Premier League Tickets

[Wherestheredonionchutney]

DS is 18 in December. He has no interest in typical teenage social activities, doesn't drink alcohol or like going to parties. He has a small but close friendship group who are massive football nerds! He follows all the main European leagues, plays fantasy football, FIFA etc.

I'd love to get him and his mates tickets for a game for his 18th but I know they're like gold dust. We don't live near any teams but he could probably get to Manchester/Liverpool, Newcastle or London on trains. He supports Man City and has a soft spot for Nottingham forest. His best mate supports Chelsea. We're not members etc of any clubs.

Is this possible? I can see there are lots of reselling sites online but are any of them recommended or are they all dodgy? Does anyone have any tips for getting proper tickets? Last thing I want is to raise his hopes and then he doesn't get in because we've been scammed.

I think it's really hard apparently. I asked a similar question a few weeks ago. Being a member might help but even then might be hard to get tickets together.

Me and my husband went to a football match in Rome and tickets were easy to get.

I think you can get them if you go through a resale / travel site but you will pay a premium but certainly at the club DS and I are members of (London ), tickets for league matches never go on general sale and you have to be a member (which we pay £70 a year for).

How much are you prepared to pay for each of them? You would get hospitality tickets direct from the club more easily. Eg this link shows Man City Fulham tomorrow still with tickets available . https://tickets.mancity.com/en-GB/hospitality/manchester%20city%20v%20fulham%20-%20hospitality/2023-9-2_15.00/city%20hospitality?_gl=19uq7xb_gaNjI1Njk3NzU5LjE2OTM1NjEyNDU._ga_QFRL9KTV4PMTY5MzU2MTI0Ny4xLjAuMTY5MzU2MTI0Ny42MC4wLjA._ga_83D496C6PL*MTY5MzU2MTI0Ny4xLjAuMTY5MzU2MTI0Ny42MC4wLjA.

The other option is contact a local supporters bus organiser. Explain it’s for a special birthday. They usually get spare tickets and seasons from people who can’t make it passed to them.

Depending on the club, will depend on the tickets. We are season ticket holders, and could often buy extra tickets on general sale if anyone wanted to come.

They were a prem team at the time, it all depends on the following they have.

Could he get to Notts Forest?

Nottingham is a possibility of I could stretch to the hospitality tickets if I was just him and 1 mate maybe.

Are there any of the reselling sites that are above board or are they all best avoided?

Not a chance at forest if you are not a member, unless you go for hospitality - and even then I think you can only book hospitality for premier league matches if you have a previous booking history. Last season I managed to get tickets to watch Forest at West Ham (in with the West Ham fans). That might be an option, but it’s not the best ground - a bit soulless.

It's exceptionally difficult. I'm a member at Liverpool (not a season tkt holder) and tie myself in knots to get about 3x tkts per year.

However, if you could afford for DS and maybe x1 friend in Hospitality, they're much easier to come by.

We are Arsenal season ticket holders and they are like gold dust atm.

Arsenal have just changed the rules so you can not transfer tickets unless the person you are transferring to is a Red Member-you can't just sell tickets to someone so be very wary of re-sale sites as sadly not all legitimate.

They are doing it to try and cut down on touts etc but it does make life difficult to give your tickets if you can't make a match that would only happen in my house if my husband was attending his own funeral

Also I think each club has their own re-sale arrangements.

Try twitter?

I'd look at how hard tickets are for Newcastle-brilliant fan experience!

Mcfc men very hard to get tickets for a premier League game without a £30 membership.

Check for league cup fixtures though, or early stage champions league as these are sometimes available, but still ££££.

Curve ball - what about a WSL game? Much cheaper and easier to get tickets. If you go to one of the big derby games (arsenal/Chelsea, city/utd) they're at the men's grounds, pull crowds of 40000 and you'll see lots of internationals playing.

You'll absolutely struggle to get a ticket for st James park!! Even members are in the ballot!

Maybe a midweek away game for one of the lower premier league games?

