How to get cheap tickets to watch England play football at Wembley

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If you’re visiting London with the kids – here’s how to get cheap tickets to watch England play football at Wembley. Back in 2019, we went to watch the men’s England football team play at Wembley Stadium in London for the first time. We booked the tickets for our son Finn’s birthday present and it was the most amazing day – he’d never been to a football match before and the atmosphere was electric. We went with my sister and her little boy too, and the boys were both thoroughly mesmerised the whole time.

Finn was a massive Harry Kane fan back then so to see him score a hat-trick when we were there was just perfect. England won the match against Bulgaria, a brilliant 4 nil – what a great game to have witnessed! And, I think the kids were just as excited about the Mexican wave as the match itself. 😂

Since then we’ve been to a few football matches because the kids love it, and it’s actually a pretty affordable family day out every once in a while. It’s great fun and a brilliant treat for footie mad little ones. So, here’s everything that you need to know about visiting Wembley Stadium with the kids to watch the England football team – from ticket prices, to tube stations, rucksacks, rain and seating plans.

How can I get cheap England football tickets at Wembley Stadium?

We were really impressed with the ticket prices – having originally tried to get Tottenham tickets which cost a small fortune and are hard to come by. The first match we watched was a Euro 2020 qualifier – our tickets were £25 for each adult and just £10 for the children – cheaper than a trip to the theatre! It’s easiest to get these cheaper tickets for qualifiers and friendly matches for the games in preparation for the World Cup or EUFA Euro – though they still sell out quickly. So keep your eyes peeled, check their website in advance (https://www.wembleystadium.com/events) to find out what’s coming up, and pop the ticket release dates on your calendar.

How much does it cost to watch England play football at Wembley? Updated prices for 2025:

This image shows the seating plan for the England football matches at Wembley, with the prices for the tickets in the centre, and I think this is the first time I’ve ever reported a price decrease on the blog. For 2023, the adult tickets remained the same price while the kids’ tickets increased slightly to £12.50 per child. However, updating this for 2025, I’ve taken the prices for the England vs Latvia game due to be played in March and adult tickets are now down to £20, whilst children’s prices are back at £10. So, it’s actually cheaper now than it was back in 2019 when we first started going – brilliant!

The seats in the family enclosure are also still much cheaper than tickets elsewhere in the stadium – so the orange area is the section you’ll be looking to find tickets in. To benefit from these junior/family ticket prices, and make use of the family area in the stadium, you’ll need to take a young person under the age of 16 with you. For us, we also enjoy being surrounded by other families – it definitely makes it a nice atmosphere for the kids to be in. Please be aware that children under two years of age aren’t permitted to attend Wembley football matches. And, if you have a teen, children under 14 years of age must have an adult with them.

Which seats are best?

For our first match we were sat at the end of the stadium by one of the goals, in the family zone, and the position was brilliant – we had a great view and it was amazing to be so close to them scoring. Because we loved the corner seats so much, we’ve continued to book these for other matches too – though we’ve been at either side of the stadium. Another benefit of being higher up in the family zone also means that you’ll stay dry whatever the weather.

They don’t close roof at Wembley Stadium in the event of rain – it actually chucked it down at the last match we attended but luckily we didn’t get wet at all. The people who were sat in level one got very wet – the wind was blowing at an angle so it really pushed the rain onto those sat on one side of the stadium more than other. (So we were even more grateful to be sat in the higher tiered family zone!) These photos show some of the different views we’ve had from our seats from either side of the family zone.

How do you get to Wembley Stadium?

If you haven’t been before, you’ll be pleased to know (especially in the event of bad weather) that the stadium is positioned right by Wembley Park Tube Station. Make sure that you arrive with plenty of time though – the trains are rammed before and after the matches, so it’s best to arrive earlier in the day and grab a meal beforehand so you can avoid delays – there’s a McDonalds and other places to eat in walking distance nearby. On your ticket you’ll have an entry time to the stadium, this is to try and lessen the amount of people entering at one time. Our last slot was 2 hours before kick off, which seemed like it would be ages to wait, but there was a DJ playing and all sorts of pre-match stuff and warming up going on down on the pitch. The time passed pretty quickly.

It can often take about 20-30 minutes to get out of the stadium after the match, and then with the large crowds headed towards the tube station, the police will control the flow of people to ensure that it doesn’t get too crowded. Though there are a huge amount of people all headed in the same direction, it usually moves surprisingly quickly (they use a traffic light system to get people to stop and start in sections) – just make sure that you keep hold of the kids’ hands as it’ll be extremely busy. If you want to avoid this, then I’ve been told that Wembley Overground Station is usually less busy. If you are taking the tube (we always do as we park at Greenwich and tube in), the trains will come every few minutes so it’s never too long to wait, and the police intervention prevents them from being too overcrowded.

Can I take a rucksack into Wembley?

When you enter Wembley Stadium before the match, you’ll queue and have your bags checked airport security style – try to avoid bringing much with you to speed this up. They also have a strict bag policy at Wembley Stadium:

So, if you do need some supplies for the kids, get everyone to take an individual small backpack, as large bags are not permitted. It’s also important to note that the stadium is now entirely cashless – so anything you buy inside will need to be purchased by card payment only. Food and drink, pushchairs and large umbrellas are also not permitted in the stadium. (Though we do bring sweets for the kids and it’s never been a problem.) You can also bring an empty disposable plastic bottle up to the size of 500ml which can be filled inside if you’d like some water whilst avoiding the expensive food and drink costs within the stadium. (I think bottles of water cost around £2.50 each inside otherwise!)

Is it good value for money?

I hope that my guide on how to get cheap tickets to watch England play football at Wembley has been helpful – and it’s actually probably one of the most affordable activities to do in London with the kids. So, yes, I do think it’s good value for money and I would highly recommend attending a football match at Wembley Stadium if you have a little football fan. It won’t break the bank, the atmosphere is incredible and it’s a special day out that they’ll remember forever.

For more city adventures, check out my other ‘London with kids’ articles:

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2 comments

Mr M A Winward says:

29th August 2023 at 11:51 am

Hi can do they serve Alcohol in the family enclosure please?
Thanks

1. Natalie says:
  
  16th September 2023 at 1:03 pm
  
  Hi,
  I’m not sure on this one sorry, might be worth contacting the arena to check before you book.
  Nat x