England & Scotland

INTRODUCTION

The Stadia: England is generally considered as the Mecca of football. The atmosphere, great stadiums and passionate football make visiting a football match in England a great experience, even in the lower leagues. After the Hillsborough disaster in 1989 and the following Taylor report only seats were allowed in the stadia and many other safety improvements had to be made. From then on the stadia in Britain were quickly renovated and many new stadia were developed. The old, but charming, stadia were turned into large multifunctional arena's. Stadia that were totally renovated include for example Stamford Bridge, St James Park & Villa Park. Brand new stadia that were developed include for example the St Mary's Stadium, Riverside Stadium & the City of Manchester Stadium. New projects are being planned to replace the present stadia of for example Arsenal and Liverpool. Although some fans have complained that the great atmosphere has disappeared, the atmosphere in the British stadia is still considered to be the best in the world. This is for example due to the fact that the stands are built real close to the pitch and of course because of the British football tradition. Still, some of the old days atmosphere can be found in the lower leagues. Unfortunately, many of these clubs are planning new stadia too. Without these new stadia the clubs can't financially manage it anymore, but for the real football fan it's sad to see all these traditional football grounds disappear. Because of the great popularity of British football it can be hard to obtain tickets for many Premier League matches. When planning to go to a match follow the information that is given via the official website of the club and when the pre-sale starts make sure that you apply for tickets real quick. Still there is a great chance that you won't be able to obtain tickets; therefore it is not recommended to plan your trip before you know for sure that you will be able to get tickets.

HOW TO GET TICKETS

Box office: British clubs usually offer very good information on their official website about the ticket sales. Ticket sales go via the box office of the club who offer you several options to buy tickets: by phone (ticketline), by postal application (go to the websites of the clubs for more details) or by person at the box-office at the stadium. Some clubs offer the possibility to order tickets via email (make sure that you have a credit card nearby). Box-office on the matchday: When the match isn't sold out you can buy tickets at the box-offices at the stadium on the matchday. Websites: Many clubs nowadays offer the possibility to buy tickets online. Some clubs do that via Ticketmaster, an independent ticket selling site. Black market: When the match is sold out there is always the opportunity to buy tickets on the black market. Since this is illegal in England this is not recommended. Also there is a chance that you will end up with a fake ticket. National team: Check out the official website of the FA for more information about the ticket sales for the national team: http://www.thefa.com/

PRICES

Prices: British clubs know what they are worth, so tickets aren't very cheap. Prices for Premier League matches usually start in the range of £18.00-£25.00 and end in the range of £27.00-£35.00. The tickets for the top clubs are usually a little more expensive, though there are not great differences.

INTERNET

Premierleague.com: the official website of the Premier League. ScotPrem: the official website of the Scottish Premeir League. Ticketmaster: sells tickets for many British events, including football matches. Seatbooker: provides ticketing services for a couple of British clubs.