The English Premier League is the top flight of English football, and features 20 of the world’s biggest and most successful football clubs. With a potential television audience of over four billion people, it is a massively popular league; which makes match day tickets for Barclays Premier League matches highly sought after. Beat the competition and compare available Premier League tickets here. The English Premier League consists of the 20 best football teams across England and Wales, including football giants such as Manchester United, Arsenal FC, Manchester City and Chelsea FC. There are a total of 380 matches played per season, usually on weekends, which runs from August until May.

English Premier League History

The English Premier League was borne from the 104-year-old Football League, which dissolved in 1992. The Football League was chaotic to say the least, with teams having to arrange their own fixtures and sporadic live television broadcasts. The EPL brought English football into modern times, thanks to a very lucrative television deal. There were 22 inaugural football squads for the new league: Arsenal, Aston Villa, Blackburn Rovers, Chelsea, Coventry City, Crystal Palace, Everton, Ipswich Town, Leeds United, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Middlesbrough, Norwich City, Nottingham Forest, Oldham Athletic, Queens Park Rangers, Sheffield United, Sheffield Wednesday, Southampton, Tottenham Hotspur, and Wimbledon.

Average Ticket Prices and Attendance for the Barclays Premier League

It is no secret that the Premier League is one of the most lucrative, and expensive, leagues in the world. Expect games to sell out quickly and ticket prices to be high. With that said, there are smaller teams that boast some inexpensive match day tickets. Leicester City charge just £22 for a home ticket to one of their games. In contrast, the cheapest ticket Chelsea FC offers is over double that at £52. Attendance at games for the Premier League does have some variance, however expect the top four clubs to sell out frequently. Last season, Manchester United’s average attendance was the highest at 75,286 per game. Even the smaller teams get big crowds, though - the lowest average attendance was AFC Bournemouth’s, which was still comfortably over 11,000 people.

How to Get English Premier League Tickets

The EPL is one of the biggest football leagues in the world, and as a result they draw in massive crowds. EPL tickets are highly sought after, so getting your hands on one is not always easy. Although tickets do not always sell out for the less illustrious games, if you want to see a top tier match then you will need to put in the effort. There are a few different channels (with varying degrees of difficulty to get into) that you can use, which have been outlined below:

Straight from the source

For premier league fixtures, 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. Alternatively, you can call the club directly, but expect to pay a premium rate for the call. What’s worse, a lot of the box office phone lines are inaccessible outside of the UK.

Become a member

It is often the case that a football team with give preferential treatment to ‘club members’. This is a great option if you intend to follow the team throughout the season, but there will be a fee for the membership. Prices vary for the membership, and you still have to buy the tickets, so you will be paying more for the privilege of getting first pick on Barclays premier league tickets.

Hospitality tickets

Another form of ticket type available is the corporate or hospitality ticket. These are a luxurious package deal, often including a pre-game meal, assorted alcoholic drinks and an exclusive box to enjoy the game in comfort. There are a few caveats, of course - hospitality tickets are hard to come by and they can cost ten times the value of an actual ticket to the game. If you have a hospitality ticket, expect smart casual attire and a very neutral atmosphere; it is a completely different ambience in the box seats when compared to a ticket in a stand.

Ticket touts

Although illegal, ticket touts are a mainstay at football matches and can usually be found selling match day tickets outside of stadiums. It is highly advised to avoid touts, as they are known to sell fake tickets at extortionate prices. Worst still, if you are caught with a scalped ticket, you will be ejected from the stadium and you could face criminal charges.

Official ticket resellers

Ticket exchanges are an online phenomenon that has grown in popularity over the last few years. These online platforms allow legitimate season and individual ticket holders to sell tickets to games they cannot attend. In short, ticket exchanges are a legitimate, safe alternative to ticket touts. There are a few big ticket resellers that are affiliated with the premier league, StubHub and Viagogo. Ticket prices do vary on these sites, but often they align with the face value of the ticket.