In a nutshell
- Catching a match with one of London’s football clubs is a seriously unforgettable experience — even if you’re not a die-hard fan.
- Getting tickets isn’t all that easy. Your best bet is an official ticket marketplace like Sports Events 365 — or go for a less popular match where seats are still available.
- London has seven Premier League teams, so there’s a great chance a match is on during your visit. The second division also has exciting games in classic English grounds that football romantics will love.
- Can’t get match tickets? A stadium tour is a brilliant alternative — and many London city passes already include entry to several stadiums.
Why You Absolutely Should Catch a Soccer Game in London
The English Premier League is not only the best league in the world, but the atmosphere in English football stadiums is truly something special.
So if you’re into soccer, catching a football match in London is a must.
And even if you’re not, it’s still an amazing experience. After all, you’ll be witnessing British culture live and in person.
Still planning your London trip and looking for a place to stay? We’ve put together the best tips for every type of traveler.
How Do I Get Tickets to a Soccer Game in London?
Unfortunately, getting tickets to a football match in London isn’t easy. The clubs’ websites always have the most up-to-date information on ticket sales, but in most cases that won’t do you much good.
Tickets are first sold exclusively to club members, and the stadium is usually sold out by then. Still, there are ways to get tickets legally.
#1 Buy Tickets on Official Ticket Marketplaces
There are several ticket marketplaces that have exclusive allotments of football tickets. You can buy tickets there without worrying about doing anything illegal. The tickets are of course a bit more expensive than buying directly from the club, but often it’s the only way to get any at all.
We’ve had good experiences with Sports Events 365. You can find tickets for almost every game there.
Check currently available tickets at Sports Events 365
#2 Scalpers Outside the Stadium
Of course, there’s also a black market outside the stadium in London. But since ticket touting is illegal, we wouldn’t recommend this option — not least because there’s always a chance you’ll end up with counterfeit tickets.
If you still want to try your luck, look out for people in front of the stadium asking if anyone has a spare ticket. That’s usually the code for people who want to sell one.
#3 Go to Less Popular Games
A football match in London is always an experience, even if it’s not Chelsea vs. Manchester or Arsenal vs. Liverpool. For those games, you’ll barely be able to find a ticket at a reasonable price. The same goes for London derbies.
Your chances are better with less popular games. FC Fulham’s ground, for example, is often not completely sold out, and there are also some interesting clubs in the second division.
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Which Football Clubs Are There in London?
The stadiums are all located outside the city center. The grounds of FC Millwall, FC Chelsea, and FC Fulham are relatively close to the center.
All stadiums are very well connected to public transportation, so getting to any of them is easy.
London is home to no fewer than 7 football clubs that play in the Premier League. So if you’re planning a city trip to London, there’s a very good chance a match will be happening — except during the summer break, of course.
The table below gives you an overview of all the football stadiums in London and which clubs play at each one.
| Stadium | Capacity | Club | League |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wembley Stadium | 90,000 | National Team | - |
| Tottenham Hotspur Stadium | 62,850 | Tottenham Hotspur | Premier League |
| Emirates Stadium | 60,704 | Arsenal FC | Premier League |
| London Stadium | 60,000 | West Ham United | Premier League |
| Stamford Bridge | 40,343 | Chelsea FC | Premier League |
| The Valley | 27,111 | Charlton Athletic | League One (3rd Division) |
| Craven Cottage | 25,700 | Fulham FC | Premier League |
| Selhurst Park | 25,486 | Crystal Palace | Premier League |
| The Den | 20,146 | Millwall FC | Championship (2nd Division) |
| Loftus Road | 18,439 | Queens Park Rangers | Championship |
| Brentford Community Stadium | 17,250 | Brentford FC | Premier League |
| Brisbane Road | 9,271 | Leyton Orient | League Two (4th Division) |
| Plough Lane | 9,215 | AFC Wimbledon | League Two |
| The Hive Stadium | 6,500 | Barnet FC | National League (5th Division) |
| Victoria Road | 6,078 | Dagenham & Redbridge | National League |
| Gander Green Lane | 5,013 | Sutton United | League Two |
Clubs in the Premier League
Wembley Stadium: London's Largest Stadium
Wembley Stadium is legendary and is certainly one of the most famous stadiums in the world. Football fans will know it as the site of the iconic 1966 World Cup Final and the 1996 European Championship — a ground that’s made history more than once.
The current stadium, however, has little in common with the old Wembley beyond the name and location. The old ground was completely demolished, and in 2007 a brand-new facility opened on the same site.
With 90,000 seats, Wembley is the second-largest stadium in Europe after Camp Nou in Barcelona, and we’d even go so far as to count Wembley Stadium among the top sights of London.
No permanent club plays there, however. The stadium is only used for matches of the English national team. It also hosts the FA Cup Final and the playoff matches for promotion to the Premier League.
In addition, the stadium is used for select games of the American NFL and of course for major concerts.
But even without a game, a visit to Wembley Stadium is totally worth it — you can go behind the scenes on a guided tour.
Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
Tottenham Hotspur is one of the best-known London football clubs and can reliably be found near the top of the Premier League.
For more than 100 years, the Spurs played at White Hart Lane, until the old stadium was demolished to make way for a modern arena. Since 2019, the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium has stood on the same site, making it the second-largest stadium in London after Wembley.
Tickets are nearly impossible to get through regular channels, but it is possible via ticket platforms.
