BRITISH footie fans sick of sky-high ticket prices are taking sunny European city breaks to watch foreign games instead – for the same price or LESS.
With resale tickets starting in the hundreds, endless season ticket waiting lists and train fares through the roof, watching your team play in person can feel near impossible.
prices aren’t much better either, with one fan writing on Reddit: “It’s getting harder and harder to afford to watch our teams, ticket prices have gone out of control.”;
Another fan added: “I’m quite annoyed at . £30 for a home game in League 1 is mad.
“It’s pricing fans out, especially families. The match day experience is everything for a lot of us and it feels like it’s being forgotten.”;
Prices for UK games have now risen so much that savvy supporters are realising they can catch a cheap flight abroad, squeeze in some sightseeing and bag a £4 ticket to a game in .
With the costs of fuel, and parking adding up – many British fans are booking mini breaks abroad for the same price as an away day at home.
Bargain breaks – how to watch European games for cheap
Joe Donald and his brother Pete found a knack for scouring the web for the and European football matches, even attending a Milan v match at the San Siro for £4.
Joe said: “Coppa Italia games can be particularly good value.
“Fans in the UK are being priced out of watching their local team due to rising ticket prices, and away days in the UK are getting more expensive due to increasing rail fares.
“It’s no surprise therefore that the desire to go see matches in Milan, or Lisbon (frequently for under £100) is on the rise.”;
Now Joe and his brother Pete run Triptix together. For £6 a month, they email their followers the best they can find, putting packages together that cost as little as £20.
Going to a match abroad is not only a cheaper alternative, it also means you get to see the city and tick off iconic sights.
Why sit on a stuffy train on the way to an away game, when you can swing by Rome’s and the Colosseum for less?
Joe said: “If fans can get tickets to see a game at the for £9 and get flights for under £30, they will want to do this while the iconic stadium is still around. For many it’s a bucket list experience.
“We’ve used Triptix to attend games in Brussels, Milan, Barcelona, , Rome and Valencia. Napoli is top of our list for next season.”;
Portugal over the Premier League
It can be tough enough to bag a ticket in the first place – without a season ticket, you can shell out hundreds to watch a match.
And if you’re you’re lucky enough to become a season ticket holder, securing a ‘lower’ season ticket for a club like in the wings or corners will cost £1,112, while an upper-centre option will set you back £2,125.
Gunners fan Avi Attavar regularly attends home games, spending around £80 per Category A , plus extra expenses.
Per match, Avi spends around £40 in petrol, £20 for parking, £6 per pint and £12.35 if he fancies a hot dog and a .
All in all, that works out at around £160 a game.
Compare that to Avi’s trip to to watch Sporting Lisbon, which cost under £100 all in.
He told us: “Match tickets were just £12.35, while our return flights from cost £50 each. A coffee with a Portuguese roll came to around £2.50, and a pint of Super Bock near the stadium was only £1.28.
“We stayed in a in Bairro Alto, and between three of us, it worked out at just £20 per night each. We used the Metro for getting around, which cost £6 per day”;.
That’s a with a footie match and overnight stay in Lisbon for under £100.
He added: “One big tip is to plan well in advance as soon as the are released.
“And consider staying in hostels or boutique rather than Airbnbs, to help keep costs down.”;
Now, Avi’s turning bargain match days into .
Next up, he’s managed to convince his girlfriend to come with him to a match in in August, where the couple are planning to stay at Rome – a budget hostel with cheap dorm beds and affordable private rooms.
Why is it cheaper to watch football matches abroad?
The reason these tickets can be so much cheaper abroad is because of the sheer demand for tickets in the UK.
In the UK, ticket prices soar on resale sites as supporters scramble for the last remaining seats, whereas a lower attendance rate means lower prices abroad.
If you choose to organise the trip yourself, book directly through the club websites for the best .
Avi cautioned: “Many third-party sites add mark-ups for foreign fans, but it’s usually straightforward to book yourself and avoid the extra charges.”;
Furthermore, with budget airlines like , flying to Milan can cost as little as £14.54 each way.
The same goes for many European destinations. You can fly from London to to catch a Swiss match for £29.98 return, or to ‘s Toulouse for the same price.
And with rail fares in this country going through the roof, it can often be to fly abroad than to catch the train to a match in the UK.
