The Great Hunt: Cheap ways to watch live sport

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Former_MSE_Rebecca
Former_MSE_Rebecca Posts: 173 Forumite
edited 18 September 2014 at 5:17PM in Sports & fitness MoneySaving
The football season is back in full swing but Premier League tickets are pricey. So where else can you catch a game live at the stadium without breaking the bank? We want to tap MoneySavers' collective knowledge on the cheapest ways to keep up with your local team or favourite player.

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  • El_Patriot
    El_Patriot Posts: 2 Newbie
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    Specifically regarding football, try the following:

    Sign up to email alerts of your favourite/nearest clubs. Many will have cheaper (not necessarily cheap!) tickets for less popular opponents or competitions e.g tickets for Arsenal v Southampton in the league cup next week start at £10, and Charlton and Millwall have at least one game each year in a 'football for a fiver' deal.

    Also look at lower league sides, including conference and below. Tickets are relatively cheap, easy to come by without membership fees and you can often get closer to the pitch.

    Tickets for England games at Wembley can also be quite good value, especially when playing low ranked sides and in friendlies.
  • tain
    tain Posts: 711 Forumite
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    As mentioned above, early League and sometimes FA Cup games against minnow sides can allow people to visit stadiums like the Emirates and Old Trafford for a fraction of the price. Home games in the league and just not possible though, nor cheap.

    Bit late, but pre-season friendly tournaments are great value. The Emirates Cup gives you two games for the one price, is usually fairly affordable, and is always against decent international teams. And hopefully there will be some newly purchased talent on show to boot (pun intended ;)).
  • tain
    tain Posts: 711 Forumite
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    Also mentioned above - start visiting your local team. They'll always need your support and cash, and the atmosphere can be great if they still have terraces like my local Dagenham & Redbridge.

    If they make it through to the playoff finals at Wembley, they're usually very affordable and the atmosphere is amazing as it's far more personal to everyone watching than the bigger teams. Plus you probably know half the crowd!
  • Former_MSE_Andrea
    Former_MSE_Andrea Posts: 9,614 Forumite
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    Great tips tain and welcome to the Forum El_Patriot :)
    Could you do with a Money Makeover?


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  • terra_ferma
    terra_ferma Posts: 5,484 Forumite
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    Women's football is cheaper and there are some very good teams out there, smaller egos but ;)big games
  • HappySeagull
    HappySeagull Posts: 145 Forumite
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    tain wrote: »
    Also mentioned above - start visiting your local team. They'll always need your support and cash, and the atmosphere can be great if they still have terraces like my local Dagenham & Redbridge.

    If they make it through to the playoff finals at Wembley, they're usually very affordable and the atmosphere is amazing as it's far more personal to everyone watching than the bigger teams. Plus you probably know half the crowd!

    Absolutely! There's more to football than the Premiership!
  • El_Patriot
    El_Patriot Posts: 2 Newbie
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    Thanks Andrea!

    Another football viewing tip is to check out the U21 league. These are really cheap and as well as seeing rising stars these teams often select senior squad members who can't get a game or are coming back from injury. I can only really talk about Arsenal (my team) but they are only a few pounds, around £5 mostly, and occasionally get to play at the Emirates. They regularly play at a local club (Borehamwood I think) for most games, and the standard of play is usually quite good.
  • gasheaduk
    gasheaduk Posts: 11 Forumite
    edited 24 September 2014 at 5:49PM
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    When the winter starts rolling in, my team, Bristol Rovers, usually give away free tickets (and a bacon roll) to anyone who helps with removing pitch covers a few hours before the game. I'm sure other (lower league) teams do this too.
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