Thoughts on Getting Football Tickets
Football drives the sporting public into a frenzy that cannot be rivalled by any other sport. For ardent football fans, nothing beats the excitement of attending an important game and cheering on their favourite team from the stands, surrounded by their fellow devotees.
As a result, tickets for all types of football match sell out relatively quickly. Most premiership clubs (and the national sides) operate some form of membership scheme, which gives preferential treatment with regard to ticket allocation. Tickets often sell out within such a sort period that they are never available to the general public.
Important Football Events 2008
2008 has all the makings of a wonderful year for the `beautiful` game. On the domestic front, the Premier League remains as popular as ever. The `usual suspects` (Arsenal, Man. Utd., Chelsea and Liverpool – Celtic & Rangers) are in contention for the Championship title and European qualifying places. The romance of the FA & SFA Cups endure. In England, only six of the sixteen teams that have qualified for the fifth round are from the Premiership, leaving the way open for the `giant-killing` exploits of lower-ranked teams, for which the Cup is legendary.
In Europe, English teams are still involved in the UEFA Champions` League and UEFA Cup. From an international perspective, the failure of any of the `home` nations to qualify is unlikely to greatly diminish British interest in Euro 2008, which takes place in June, hosted by Austria and Switzerland. The English national team is involved, in the near future, in friendlies with France (26th March).
Later in the year (September), the English national side contests World Cup 2010 qualifiers against Andorra and Croatia. The Croatia game seems likely to provoke great interest, as the Croatians were responsible for England`s non-qualification for Euro 2008.
Free Tickets
While it is unusual for Internet sites to give away free tickets, several sites offer free prize draw competitions with highly sought after tickets as prizes. While winning such a draw is unlikely, entry only takes a minute or two, so is a worthwhile exercise.
If you have a disabled of visually impaired friend, who has a ticket for a match you would like to attend, volunteer to be their helper/assistant for the day. This confers a two-fold advantage; you will be looking after your mate, and most clubs will provide you with a free ticket for the game. It is a good idea to check out these options before contemplating parting with hard cash.
Buying Football Tickets Online
Which matches to attend?
Unless you are friendly with a `Silver` or `Gold` member of one of the Big clubs, obtaining tickets for Premiership matches between them is virtually impossible. A better prospect may be to seek tickets for a home game of one of the lower teams in the Premiership against one of the big clubs. These are also in great demand, but a limited supply is usually available to the general public.
Checking Availability
The official website of the Barclays Premier League is a great source for information on ticket availability for all Premiership clubs. It also provides links to individual club`s websites.
Booking in advance
It is recommended that contact be made with the club as soon as a fixture is announced. In this way, it will be possible to determine prospects of obtaining tickets for the game, thus avoiding disappointment.
Where to buy tickets?
The safest source from which to buy football tickets is the club itself, or its recommended agent. However, if this approach is unsuccessful, and the ticket is an absolute `must have,` numerous ticket agencies may be able to help. `Help` in this context is dependent on budget. Behind-the-goal tickets are available for the Manchester United v Arsenal tie of 16th February 2008 for £150. From similar sources, FA Cup are also available.
[TABLE=1]
[TABLE=2]
[TABLE=5]
[TABLE=4]
[TABLE=8]
