How to buy football tickets safely

Football tickets are a magnet for scammers. These are the habits that keep you safe, whichever club you are going to see.

The short version

1. Buy only from the club's own website, its official ticket exchange or a partner the club names. That is all we link to.
2. Type the club's address yourself or tap a link on the club's own site. Fake shops copy the real one's look and use an address that is almost right.
3. Never pay by bank transfer, gift card, crypto or a "friend" on social media. Pay by card. In the UK a credit card adds extra protection on purchases over £100.
4. Be wary of anyone selling a "guaranteed" ticket to a sold-out game. If members can't get one, a stranger on a message app can't either.
5. Check the name rules. Many clubs put your name on the ticket and may ask for ID. A ticket in someone else's name, or one bought off the club's system, may be void at the gate.
6. Use the official exchange if you can't go, or want to buy a ticket a member can no longer use. It moves tickets safely and the club knows who holds them.

If you can't get a ticket

• Look for the "ways in" on the game: joining the club, the official exchange, and official hospitality packages.
• Do a stadium tour. It is the one way almost anyone can get inside a famous ground.
• Pick another game nearby from the list of games you can get into: the "Plan B" on a game shows open-sale matches within reach.

What we do, and don't do

• We link only to clubs' own ticket pages and official exchanges. We never link to resale sites.
• We never sell tickets and never take payments. Links to tours, hotels and official hospitality agents may earn us a commission; they are marked, and they never change a label or a score. See how we make money.
• We can be wrong. Ticket rules change. Always check the club's page before you pay, and tell us if something is off: [email protected].

If something goes wrong

Contact your card provider straight away, keep every message and receipt, and report it. In the UK that is Action Fraud (actionfraud.police.uk); elsewhere, your local police or consumer-protection service. Tell the club too.

Last updated 15 November 2026. Questions: [email protected].