Soccer tickets
 

My son and I will be in London and Barcelona beginning Easter weekend. We would like to see some European soccer games while we're there. How easy (or difficult)is it to buy tickets for games. Barcelona is playing Zaragosa on 4-15, and there are games in several spots in London on 4-14 and 4-21. Any help on how to go about getting tickets would be much appreciated.

For the better games around London it is usually necessary to book a few weeks ahead. I would start by visiting each club's website, which gives fixtures, kick off times etc., and details on booking tickets, which you will probably have to do by 'phone and credit card. <BR>Not sure about Barcelona, which has a huge ground, but also attracts large crowds. Probably similar proceedure to London, but don't really know.

Jim, <BR>Have you tried Barca's official web site (version in English)? <BR>www.fcbarcelona.com

Tony and Maribel, thanks for the input. <BR> <BR>I checked the FC Barecelona web site and it seems to present season ticket prices but doesn't say anything about purchasing single tickets and it doesnt offer sales over the internet. Also, the Chelsea and Arsenal web sites I checked offered sales to members or didn't offer tickets until a month before the game (with the near term games showed as sold out). <BR> <BR>Is there any way to guarantee you'll get tickets without having to deal with a scalper on the street? If anybody knows, please pass along instructions. Thanks.

The touts on the street aren't there to rip you off, even if you are foreign. They just want rid of their tickets, especially if it's not a particularly popular team (such as Real Zaragosa) that are playing. Check what area the tickets are for - avoid the curvas, the ends where the 'lads' hang out.

Basically home games for Arsenal and Chelsea are very difficult to get tickets for. They have relatively small ground (capacity under 40,000) and large fan base (in case of Arsenal about 50,000 members chasing 10,000 tickets allocated). After requests from members are met, there will be very few tickets available to the general public (open sale). On April 14 Arsenal play Middlesborough and Chelsea play Southampton, not most glamorous of oppositions, but since it's the run-in to the end of season there will be plenty of interest in the games. You can try ticketmaster.co.uk who sometimes have tickets available (with a mark-up). If you have set your hearts on watching either team and are willing to pay for it, you can try contacting the club's commercial or hospitality department (see websites) who sometimes offer VIP packages in the hospitality suite, with meal and bar facilities. Also on 14th West Ham play Derby and Wimbledon (1st div) play Barnsley - tickets are prob. easier to come by. As for Barcelona, yes they have a large fan base but also an enormous stadium, and I hear that apart from games against Real Madrid, you can get tickets from Nou Camp a few days in advance or on the day itself. AFAIK tickets are only sold at the stadium.

You could try calling the Campo Nou ticket office (93 496 36 00) open 10-1 and 4-8. My Lonely Planet guide says tickets are available through some Barcelona banks. ?? (Never heard of this). If you've reserved your hotel, maybe its desk staff knows about the bank scheme.