Traveling to England and want to catch an English Premier League game but are not sure how to buy Premier League tickets if not a member? In this most comprehensive guide on the internet for English Premier League tickets, you’ll find answers to every FAQ about the six possible ways of buying tickets and all the practical info you need to see some of the best football in the world on your next trip to England.
Quick Intro to the English Premier League and Football Tickets
The actual name of the EPL is the Football Association Premier League Limited. It sits at the top of the pyramid of the English football league system.
Over the European summer – May to August, the 20 teams that make up the Premier League will each play 38 games, some of them at their home ground “Home” and some of them “Away.”
Points are scored for winning and drawing games with the team with the most points winning the trophy for that year.
Altogether, the 380 games of a Premier League season are watched by around 5 billion people around the world (1 billion households). English soccer is the most watched sport in the world.
Relegation is what happens to the bottom 3 teams who move down and will play the following year in the Championship League. The relegated teams are replaced in the following year’s Premier League season by the top 3 teams from the Championship League.
The teams that finish in the top four each season are eligible to play in the upcoming season’s UEFA Champions League group stages.
The team that finished fifth will play the following season in the UEFA Europa League, and teams that finish sixth or below can play in the next season of the UEFA Europa Conference League.
Six Ways to Buy English Premier League Tickets
There are currently six ways to secure tickets for English Premiere League matches and I’m going to explain what they are and how to go about securing tickets.
Slowest Way to Buy English Premiere League Tickets
Become a Season Ticket Holder
Yes, I know this article is about how to get a ticket if you don’t have a club membership, but I have to mention it first because members get the first go at the tickets for games from the moment they’re opened up for sale.
Season ticket holders sell out, or almost sell out, all the tickets, especially for the most important games of the season. That’s why it’s almost impossible for non-club members to get a ticket for a premier league match.
So if you really want to watch your team play premier league season games regularly, this is your best way to see finals and traditional grudge matches.
If you are coming to England and just want to see one game, check out “international memberships” from the premier league clubs.
But while you’re waiting 7 years until you can start buying premier league tickets as a season ticket holder, check out these other ways to secure seats to see English teams.
Riskiest but Easiest Way to Buy English Premiere League Tickets If Not a Member
Unauthorised Ticket Reselling Sites have mushroomed in the last few years and the largest ones will offer you 150% of your ticket price if your ticket doesn’t arrive.
Is it highly likely your ticket will arrive? Yes.
These ticket reselling sites are platforms, they’re not buying and selling the tickets themselves. Many guarantee 1 and a half times the ticket price as your refund if anything goes wrong and this does speak to their confidence in the group of resellers they allow on their site.
So there is no risk you are going to lose your money the site offers you a refund guarantee, there is only a risk that the ticket seller may not be genuine.
It’s in the interests of the ticket reseller platforms to make sure any such sellers are kicked out, so it’s a pretty good bet that you’ll be able to see you team at a ticket price higher than if you were a Club member.
There is one caveat here though – if a game is rescheduled for any reason and you’re not able to attend the rescheduled match, there is no refund or exchange. Your best bet would be to put the tickets up for sale on the reseller site and hope to get your money back.
The other very important thing to know about using an unauthorised ticket site is that it is illegal to re-sell English Football tickets.
The Premier League website has a page where it lists all of the unauthorised ticket resale websites it’s aware of. It’s a helpful resource whether you want to buy from a resale website, or if you want to avoid them!
Most Expensive Way to Buy English Premiere League Tickets If Not a Member
I have two words for you my friends — hospitality packages. These cost a bomb, don’t require you to be a member of any Premier League Football Club, and are an incredible experience because you’ll see the game in style with a great view.
Hospitality packages include food, drinks, parking, a stadium tour, discounts on team merchandise, or perhaps a museum tour or lounge access. They can also include transportation.
Tip: You can even get hospitality packages by redeeming your frequent flyer miles on airlines like Singapore Airlines.
Creative Ways to Buy English Premiere League Tickets If Not a Member
Buy tickets for a different league
If you want to see your team play, but you don’t mind who they play against, why not buy tickets to see your EPL Team in a Different League?
Let’s say you really want to see a Tottenham Hotspur match. The Tottenham Hotspur team plays English Premier League, Champions League, and FA Cup games. You don’t need to be a member of the Tottenham Hotspur Club to buy tickets online for Champions League and FA Cup Games.
Buy tickets for a game where the outcome doesn’t count or is between clubs toward the bottom of the ladder
Before the season starts, there are pre-season friendlies. This is a clever way to see one or two games that include some of the big clubs, like Manchester United and Manchester City.
You can buy tickets for pre-season friendlies at an authorised ticket office, like Ticketmaster.
It’s sometimes possible to buy tickets on General Sale for teams at the bottom of the ladder when the match doesn’t include one of the league’s popular clubs. You can buy General Sale tickets on the official club sites, once the season ticket holders have had first dibs at them.
Dumbest Way to Buy English Premiere League Tickets If Not a Member
Buying tickets from ticket touts.
Ticket touts (scalpers) are obviously not authorized resellers, and it’s illegal in England to sell tickets if you’re not an authorized seller.
If you buy a ticket from a ticket tout, there is no recourse if it is fake. The biggest market in fake EPL tickets is season memberships, so only buy these from the official Club websites.
All Your Frequently Asked Questions Answered
Here are all the main questions asked about buying Premier League tickets if you’re not a member of any English Premier League clubs
Football clubs sell their tickets to club members and the non-members are given no first-hand access to ticket sales. What is the reason behind this?
There is simply too much demand for everyone who wants to watch an English football game. It takes on average seven years on the wait list before you are offered a season ticket. The amount of money a club member pays every year for their season ticket gives them the ability to see games by having first-hand access to ticket sales.
Can you buy Premier League tickets at the GATE?
It is possible to buy premier league tickets at the gate on match day but only if the game is not sold out. The tickets are sold at the gate on a first-come, first-served basis and this is the cheapest option if you don’t have a club membership.
Which are the top 10 most costly match tickets sold by clubs in the EPL?
According to Statistica, for the 2022-2023 season, the top 10 most costly match tickets sold by clubs in the EPL were for:
Tottenham Hotspur
Arsenal
Fulham
Westham
Southampton
Manchester City
Manchester United
Liverpool
Brighton & Hove Albion
Newcastle United
What’s the best way to buy English Premier League tickets?
Fans without club memberships who want to buy English Premier League tickets should check out a hospitality package. A hospitality package will cost a lot more than a General Sale ticket but is almost the only way for non-members to see a game between the top Premier League sides.
Where is the best place to buy Premier League tickets?
The best place to buy Premier League tickets is through the official Premier League Clubs’ ticket offices if you are a club member or if there are any unsold tickets available.
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