Or could you get him a stadium tour of Man City's ground instead? If that's the team he supports. Maybe get him the latest shirt too?

Stadium tours can be excellent, I took DS to the one for his team a few years ago, it was not on a match day so it was fairly quiet and it was absolutely fascinating, we both loved it (I support a different team). We were given a discount code to use in the club shop afterwards too.

I think most memberships are about £30 each.

You'd probably be able to get Champions League tickets (maybe cup games) for City if he had memberships. Pep is always bleating on about people don't turn up.

Even a membership and standard ticket would be cheaper than hospitality.

Again, talk to the organiser of your local supporters bus 🤷🏻‍♀️

Of the teams you've mentioned, Man City probably the easiest to get tickets for - I'm a member (cityzens) and have been able to get tickets for some weekday matches - both prem league (but not top teams like Liverpool or Man utd) and mid week European matches.

Liverpool absolutely impossible unless you buy hospitality eg I've used tickets direct- they currently have the Europa league fixtures for €199 per ticket.

My son is a spurs supporter and we wanted to get him match tickets for Xmas a few years ago. Seemed that the only way to do it legally (ie legit) was to join as members and then await the tickets going on sale. Then when the tickets for the match you want are due to come on sale, log on and get in the ticket queue asap and if you are lucky you MIGHT be able to buy a ticket. Better chance for the less popular matches. We haven’t ever been able to get one for the super duper “vs Man City” type matches as they sell out in minutes, but we’ve got them for eg vs Brighton. They’re so popular - it’s like trying to buy massively popular concert tickets when they’re released. You have to pay more for a better type of membership that lets you onto the booking page earlier to have half a chance. Sometimes you can get resale ones sold through the same club site (eg if season ticket holders are not attending). Can be harder to get 2 together than 2 separate or a single.

Obv it might be different at this club than others but basically - you likely need to sign him up as a member, also check how many one member can buy. They may or may not be able to buy guest tickets. And you may or may not be able to transfer your tickets (if you bought on his behalf) to someone else’s name (they may check ID especially for adults) and they might also have to be members. Then, you buy the ticket through the legit club site when it comes available (instantly). I don’t have any experience of buying from the other sites but spurs website is v clear that’s not a legit way to get tickets so didn’t want to risk it as a present.

It’s def not as straightforward as buying gig tickets or something like that.

Man City very rarely sell out tickets for champions league tickets. I know you said December but I would say you have a very good chance of getting him tickets to Man City v Leipzig on 28th November. If that doesn’t suit, I am quietly confident I should be able to help you for Man City v Palace or Man City v Sheffield United. And no before anyone asks, I am not a tout.

We live in Northern Ireland and got tickets and hotel for a Tottenham home match last year and going back in November through Hayes Travel. Was NOT cheap

I'm a Cityzens member and manage to get to a few City games a season, but it can be difficult to find 2 seats together even months ahead. City seem to be releasing more tickets for later in the season around October so it may be worth buying the membership and looking then.
The membership gives you discounts in the club shop and for the stadium tour. We did the tour the other day and it was fabulous - you can sit in players' seats in dressing room, Pep's seat in the dugout and get your photo taken with virtual Pep in the press room 💙. We also had our photos taken with the FA Cup and Premier League trophy. Can highly recommend it!
The cheapest hospitality package seems to be £110 (incs ticket) - info here
Hospitality Good luck.

My understanding (which may not be up-to date) is that Manchester City tickets are significantly more obtainable than those of the other top clubs. This isn’t to say they go on general sale, (except maybe for midweek cup games), but if you join the club membership scheme & enter ticket ballots your chances of getting something are reasonably good.
Perhaps any City fans around could comment?

OK, it appears that while I was on the right lines, others have more detailed knowledge than me, so pls disregard my comment OP, and good luck!

DH had to buy a membership for Man City to take his neice to a game but the tickets weren't that expensive and were easy to get

The company I have used in the past for tickets is sporting affairs but you are really overpaying. I know people have mentioned Champions League games aren't often sold out and I agree.would they be interested in something like the under 21 games as they are easier to get tickets for