for La Liga. For a comprehensive look at some of our trusted vendors, head over to our reviews.
How to buy football tickets in the UK
The UK is, for many, the home of football. With illustrious teams like Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester United calling it their home, it is the most viewed football league in the world. If you’re in the UK and fancy catching a live football match at Stamford Bridge or the Emirates, it is important to know how to buy tickets. Unfortunately, it might not be as easy as calling up the box office (although you should try!) because tickets sell out fast. To help out a little, we’re going to outline some of the best ways to buy a football ticket to the premier league.
As mentioned above, your first port of call should be to the football club’s box office for a ticket. Unfortunately, depending on the team that you want to watch, this can either be difficult or impossible. If you’re wanting to watch Manchester United at Old Trafford or Liverpool at Anfield, you will be very, very lucky if you can get one directly from the box office. Smaller clubs, like West Bromwich Albion, might sell out at a slower rate than the bigger clubs, which increases your chances of getting to watch a match. However, it would be at the Hawthorne’s and not Anfield stadium or Old Trafford, which is slightly less popular and is home to a smaller team.
The next best thing is to take a look at online ticket vendors, which tend to house a fantastic variety of premier league tickets. Although they will cost a little bit more, tickets from a trusted vendor are a perfect way to get to watch a premier league match live, especially for popular teams. For further information about trusted vendors for the premier league, take a look at our ticket sites reviews.
Conclusion
Hopefully, this guide has given you the tools to get tickets to your favourite football matches from across the globe. Whether you get lucky at the box office or have to revert to ticket vendors, there is nothing quite like experiencing live football – especially when it is the top flight like the premier league.
We take great care in ensuring that we keep our reviews and information as accurate and up to date as possible, so that you can safely act on our advice. With that said, it is always recommended to read some of our reviews, as we update them regularly.
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