We're traveling to London with our toddler (20 mos. when we're there) in April. Are there nanny services or babysitting services that will watch the little man on a given night so we can have a date night or two?

We also want to see a football match, preferably Premier League. I know Spurs are at home both weekends we'll be in London and Chelsea will be at home once. How do I get tickets online without being a member of Spurs' or Chelsea's fan club? Is there such a thing as family seating at Stamford Bridge or WHL? Are we better off trying to see a Championship match instead?

Thanks in advance

You have little chance of a ticket with either team as they have a big support in a relatively small ground, with capacity of around 40,000. Also April is towards the end of the season when many crucial games deciding league champion, European places or relegation are played. All available tickets will go to members and won't be put on general sale. There are websites offering hard-to-get sporting tickets at vastly inflated prices, but since ticket agency business (scalpers by another name) is unregulated, you risk losing your money or not getting the tickets you've ordered.
Most reliable way of seeing games at White Hart Lane or Stamford Bridge is to buy a hospitality package from the club. It ain't cheap (several hundred pounds each) but at least you get a guranteed match ticket in a good seat, a meal, bar service, match program and usually the services of a match day host, often a former player. Details from the club under Hospitality or Commercial.
The three London Championship teams (Charlton, Crystal Palace and Queens Park Rangers; plus Watford a bit further north in Hertfordshire) usually don't sell out and tickets are easier to get, even for April. Check their websites for sales arrangement. Plus there are two League One teams, Millwall and Leyton Orient, and two League Two clubs, Brentford and Barnet (plus Dagenham and Redbridge in Essex). Tickets are easy to get at all of them, and many fans think more 'pure' football can be experienced at lower league grounds, without the trappings and distraction of Premier League millionaires.

Chelsea are very hard to get tickets for. Spurs is just about doable - but it is pricey. You would have to join the membership scheme (which from memory is about £30 each) and then apply for tickets. There are around 25,000 people on the lists for around 10,000 tickets. Outside of that it is extremely hard to get groups of tickets together. I'm not sure but I believe they do offer deals fotr overseas fans - drop them an email and see what they can do (the ticket office can be very helpful when they are minded to be).

I'm not sure what you mean by "family seating" but neither CFC or THFC offer anything other than ordinary plastic bucket seats or a space in a box (bloody expensive).

You might want to think about either Charlton or Crystal Palace - tickets are easy to get and both are pretty big clubs (and Palace may even get promoted this year).

Try looking on Craigslist or Gumtree. I've seen tickets for sale to individual games on both.

Perhaps ebay as well.

As far as a babysitter, your hotel may offer such services.

A small warning. It is actually illegal to resell footy tickets (although this is rarely enforced) but it does mean that you have absolutely no comeback if you get ripped off.

Also it's pretty easy to get hold of a single ticket through unofficial routes - there's always a few season ticket holders who can't go. However getting a block together is hard.

Alec: We'll be in an apartment, not a hotel, that's why we'll need a service. It's a price we pay for saving some GBP and getting a roomier accommodation.

"Family seating" is evidently a US concept -- sections set aside for families so they're not subject to the worst of fans' fanaticism.

The Championship sides suggestion seems a good one. Charlton and QPR are both at home on a weekend that we'll be in London.

Hi Big, we were also interested in watching a football match while in London Dec 26-30. Let me know how you make out with getting tickets. We were thinking of two options, heading to the stadium and buying tix from scalpers or watching the match at one of the surrounding pubs at the stadium. It was recommended here, and from our experiences watching yankee games at one of the bars in the bronx next to yankee stadium, its pretty much the next best thing to actually being at the stadium.

We tried but were not successful in getting 5 tickets to an Premiere match in August, so we watched one at a pub in London (not even near the stadium) and it was definitely fun. We went in when we heard a big roar emanate from inside.

Some clubs do have family areas - but THFC and CFC don't.

Charlton and QPR are good ideas and easy to do (Charlton is 20 mins by train from London Bridge and the stadium is near the station, QPR is very near White City or Shepherds Bush tube stations).

As I said - email THFC and explain that you're a foreigner etc. They may well be able to help (they have done this for people I "talk to" on footy websites.

Hi Big, we were also interested in watching a football match while in London Dec 26-30. Let me know how you make out with getting tickets. We were thinking of two options, heading to the stadium and buying tix from scalpers>>>>>>>


Scalpers are called touts here. You will be able to get tickets this way - but they won't be together (and remember what I said about it being illegal)

or watching the match at one of the surrounding pubs at the stadium. It was recommended here, and from our experiences watching yankee games at one of the bars in the bronx next to yankee stadium, its pretty much the next best thing to actually being at the stadium.>>>>>>>

THis won't work.

TV covergae is at a different time to most kick offs - so there won't be any footy on the telly in the pub (unless it's a moody joint and has an iffy sattelite connection - rare)

the matches arent televised live???

No they're not.

Well, some are, but most aren't.

we are back from our london trip, and thought to let you all know that many pubs showed the matches live.

In any weekend there are 10 premiership games. Four are televised.