Not only does Football hold a central place in European & UK cultures - it’s also by far the most-watched sport around the world. These are your favourite athletes’ favourite athletes. Across Europe & the UK the football competition formats are similar: Clubs will compete in a domestic league (such as the Premier League in the UK or La Liga in Spain), a domestic knockout tournament (such as the UK’s FA Cup or Germany’s DFB-Pokal), and top clubs will also compete in broader European club competitions like the UEFA Champions League or the UEFA Europa League.

As far as ticketing goes, the majority of football tickets in Europe & the UK are delivered via PDF E-Tickets that need to be printed and taken to the event. There are exceptions - some clubs are gradually adopting mobile ticketing systems - but it’s most likely that your clients will receive their tickets in that format. It’s also worth noting that tickets for European & UK football matches are usually delivered in the days leading up to the event.

It's most likely that your client will receive their tickets as a PDF that needs to be printed out on their trip. Tickets for European & UK football matches are usually emailed in the days leading up to the event.

Regardless of which destination your clients are visiting, here's what else you can expect for Football tickets booked through through a Sports Where I Am partner solution:

How European Football ticketing works

For Football tickets booked through a Sports Where I Am solution, here are the steps involved:

• 1. A customer email address will be required during the booking process.

  As with all other sports & events, we require a customer email for bookings so that the electronic tickets can be sent directly to your customer. On some occasions - particularly for matches in Italy & Spain - we might also require date of birth & nationality information.
  
  
  
  We only use this email address for ticket delivery, though, and we will not send your customer any follow-up marketing materials. 

• 2. We send instructions & tickets directly to your customer.

  
  
  

  When the tickets are ready to be delivered electronically, we'll send instructions directly to the customer email address supplied. For Football matches in the UK & Europe, this will likely involve a PDF attachment of the tickets that will need to be printed before the event.

• 3. After following their ticket instructions (printed tickets or mobile transfer), the customer will display their tickets at the event for entry.

  
  
  After your client has followed the ticket instructions & accessed their tickets (either by printing the PDF sent to them or accepting a mobile ticket transfer), they'll be able to present their ticket at the gate for entry.
  For European football matches it's usually advised to take some photo identification (like a passport).

Key dates for Football in Europe

A yearly calendar for Football in Europe & the UK generally looks like this:

• June & July
  
  • The fixtures are announced for the upcoming domestic seasons. Tickets are available soon after.
• August - May
  
  • Football matches are played throughout these months. These matches can include:
    • Domestic league matches
    • Domestic knockout tournament (cup) matches
    • European tournament matches
    • Friendly matches

JAN	FEB	MAR	APR	MAY	JUN	JUL	AUG	SEP	OCT	NOV	DEC

Football seating categories explained

Many of our partners have requested a simplified booking process for their travel customers. That's why our Football options are conveniently split into three broad sections: Budget, Regular and Premium.

As a rule-of-thumb, this is how that generally looks:

The 'best' football tickets are generally considered to be side-on to the field (ie on the ‘long side’) - rather than behind the goals at either end. The top-picked spot is usually between the penalty boxes on either side of the field.

• An example of a view from a 'Budget' seat category at a football game. Generally these are in the upper tiers & on the 'short side' of the field. (Note: This is a rough guide only)

• An example of a view from a 'Regular' seat category at a football game. These might be in upper tiers & side-on to the field. (Note: This is a rough guide only)

• An example of a view from a 'Premium' seat category at a football game. These are generally closer to the pitch & with a good view of either goal/penalty area. (Note: This is a rough guide only)

There are, of course, some exceptions to this, depending on the specific venue and the hospitality inclusions that a club might have set up. For example, there can sometimes be a premium hospitality function included that is off-site before the match, which is not reflected in the images above. But the above is a general guide only.

Popular Football destinations:

Manchester ↗ Liverpool ↗ Barcelona ↗