I expect I'll get the usual "So what do you think of it?" question from the steward, thinking I'm somehow starstruck. I did have to explain that when I first went to Old Trafford the Stretford End had never seen a camera, and there was standing in the front of the Scoreboard End ...

I've had stewards ask me to put away my DSLR at the Olympic Stadium before (twice, IIRC and I've been to about half a dozen matches there). Never had an issue at OT (then again, my sample size is small, as I've only been twice).

To toss in my own experience, over the past 14 years I've been to England a few times, mostly as a tourist, and have gone to matches at:

- Upton Park, both Prem and Championship matches; have had to buy memberships for most of them (got lucky with a general sale once)
- St. Mary's (Championship); general sale
- Craven Cottage (Prem); membership
- Old Trafford; membership the first time, bought a season holder's membership card via Twitter the second (last match of the season)
- Emirates (FA Cup); general sale
- Stadium of Light (Prem); general sale
- King Power; general sale
- Selhurst Park; scalper outside the stadium
- Olympic Stadium; membership (the only time it actually made sense to have one, as we were living in Essex at the time and I could go with a degree of regularity)

Generally, spending 30-40 (maybe more now?) pounds just for the privilege of being able to buy a ticket might turn some people off, but such is life. I've never regretted it:).

I will be in London for opening week of the 2023-24 EPL season and my son is very interested in taking in a match. Is there a realistic shot at landing tickets without paying an extortionate amount? And if so, is becoming a member the best chance at doing so? In North America it is common to use resellers such as Stubhub but from what I've read, it seems less common and a bit riskier in the UK.

Anyway, my son is not picky about which club to see, he just wants the experience of seeing the EPL live and in person. Plan B would be to see a EFL Championship match which I gather is more accessible. Thanks for any advice or bits of wisdom!

What a great trip idea! I am not an expert, but have been over many times to attend Tottenham matches. I am a member, and also have many friends with Season Tickets, so scoring a reasonable price ticket has been OK for me.
(As a Hotspur Member, I have access to ticket exchange, which has been reliable for tickets even in popular matches, at least for a "single". It does require flexibility in seating area choices, etc. And it only "opens up" a set time before the match date.)

Most (all?) clubs offer higher price tickets to non-members, available well in advance of game day. I usually see these termed "Hospitality tickets / packages". Usually comes with some level of pre-match food, drinks, etc. You would need to do some research to determine what makes the most sense. 2 Hospitality tickets versus 2 memberships + 2 regular tickets. You can search for matches this season to get an idea of costs, availability, etc.

Not sure when the 23-24 season schedule will be announced and finalized, which will let you know which clubs will be playing in London. And I strongly recommend also attending a Championship League match while in town. More intimate, less expensive, and tickets are usually more available. Again, would need to see who is in town during your trip and playing opposite weekend day of your EPL match. I have done this numerous times and was always been a lot of fun. I posted some pics and thoughts earlier in this thread.

I am sure some of the more knowledgeable locals will be by shortly to post their advice. But let me know if you have any questions I can help with.

Thank you for the advice!

Just to be clear, my trip is a standard family vacation for me, my wife and kids, not a soccer-specific trip. We'll have a week in London and then head west towards Bath/Bristol/Cardiff. So while my son and I would like to attend a match, it is not a do or die situation! It does seem based on what I'm reading that at the very least a Championship League match is well within the realm of possibility. However, I will do my best to line up tickets for an EPL match and I would be grateful for any suggestions that others may have.

On that note, are there are any Championship League clubs in or around London that are especially worthwhile for visitors to consider in terms of overall experience and atmosphere?

If you're not particularly set on one team over all others, I'd wait until the fixtures are announced and take it from there tbh.

Ah, gotcha. Still a great use of some time in London. :D

There is another thread that had some good info in it, though a bit more dated. https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/u-k-...need-know.html
Would be worth a read-thru if you haven't seen it yet. That is actually the thread where I posted about my visits.

Thank you for the suggestion. I'm just starting my research on the soccer component of the trip and I appreciate the help!

