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 Premier League 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.
Many football fans are turning a cheap European football match into a mini holiday abroad (file photo)[/caption]
Bargain-hunting football fans are flocking to the Continent[/caption]
EFL prices aren’t much better either, with one fan writing on Reddit: “It’s getting harder and harder to afford to watch our teams, League One ticket prices have gone out of control.”
Another fan added: “I’m quite annoyed at Barnsley. £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 Milan.
With the costs of fuel, pints and parking adding up – many British football 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 cheapest flights and European football matches, even attending a Milan v Torino 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, Barcelona 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 deals they can find, putting packages together that cost as little as £20.
Joe Donald and his brother Pete watched Milan v Torino at the San Siro for under a fiver[/caption]
The opportunity to visit iconic stadiums, such as Rome’s Stadio Olimpico, is a huge part of why people are snagging these cheap tickets[/caption]
Getting in the sea after watching a game – not something you can normally do in the UK[/caption]
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 Stadio Olimpico and the Colosseum for less?
Joe said: “If fans can get tickets to see a game at the San Siro 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, Madrid, 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 Premier League 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 Arsenal 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 match, 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 beer.
All in all, that works out at around £160 a game.
Avi and his partner regularly watch Arsenal at the Emirates stadium, but now they’re looking to spend their cash on European matches[/caption]
Avi bought the spirit of Arsenal to Lisbon on a recent city break to watching Sporting play[/caption]
It’s the perfect opportunity for Avi to enjoy his favourite sport, and experience new destinations, such as Lisbon[/caption]
Fans can take in top flight matches, for less than a pint would cost at a Prem game[/caption]
What Avi spent watching Arsenal, vs Sporting Lisbon
What Avi spent watching his beloved Arsenal
Match ticket £80
Petrol £60
Parking £40
Pint and a hotdog £12
Total: £192
And what he spent to watch Sporting Lisbon
Match ticket £12.35
Return Flights £50
Coffee and a roll £2.50
Pint £1.28
BnB £20
Metro ticket £6
Total: £92.13
Compare that to Avi’s trip to Portugal to watch Sporting Lisbon, which cost under £100 all in.
He told us: “Match tickets were just £12.35, while our return flights from London 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 BnB 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 city break 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 fixture lists are released.
“And consider staying in hostels or boutique hotels rather than Airbnbs, to help keep costs down.”
Now, Avi’s turning bargain match days into mini breaks.
Next up, he’s managed to convince his girlfriend to come with him to a match in Rome in August, where the couple are planning to stay at Generator Rome – a budget hostel with cheap dorm beds and affordable private rooms.
Why is it cheaper to watch football matches abroad?
Pub crawls are a popular way to explore a new city after a match[/caption]
The reason these tickets can be so much cheaper abroad is because of the sheer demand for football 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 deals.
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 Ryanair, 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 Basel to catch a Swiss match for £29.98 return, or to France’s Toulouse for the same price.
And with rail fares in this country going through the roof, it can often be cheaper to fly abroad than to catch the train to a match in the UK.
Beach, beers and bargain football tickets make for a great short stay[/caption]
