FA Cup Tickets

The FA Cup is the biggest and most illustrious English domestic trophy out with the Premier League, and is just as popular. Get ahead of the competition and compare the best deals on FA Cup tickets here.

The FA Cup is open to essentially all professional and semi-professional football clubs in England. In 2011/12, a record 763 teams competed in the competition. The cups two most successful clubs have been Manchester United and Arsenal, who have both clinched 12 titles each.

English FA Cup History

The FA Cup is the oldest football competition in the world, with a history that is over 140 years old. The first tournament kicked off in November of the 1871/72 season, with Wanderers FC clinching the very first FA Cup. Minus the addition of qualifying rounds, the tournament has remained relatively unchanged since its creation.

The FA Cup Final is the pinnacle of the competition, and is the fourth best attended club championship in the world. With 42 different teams successfully lifting the trophy, the FA Cup is one of the most diverse when it comes to winners. Notable winners include Arsenal, Manchester United, Manchester City, Chelsea and Liverpool.

Average Ticket Prices and Attendance for the FA Cup

The FA Cup is a spectacle both domestically and abroad, with huge audiences tuning in and showing up to watch their favourite club participate. As a result, attendance to FA Cup games is one of the highest in domestic club tournaments. Last season saw Manchester United’s average attendance peak at just shy of 75,000 fans. These massive fan turnouts make it challenging to snag a ticket to an FA Cup game.

Ticket prices are set for the FA Cup, making for an affordable fixture. Semi-final tickets are tiered at £35, £45, £55 and £65, with tickets to the final costing £50, £75, £95 and £125. These bargain prices add to the already high demand for tickets to these fixtures, so getting to a game might not be easy.

How to Get English FA Cup Tickets

The FA Cup is undoubtedly one of the most hotly anticipated events in the British footballing calendar, which means that crowds are normally massive. Getting to an FA Cup game requires a lot of prior planning to ensure that you can get the tickets that you want. There are several different ways to get your English FA Cup tickets, which we have looked at below:

From a club box office

Football clubs that are playing in the FA Cup sell tickets directly from their box office around one month before the match. As this is the primary channel for tickets, demand is usually very high and sell outs are likely. Most box offices are available online or via the telephone, but you will have to act quickly if you want to snag a ticket.

Join as a club member

Many teams offer a club membership for a fee, which offers preferential access to tickets to the FA Cup before other fans. This is useful if you are already a fan and intend to go to several games in a season. However, for the extra fee of the membership casual fans should avoid this option.

Corporate tickets

If you are wanting to fork out some extra cash for a lavish FA Cup ticket, you could try to source a corporate or hospitality ticket. These tickets grant you access to box seats that feature food and drinks, as well as a range of memorabilia. However, ticket prices are very high for this type of seat, not to mention the lack of atmosphere in the box seats.

Ticket touts and scalpers

Ticket scalping is a crime in the UK, but you wouldn’t be judged for thinking otherwise based on their prolific appearances at stadiums on match day. It is advised to avoid the touts, as they overcharge, scam and even rob their potential customers. What’s worse, if you are caught buying a scalped ticket you could be ejected from the stadium and criminally charged.

Ticket resellers

Official ticket reselling has seen a huge rise in popularity recently, which has made this an incredibly viable platform. These resellers create an online marketplace for legitimate ticket holders to sell their tickets if they cannot attend the match. This is a safe alternative to ticket scalpers, and can even save you a little cash if you find a good deal. Some of the big names in the ticket reselling industry include Ticketbis, StubHub and Viagogo.