You can also visit the stadium on a stadium tour, and if you’re feeling brave, an extra-special highlight awaits: the Dare Skywalk experience. On a guided, fully secured tour, you’ll head up to the roof of the stadium — definitely a one-of-a-kind activity in London.
Book the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium Tour
Tottenham Hotspur official website
Tottenham tickets at Sports Events 365
FC Arsenal: Emirates Stadium
FC Arsenal is one of the most famous English football clubs. The legendary Highbury Stadium was world-renowned, but it eventually had to make way for a new build.
The modern Emirates Stadium has everything a contemporary arena needs — just not the charm of the old ground.
If tickets to a Gunners match are too pricey for you, you can also book a guided tour of the stadium. The tour is included in some London passes.
Book the Emirates Stadium Tour
Arsenal tickets at Sports Events 365
West Ham United: London Stadium
The London Stadium was originally the Olympic stadium for the 2012 Olympic Games.
After the Games, the stadium underwent an extensive renovation. The athletics facilities were removed, but the stadium still lacks the tight, intimate feel of a traditional football ground.
The new tenant is West Ham United, who moved in 2016 from the legendary Boleyn Ground to the new London Stadium. Tickets are also quite hard to come by here, as almost all seats are held by season-ticket holders.
West Ham United official website
West Ham tickets at Sports Events 365
FC Chelsea: Stamford Bridge
FC Chelsea is the most successful London club of recent times, after Roman Abramovich’s investment transformed a long-time underachiever into a serial trophy winner.
Chelsea plays its games at Stamford Bridge, which is significantly smaller than the three stadiums mentioned above. Tickets are correspondingly hard to come by and also a bit more expensive than at other clubs.
Book the Stamford Bridge Stadium Tour
Chelsea tickets at Sports Events 365
FC Fulham: Craven Cottage
If you’re after a proper dose of football romance, Craven Cottage is our top pick.
Craven Cottage is a classic English football stadium. The standout feature is the Johnny Haynes Stand — the grandstand with its distinctive roof.
FC Fulham itself is a classic yo-yo club, regularly getting relegated from the Premier League and fairly reliably bouncing back up. Tickets for their games are relatively easy to get compared to many other clubs.
FC Fulham tickets at Sports Events 365
Crystal Palace: Selhurst Park
Crystal Palace is also considered a classic yo-yo club, but has held its own in the Premier League in recent years. The team has never quite managed to break into the top half of the table, though.
Palace plays its home games at Selhurst Park in the deep south of London. The ground has genuine charm. Due to its relatively small capacity, it’s usually sold out, even though Crystal Palace isn’t one of the capital’s most popular clubs.
Crystal Palace official website
Crystal Palace tickets at Sports Events 365
Queens Park Rangers: Loftus Road
Queens Park Rangers were long a fixture in the top tier of English football. These days, QPR is mainly found in the second-division Championship.
Loftus Road is a bit dated, making it a perfect destination for football romantics. The stands are extremely close to the pitch.
Queens Park Rangers official website
FC Brentford: Brentford Community Stadium
FC Brentford is not one of London’s storied football clubs, having only made it to the top flight of English soccer for the first time in 2021.
The club’s approach is unusual but fascinating. Players are selected primarily based on mathematical algorithms, statistics, and performance data — apparently with great success.
The stadium in the London neighborhood of Brentford is small and modern, but not particularly exciting.
Lower-Division Soccer Stadiums in London
Alongside the well-known London football clubs that mostly play in the Premier League, there are several other clubs that are primarily at home in the lower divisions.
For football romantics and groundhoppers, these clubs and stadiums are of course still — or especially — worth a visit.
The Valley (Charlton Athletic)
Since being relegated from the Premier League in 2007, Charlton Athletic has been bouncing between the second and third divisions.
The Valley is undeniably top-flight quality, though, and is one of the most beautiful stadiums in London. Getting tickets is generally no problem.
Charlton Athletic official website
FC Millwall: The Den
FC Millwall is probably the most notorious club in London. That has less to do with their sporting achievements than with their hardcore fans. In the 1980s and early 1990s, Millwall’s hooligans were feared across the country and became known to a wider audience through films like Hooligans and The Football Factory.
In 2017, a Millwall fan became an English hero when he held off three armed terrorists with his bare fists, allowing several people to escape. He confronted them with the words “Fuck you, I’m Millwall!”
The wild days inside the stadium are over, though. FC Millwall plays mainly in the third-tier League One, and there are almost always spare seats at The Den.
Leyton Orient: Brisbane Road
Leyton Orient moves between the 3rd and 5th divisions. Brisbane Road is still very much worth seeing, though, and is sure to be a real experience for true football fans.
Leyton Orient official website
AFC Wimbledon: Plough Lane
The story of AFC Wimbledon is a little football fairy tale. The club was once even a top-flight side. After a period of sporting and financial failure, the investors simply decided to relocate the club to Milton Keynes — more than 60 miles away — and rename it Milton Keynes Dons.
The fans were, of course, far from pleased, and they founded AFC Wimbledon, starting over from scratch in the lowest tier. At first, fans even took to the field themselves; things have since become more professional.
After several promotions, the club played in the same division as the Milton Keynes Dons for the first time in 2016, and in 2018 they were even a division above them. The club’s home is Plough Lane, which reopened in 2020 just a few hundred meters from the historic original ground.
AFC Wimbledon official website
Those were the best-known football clubs and stadiums in London. For true groundhoppers, there are a few more lower-division clubs that play in very small stadiums. These include Sutton United, Dagenham & Redbridge, and FC Barnet.
