We're going to be in London the beginning of April and my son wants us to attend a London football (soccer) match. To fit our schedule it will have to be Saturday, April 3. His first choice would be an English Premier League game, but I think that's going to be impossible (either too expensive or not available). So I'm looking for other games. (It's important to my son that the teams be decent.) Does anyone have any suggestions? I've tried looking online, but it is overwhelming. I don't even know where to start. We'd like to be able to get tickets at a reasonable price for a competitive game. Any suggestions about recommended games, and when and how to get tickets will be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Well, if you go to www.premierleague.com you can get all kinds of information about schedules, prices, and ticket availability. Just click on a team you are interested in seeing and go to their official websites.

Tickets seem to be in the 20-30 Euro range, and some clubs have tickets available. I only looked at a few.

On April 3rd, the Premier League has 8 games to choose from.

If you are still looking for other options, hopefully someone else will respond.

Enjoy London!

Karen

On April 3rd there are two Premiership games being played in London.

Tottenham v Chelsea
Fulham v Birmingham

1st Division

Millwall v Watford
Crystal Palace v Sunderland
Gillingham v Cardiff (out of London)
Reading v West Ham (also out of London)

2nd Division

Brentford v Chesterfield
Luton v Oldham

3rd Division

Leyton Orient v Huddersfield

The problem is that Fulham,Millwall and Sunderland are still in the FA Cup 1/4 finals, so their games on April 3rd could be cancelled for them to play in the semi-finals on 3rd/4th.

If you were interested in amy of these games, don't book till after the weekend of 6th/7th March when the 1/4 finals will be played.

My team Tranmere Rovers will be playing Millwall in the 1/4 finals so I'm hoping we'll knock them out, and their home game will still be available for you on 3rd April

Thanks for the replies. My understanding is that it is very difficult to get regular priced tickets to the Premier League games (at least the ones we could attend on April 3). Is that correct? If that's the case, I'd like to try to buy tickets to a Division 1 game, which I assume is the next most competitive. What's the best way to do that? I'm in the U.S. and I'm afraid if I wait until after the weekend of the 6th (when 1/4 finals are played) I might not be able to mail an order in and get it back in time. I've tried checking various team websites but don't see anything about online ordering. For a Division 1 team what would be our chances of showing up on game day and buying tickets at the booth? I'm going to need 5 tickets. Again, your help is greatly appreciated.

Hi Gabebash,
Many clubs are paranoid about security and eliminating troublemakers, in fairness generally this policy is successful, however it does mean that 'strangers' (for want of a better word)have difficulty getting tickets unless they are registered with the club.
I would try the club websites of the teams mentioned by Angel,and a few others if you know them and see what they can do, you can usually arrange tickets for collection from the club on the morning of the game.
I am sure some clubs allow to pay at the gate but I guess its better for you not to take that chance.
Good Luck

Muck

Hi again. As Muck said, any club will hold your tickets for you to pick up on the day or before. You will be able to book with your credit card online or via e-mail, and won't need to have them posted out.

I haven't found the price for Fulham's tickets but they are not on general sale until 24th March.
www.fulhamfc.com

Tottenham Hotspurs (Spurs) tickets go on general sale to non-members on 11th March, and to members (I think you can join up free on-line) on 1st March.
Prices are £29 to £46, possibly 1/2 price for children 15 and under.
www.spurs.co.uk

Thanks for the suggestions. I'll try becoming a member of the Spurs to see if I can get tickets that way. Otherwise I'll probably try one of the Division 1 teams. I really would prefer to buy the tickets before we leave.

Becoming a member of the Spurs is not free. My boyfriend and I will be in London in late April and a premier league football match was his only request. We became members through the Spurs website but it was 35 pounds per person (that's just for the membership). We will be able to buy online tickets approx. three weeks before the match. I believe non-members cannot buy on-line tickets, but must phone or fax. The non-member tickets go on sale a week after the member tickets (approx. two weeks before the match). If we are not able to get tickets to the Spurs v. Arsenal match, we will probably try for Crystal Palace (a division I London team). I was told getting tickets for that would not be too hard.

I'm so glad I don't support a Premiership team
I can't believe a charge of £70 for two people just to book 10 days earlier! I didn't see anything on the site to say that non-members couldn't book online, but I may have missed that. A phone call to give credit card details would certainly be a lot cheaper.

The Crystal Palace v Sunderland game, the prices are:

stands - £19-25, under 16 £5-12
executive lounge £35, under 16 £25
Players Lounge £25,under 16 £15

btw 'stands' is just a name for parts of the ground - everywhere is all seated, no 'standing' involved

Obviously the 'best game' to go to would be Spurs v Chelsea, and after that, Fulham v Birmingham.

Crystal Palace v Sunderland would be the best choice from the 1st Division.

Also, I'm surprised to see they have kept their Players Lounge prices so low, thay're only £3 more than ours are in the 2nd Division.
I always go in to the Players Lounge at my club, and I think your son might enjoy seeing some of the players in the bar after the game.

Of the games listed, probably the Tottenham - Chelsea match will be the most difficult to get tickets for as it's effectively a local derby, so for the Premiership games I'd probably look at Fulham v Birmingham as the most likely to be available.

Outside the Premiership, I'd suggest either the Palace game or the Reading-West Ham match.

Hi ...

Bit of a long shot here ... but have you tried going to Aston Villa vs Man City .... it is about 2 hours from London ... near Birmingham.

Or maybe look at a club in the midlands ... such as Sheffield United, West Brom (again near Birmingham), Norwich. All these clubs are near the top of the 1st division, so the games should be good. Look at www.football-league.co.uk for fixtures.

For example --- Sheffield Utd are playing Nottingham Forest ... could be a good game. I suspect that you could get direct train in 2-3 hours to Sheffield.

Mark

The sheffield Utd game is another one that could be cancelled due to them still being in the F.A. Cup.

I agree that it would be a good game to go to, but I think it would take up most of the day and evening with travelling.

Forgot to add the Crystal Palace FC address if you don't have it gabebash.
www.cpfc.co.uk

Hi angel_UK

I forgot about the FA Cup .... having got knocked out in the 3rd round ... not too interested !!

For Sheffield you would need to leave London 10AM ?? but you could be back in London about 8PM .... in time to join the family for dinner.

But I do think that Crystal Palace is a good option , playing well at the moment.

Mark

Hi Mark

I can't think about anything BUT the FA Cup at the moment as we (Tranmere Rovers) are in the 1/4 finals! Not meaning to gloat or anything

Our game with QPR today has just been called off due to a frozen pitch :'(

Good luck to your team in the league, except if it's Bolton

Angel

As a rather sad Palace supporter for years, I can assure you that you can just turn up and buy tickets at the gate (it's also a family-friendly ground, with a special kids/family section). But I can't promise the game will resemble football - often it's dire, although they've picked up recently. I'd suggest seeing Fulham - friend goes often and finds no difficulty getting tickets: match against Birminham shouldn't be sold out.

Hey Fulham maybe a good game, they are doing pretty well since that Welsman Chris Coleman became manager

muck