We asked our sports tickets specialist Anthony Hanson how his team can help fans of the UK’s biggest sport.
What are members asking for?
Right now, we are looking into tickets for major tournaments such as the FA Cup and the Champions League Final in Munich – Arsenal and Chelsea are both still in the running for the latter. This year is a big year for international competition. We are also expecting to get lots of requests for England and Ireland’s matches at Euro 2012, and Ireland fans are particularly keen to see their team in its first big competition for years.
Next year’s Champions League Final is at Wembley – members can call us now to register their interest for this.
The vast majority of requests are related to the Premier League, but we will look at any requirement, including the lower divisions and football in Europe. Lots of members ask us to get tickets for league games in Spain and Italy, for example. In particular, ‘El Clásico’ (any match between Real Madrid and Barcelona) is always in high demand. We have suppliers in Europe to help us with this.
In the UK, the most popular requests are for tickets for the big teams such as Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool.
Can you get tickets at the last minute?
If a member calls us two days before a game involving a Premier League club, obviously tickets are difficult to source, so we like to find out well ahead of time which club a member follows and compile a list of the matches they are interested in. When those tickets are about to go on sale we will call the member, let them know the situation and give them the best options.
For the most popular clubs, sometimes tickets do not reach the stage where anyone can buy them. With Arsenal, for example, we’d always recommend taking out membership of the club as their tickets usually sell out to their own members before they can go on sale to the general public.
I’d like to take my dad to a match for his birthday, and do something special; any ideas?
For special occasions, we would usually suggest a hospitality package. We can also arrange things such as getting someone’s name into the official match programme, and having an announcement made in the stadium at half-time.
What about season tickets?
Members often ask about season tickets. We look at these requests on a case-by-case basis, as availability will differ according to the club. For instance, Liverpool used to operate an eight-year waiting list, which has now been suspended, making the wait even longer.
We are happy to do the research on any club and get back to members with the best options.
I want to entertain clients; what can you do?
We can let you know what the biggest games are this weekend in your area. If the options at a specific club aren’t suitable, we will contact our suppliers to see if there’s anything more appropriate for you.
What’s in high demand?
One of the most popular teams at the moment is Manchester City, recently enjoying success after years of mediocrity. Tickets for their games are suddenly very difficult to get hold of. Before, it was simply a case of calling the club but now anyone wishing to buy a ticket must have a booking history with them. We can advise on how to get this through buying hospitality packages, which can actually be good value at around £70 per person.
What else can you do?
A very special request that we took care of last year was to organise for a member to have a relative’s ashes scattered on the pitch at Anfield. We arranged for an official to take the family on an official tour of the stadium, and then spread the ashes afterwards. They were very happy that they were able to carry out the last wishes of their loved one, who was a devout Liverpool fan.
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