For the first time, I ventured into London to watch England against Uruguay at Wembley. For many, Wembley is depicted as a bucket-list experience; however, faces criticism regularly due to its extortionate pricing and not-so-great atmosphere.
Coming from someone who watches League Two football every week and is a strong hater of modern football’s ideals, I assessed whether it was worth my money on a few key factors, or whether I will be sticking to the EFL from now on.
Undeniably, watching England is a premium event. I wouldn’t have expected prices to be comparable to the EFL, but I have to say I was pleasantly surprised.
For the game I attended, adult tickets were as low as £25 (albeit in the family area, where there would be a few annoying children), and a maximum of £45 outside of the Hospitality or Premium options available.
These prices comparatively mirror the standard away ticket price in the Championship, with the current average price lying just over £30, with some clubs (namely Coventry City and Southampton) sometimes reaching upwards of £40 for more meaningful games.
Even the back-row seats get you a decent view of the game for the money. From an anecdotal view, I’ve spent £38 on a restricted view seat at Ipswich Town, and my seat, eight rows from the back, was a ten times more enjoyable viewing experience!
Across the EFL, some clubs certainly have switched dynamically, from prioritising the accommodation of supporters to focusing primarily on “profit maxing”, viewing clubs as financial assets rather than civic institutions, with an objective to grow revenue year after year.
With the aim of inflated profits, upward pressures are placed on commercial pricing, arguably exploiting the loyalty of supporters across all three divisions.
Arguably, in a modern football world where working-class supporters are slowly being priced out of watching the beautiful game, having the opportunity to watch England at Wembley for these sorts of prices perhaps isn’t quite as high as you might expect. I, for one, was undeniably pretty positive regarding the ticket prices.
Now, here is where I switch my tone to sounding like a misery once again. For me, it is outrageous.
Despite the fact that I don’t drink alcohol, those I travelled with did, and were disgusted by the prices for a humble pint of beer or any beverage for that matter.
One singular beer set them back almost £8, and even when you factor in “London Prices” alongside typical stadium pricing, eight is still incredibly steep, especially when you cannot even drink it with a few of the game!
Even drinks that are not alcoholic were seriously overpriced. A singular bottle of water was £3.20, as well as a Diet Coke being in the region of £5.
Comparing this to the EFL, you can certainly argue that, likewise, they are slightly overpriced; however, I am yet to experience a ground charging more than £3 for a soft drink. For those visiting Wembley in the future, I’d advise you to fill yourself up with booze and food ahead of arrival!
Furthermore, I was stunned by how abysmal the transport options were. Of course, the underground or local train stations are the main source, but reports state that post-event, waiting times can be upwards of an hour, which explains why supporters began to flood out of Wembley as early as the 70th minute!
On the other hand, driving is the other favourite options, but options are restricted. Each one comes with its own flaw. Local car parks are suitable, but you guessed it, these have another hour-long wait to get-out of, or you could hire out someone’s driveway to park, for typically between £20 and £25.
For a stadium that holds 90,000, you would expect them to facilitate day-trippers better than this; however, I’m convinced that every single club in the EFL caters for the size of the attendance better than this, and for a much lower price.
One word. Flat.
It never seems to be great at Wembley on the telly, and it certainly mirrored my expectations. It may have been a friendly, but there weren’t even the usual England chants coming from the areas surrounding the drum below me.
Block 511, where I was located, despite being safe standing, felt incredibly watered down, with a majority of the atmosphere coming from either the large tour groups of school children trying to get an atmosphere going or a few drunk Leeds fans singing about Marcelo Bielsa!
The only thing reminiscent of a proper EFL game was the Uruguay fans. They produced some serious limbs when the penalty went in, but other than that, 90,000 people can definitely do better than that! Dare I say, I’ve seen atmospheres in League Two twice as good as England vs Uruguay!
One final complaint from me is that pre-match lightshows are not for me. I can get on board with a pre-match DJ if they know what they are doing (which fortunately they did), but pre-match lightshow seems excessive; this isn’t an Adele or Coldplay concert, it is an England game.
Of course, the price alone does not determine worth. A key factor is the nature of the football itself, and the quality on the pitch also matters, and here my opinion becomes more nuanced.
Going from watching Rob Hunt and Will Goodwin struggle to make a pass for Colchester on the previous weekend, to seeing England’s elite such as Cole Palmer and Marcus Rashford is quite the step up, but arguably, it didn’t make the game any more entertaining.
Due to the game’s nature as a pre-tournament “send-off series, it felt slightly slow and experimental. The game itself felt quite stale; there wasn’t a standout performer on the pitch, despite many fighting for their place in Thomas Tuchel’s World Cup squad in the summer, ultimately not matching the intensity and unpredictability that occurs across EFL matches.
Despite the game’s lack of quality, I won’t deny that I thoroughly enjoyed the game, and being able to see some of England’s elite players (as well as some standouts for Uruguay, such as Federico Valverde and Ronald Araujo) live in the flesh was an incredibly enjoyable experience, and worth the ticket price for me.
Additionally, people seemed welcoming and friendly across the area where I was sitting; however, it just lacked that sense of knowing everyone sitting or standing around you that you would get at an EFL game, especially amongst away ends. It’s that cohesion amongst supporters that makes EFL matchdays so special to me.
The value of watching England at Wembley depends largely on expectations.
For those seeking consistent entertainment or purely assessing cost against on-pitch quality, it may not always seem worthwhile, especially friendlies of an experimental nature, but for those who have the financial capacity to support their nation or are there for a one-off experience, a trip is absolutely justified.
Personally, I’d say in a corporate world of football, focused on maximum profits, accessible tickets for as low as £30 is impressive; however, once inside the stadium, everything purchasable just simply doesn’t seem worth the money.
In the right contexts, it offers something distinctive that perhaps otherwise, supporters of smaller clubs such as myself may never experience.
It is an experience defined less by the game itself and more by the feeling of being there, in such a spectacular stadium, watching some of the world’s best players.
So overall, I’d say it is an incredible experience, but outside of the ticket price, the pricing for food, drink and travel doesn’t seem particularly ideal, especially for working-class individuals. Large aspects seem tailored to the upper-class, and do not factor in the rising cost of living.
I will be sticking with the EFL for my football fix, but I’d certainly be inclined to visit again if ticket prices remain at the level that they are. However, I will never be purchasing anything inside the ground!
