Key Ticketing Tips

There are several ways to get tickets to football matches in England, and each of my breakdowns can help you determine which are right for the games you want to see and the budget you’re trying to stick with. These options will mainly come down to two main factors, ticket demand and club restrictions. The Premier League is the most watched professional sports league in the world, and the demand for these games is incredible. Beyond the Premier League, there are plenty of teams across the football league that always draw big crowds. Additionally, even teams that normally have available tickets, might sometimes sell out if they’re playing a derby (rivalry game) or find themselves in a title race. 

Research is key and hopefully these tips help you make the best decision for your trip. Check out my other articles that break down the various ticket options for buying tickets for English football matches, along with the pros and cons of each method. Keep in mind, I’ll be talking about these options from the lens of an American likely making their only trip to the UK (which is why I don’t talk about season tickets). Be sure to also check out my article on how I charted my own trip, where I share examples of how I planned my trip around the likelihood of getting tickets while also keeping in a budget.

The matchday schedules for the upcoming season of the English Football League (which includes the Premier League) is released in June every year. That being said, regular tickets don't go on sale until about 4-6 weeks before the matches. This is because the TV schedule isn't determined until that time, which also means that the game itself doesn't get assigned to Saturday, Sunday, or Monday date until that time. This can make planning in advance difficult. What also adds to the uncertainty is that an FA Cup or European game can cause a regular season game to be postponed. This is obviously very different than in the states, where tickets become available for the entire season all together. Flexibility and having multiple options is key in case you're trying to attend multiple games while you're there.

Hospitality tickets (which I cover in another article) are the exception, as they become available for purchase as soon as the new season’s schedule is announced in June. This means if you buy them when they're released, you won't know the exact date of your game until four to six weeks before its matchday weekend. While you could wait to purchase them once the date is confirmed, you risk not being able to get them if demand is high. In my experience, I bought hospitality for our games for Liverpool the day they became available. When I checked on hospitality available the following day, only random, single seats remained.

Tickets for the matches are sold directly from the team, and teams require that every person buying a ticket to have a ticket account. These accounts are free to set up, and one of my pro tips is to sign up for your ticket account in advance of the tickets being released so that you don't have to waste time registering one if you're in a hurry to buy tickets. Most teams also allow you to link accounts together, meaning that only one person needs to buy the tickets if the accounts are linked up in advance.

The lamest obstacle we ran into on our trip were ticket restrictions that clubs put in place on certain games. For example, when Middlesbrough played Leeds, there were many tickets available when the date for general sale arrived, but the team put in place a restriction that only fans that had previously purchased tickets for at least three games could by a ticket. This was to prevent Leeds fans from buying home seats, but it also prevented neutrals like us from attending. Luckily, we found a way around this that I'll talk about in another article, but for the sake of planning a trip, just keep in mind that a rivalry game or game against a league leader or well-traveling fan base might bring random restrictions.