The changing of kick off times from the traditional 3pm Saturday for TV coverage could be your friend here (it's not for many season ticket holders, but that's another thread on a different forum!) - you should have a good chance of being able to attend 2 London games on 2 consecutive days, if you can leave your family for some father/son football bonding :D
As you're looking at the start of the season, then the TV games for the first few weeks are normally announced when the full schedule is announced - last year it was June 16th for the Premier League and June 23rd for the Championship and below.
I support QPR which is an old style compact ground in West London which should contrast nicely to the newer Premier League stadia and it's also only a 10 minute walk from the huge Westfield Shopping Centre ;) - if they're at home and it would fit in with your schedule then I should be able to get you a couple of complimentary tickets for the game as well.
Happy to help with any other questions!

Thank you for the kind offer! From what I've seen online, QPR would be a fantastic experience.

I am anxiously awaiting the release of the schedules so I can make plans. We specifically extended our stay in London to be there for opening weekend, so I am intent on squeezing in at least one game with my son. Two would be even better, although I may have to negotiate a deal with my wife and daughter to make that happen ;)

Once I know who is playing and when, I will be back here to solicit some collective wisdom on how to plan it out.

Well, the EPL fixtures have been released. There are 3 opening week matches when I'm in London... Arsenal, Chelsea and Brentford are hosting. Based on what I've read, it feels like the odds of landing tickets for any of them are slim, but I've decided to cast my lot with the Gunners and I've joined the Arsenal Canada club. We'll see whether that results in a pair of tickets, otherwise a fool and his $60 for membership fees have been parted.

Next week the EFL Championship fixtures come out, so we'll see whether a match hosted by one of the London clubs, Bristol or Cardiff is in the cards for me. Do EFL Championship clubs generally require advance purchase, or is it typically possible to buy tickets on a walk-up basis?

It varies.

At Norwich, where season tickets are sold out and therefore limited tickets are available to members, there's less chance.

I imagine the same will be true of our local rivals down the road at Ipswich, where their recent success has reversed a very significant reduction in attendances.

There's a smaller capacity at Rotherham, but a very loyal local support, so again they are likely to operating at close to capacity.

At QPR, Cardiff, Stoke, Hull and even Sunderland - given their massive capacity - you're probably in good shape.

Obviously if you go down another division or two, where you'll find terracing still in place, it gets easier still.

When I have attended Championship fixtures in London, I was able to buy a ticket prior to game day. I have done Brentford, Fulham, and QPR.
Didn't need to pay for membership or anything. IIRC, at some point they opened for sale to general public and I was able to snag one.
Pleased I had it sorted ahead of time and not have to stress about a true "walk up" scenario.

Do report back on your experiences, as mine were all pre-COVID and things do change.

OK, the EFL Championship fixtures have come out and Millwall is on the calendar during my visit. This is pretty exciting to me, The Den sounds like an, ahem, colorful place to see a match. Hopefully it is not too wild for my 10 year old son!

So if my Arsenal Canada ticketing membership doesn't come through for me (I'm in the queue for tickets and should find out any day now), Millwall it is.

Colourful is one way of describing Millwall ...

I like the place because even when only half full the locals generate a lot of noise. I know people who work there, at first team level, and love it. You won't find many of the corporate crew there, and the vast majority of the fans are ordinary, decent people that love watching football.

Certainly the previous reputation for hooliganism is largely a thing of the past, partly because of the work the club has done to eliminate racism, partly because of improved policing, partly because access back to the train station is better controlled and segregated from the away end so the temperature after the game is diminished.

However, you need to keep your wits about you. Sit in the wrong place and whilst you won't personally come to any harm, your son may see behaviour you're not particularly comfortable with. I've seen young kids in the away end who think it'd be fun to try and wind the locals up, and the end result has not been a great advert for the game. Believe me, there's a time and place for banter, and Millwall ain't it!

If you attend, my advice would be to get seats in the Barry Kitchener Stand. The Dockers Stand close to the away end is where the issues are most likely to occur. You will, most likely, have a great day and if Millwall win you won't find anywhere noisier or more committed.