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France Ligue 1 showcases some of the most talented - and expensive - players and teams in the world. The big names in the league are Paris Saint-Germain, Marseille and Olympique Lyon. With 380 matches played seasonally, the French top flight offers up a lot of top quality football to watch over a single season.
France Ligue 1 History
Professional football in France did not exist until 1930, when the National Council of the French Football Federation voted for it’s support. A few years later, and France were ready to kick off their inaugural professional season in 1932. There were 20 founding clubs in Ligue 1 that year, including current teams such as Marseille, Stade Rennais and Montpellier. Prior to 2002, Ligue 1 was known as Division 1.
In recent times, new teams have entered the fray and invested heavily into professional French football. The two biggest names to get involved with this are Paris Saint Germain and Monaco, who have collectively spent over $662 million on their team's success both domestically and internationally.
Average Ticket Prices and Attendance for the Ligue 1
Going to see your favourite team in Ligue 1 is, most likely, going to be pricey. The
average ticket price for an away game in Ligue 1 is around $265 and an average ticket price of $53. Prices to vary
from team to team, but PSG - who are the most prolific spenders in Ligue 1 - are the priciest. With season ticket
prices topping $2,650 and day ticket prices ranging from $36 to $246, there is a lot of variance in cost.
Ligue 1 attendance is relatively strong, which unfortunately means that tickets are
known to sell out - especially for the big games. As expected, PSG has the highest attendance at 46,000, with
Marseille coming close by drawing in crowds of 43,000. These are big names, though, with some of the smaller clubs
only managing around 3,000 fans to attend their games. In short, Ligue 1 attendance is a bit of a mixed bag. Expect
troubles in finding a ticket for the big games, but for lesser known matches you should be okay.
How to Get France Ligue 1 Tickets
Ligue 1 is a league that is growing, and as a result crowds for the matches are getting
bigger. Tickets to France Ligue 1 games are becoming harder to come by due to this rise in popularity, so finding
the ticket you want is not always as easy as you might hope. Although it is not normal for tickets to sell out for
every game, if you want to catch one of the big names you might need to act quickly or try a few different methods
to get your tickets. Outlined below are a few of the known channels available to you:
Straight from the source
For Ligue 1 games, most tickets are put up on sale around two to four weeks before the
match date. So, if you are looking to buy directly from the club it is vital that you order them as soon as they are
released for public sale. Most team box offices are available online, although when tickets are released servers are
prone to crashing as a result of a spike in their popularity.
Join the club as a member
Most clubs in Ligue 1 offer an exclusive club membership option, that gives fans a first
pass to buy tickets to games. This is great as it can guarantee a seat to a bigger game, but you have to pay a
variable rate for the membership. Even then, you still have to buy the ticket, so it can end up costing you quite a
lot for the guarantee of a match day ticket for a Ligue 1 game.
Luxurious hospitality tickets
For the executive fans of Ligue 1, corporate and hospitality tickets might be an option
to consider. These luxurious tickets include entry to a box seat, as well as a host of other benefits such as a
pre-match meal and drinks. All of this decadence and convenience comes at a price, though - literally. Hospitality
tickets are notoriously expensive, not to mention they are also known for their rather boring atmosphere. You have
been warned!
Ticket touts and scalping
French authorities are becoming a lot stricter when it comes to match day ticket scalping. If you are caught buying, selling or trying to use a fake or scalped ticket to gain entry to a game, you can be charged and banned from future games. It is always advised to avoid the ticket touts at all costs, as you are very likely to end up in some form of trouble.
