Euro 2024 in Germany: ticket and travel tips for the European Football Championship

The tournament consists of 51 matches and is played in 14 stadiums. The major participating cities are spread throughout Germany. So far, 21 countries have prevailed in qualifying matches and 3 more will be added in play-offs in the spring. All were drawn into 4 groups in Hamburg on 2 December 2023. The best, second and third-placed teams will then play each other in the round of 16, quarter-finals and semi-finals between the end of June and into July. The spectacle will finally be decided in the final match on 14 July.

As in previous years, more football fans want to buy tickets for the European Championships than there are seats in the stadiums. There will be no standing room at EURO 2024. The available tickets are subject to a fixed allocation and this time total 2.7 million seats. The tickets will be sold in several rounds of draws, most of which interested parties have already applied for:

In the first and largest ticket lottery round on 14 November 2023, 1.2 million tickets had already been confirmed, around 20 million had applied via the European Championship website (euro24.com) and naturally the majority of over 18 million came away empty-handed and were rejected. Those who were accepted and had applied for several tickets either had to take all the tickets or give up their claim completely. The second draw took place on 2 December 2023 directly after the team draw. Once again, around 1 million digital tickets went over the virtual counter. This time, they mainly went to fans of the qualifying nations outside Germany. To this end, national football associations of the qualified teams are selling supporter tickets to members of their fan clubs, for example.

The application phase for tickets is currently still ongoing: football fans can still apply for standard tickets and accessibility tickets (e.g. with a disabled pass for barrier-free seats with an accompanying person) at the official UEFA advance booking office up to and including 12 December 2023 until 2 pm. Fans will be informed by email by 31 January 2023 whether they have been lucky enough to attend a match on site. These emails will then contain the link to the tickets, a confirmation of payment and an invoice from UEFA.

Anyone who does not pay by the date stated therein will forfeit their ticket reservation free of charge. Anyone who has applied for several tickets for a match must take them all or the reservation will also expire. You should therefore only register for the matches that really interest you. If you are successful, you will have to pay for them or lose all your ticket reservations in return.

There is ONLY the official UEFA ticket portal, where you have to create an account for the application and fill in the following information in addition to personal data:

• the team you support, if any ("I am a fan of...")
• desired match or matches
• preferred price category
• the number of tickets for which you would like to apply 
• acceptance or refusal, whether other price categories would also be acceptable

The last chance to buy European Championship tickets will be during the final sales phase, mainly in March 2024. These remaining 500,000 tickets will be added to the ticket lottery as a last-minute opportunity after the play-offs of the three remaining participating countries and shortly before the tournament during the knockout elimination round.

In the group stage, there are 4 categories ranging from 30 to 200 euros, while the opening match costs between 50 and 600 euros. The prices for the final matches of the elimination rounds start at 50 and end at 1000 euros, depending on the category. Prices above this, for example in supporter packs with additional services, are also on offer, and it should also be borne in mind that UEFA reserves the right to adjust prices.

The cheapest "Fans First" tickets are usually sold out faster than the expensive "Prime Seats". In the most expensive category 1, seats in the last final match with the best view can also cost €2,000. Only digital tickets can be purchased via the official UEFA app. If you are offered paper tickets, it is most likely a scam!

EURO2024 tickets are issued to the person ordering them. It is possible to order for up to four people in addition to your own name. You then have to enter the names of these "guests" later in an app. These persons may vary from match to match.

UEFA will only allow EURO 2024 tickets to be returned or resold via official channels. This is intended to prevent the usual black market as far as possible. However, UEFA's own resale platform will only be launched in the spring and will only allow the purchase prices acquired with fixed prices. In this way, UEFA is attempting to prevent speculation and establish a secure point of purchase for fans.

There are already offers, e.g. on the ticket platform Viagogo for EURO2024. We strongly advise caution in this regard! On the one hand, there have been repeated complaints about this company in the past in the ECC network's consumer protection section. On the other hand, Viagogo is not a licensed seller of EUOR2024 tickets and therefore does not have its own ticket contingent. This Swiss-based event ticket retailer merely acts as an intermediary between private sellers and customers and collects expensive brokerage fees, regardless of whether a deal has been concluded. There is therefore no ticket guarantee with this provider! We regularly have complaints about Viagogo because the brokerage fee has to be paid for tickets that are offered but not transferred or do not exist and is not refunded.

UEFA's endeavour to provide official resale prices on a standardised platform reduces the risk of finding invalid, counterfeit or overpriced tickets and creates a secure place to exchange tickets. Major events such as EURO2024 always attract criminals who abuse the hype surrounding the event. The hype leads to carelessness, especially when a target group is emotionalised and willing to spend large sums of money. Please note the following tips:

Only buy tickets officially from

• UEFA Website
• EURO2024 App
• UEFA resale platform (coming from spring 2024)

If football fans try to get hold of the coveted tickets off the official route, they run the risk of buying a counterfeit, overpriced and/or invalid digital ticket. Access to the stadium is denied or they pay without ever getting a ticket.

Phishing attacks expected

If you are contacted by email, always check the sender's address. The official one always ends with "@uefa.com". Check links in emails to see where they redirect you before you click on them. The police are expecting phishing attempts in fake messages claiming to be from UEFA.

Secure accommodation

Choose rooms that are listed on established booking platforms and opt for providers with predominantly positive reviews on neutral platforms. When booking, use a payment system that is directly available on the platform to avoid booking fake accommodation that doesn't even exist. The risk of fraud increases considerably if you communicate and pay outside of these platforms!

With millions of additional travellers during EURO2024, it is naturally a good idea to book transport and accommodation early. However, long-distance ICE trains can only be booked 180 days before the date of travel. The DFB and UEFA have reached agreements with Deutsche Bahn and the public transport companies in the participating cities. The aim is to reduce the overall volume of traffic and motivate fans to travel more sustainably.

• Long-distance journeys in 2nd ICE class cost around 30 euros for EURO2024 ticket holders.
• The EURO2024 tickets themselves are also valid as tickets for local public transport on the respective match days.
• Long-distance coach connections and private railway companies are also a cost-effective option. Although these only cover certain routes, they are often cheaper than the DB ticket.
• As many venues are located in cities that can be reached conveniently and at a flat rate of €49 with the Deutschland-Ticket, this monthly ticket is often a good choice in terms of price. Please note, however, that the Deutschland-Ticket is not valid for long-distance trains (IC, ICE, EC), but only for regional trains!
• The DB discount card, the "TrialBahnCard 25", reduces the price of all 2nd class journeys by a quarter for three months.
• Please note: Both the Deutschland Ticket and the TrialBahnCard are subscription contracts that are automatically extended from one month to the following month if you do nothing. It is best to cancel the continuation of the subscription shortly after purchase so as not to miss the cancellation period and not have to pay for the following month when the EURO2024 is already over.

We have comprehensive articles on your passenger rights - for example, when travelling by plane, hire car, coach or train.

During EURO2024, high price increases for hotel rooms are expected in the affected cities. Here, too, you should therefore organise your accommodation in good time. Please also note the following:

• It is advisable to use established booking platforms and favour providers with many positive reviews. If possible, opt for options with flexible cancellation conditions and avoid advance payments.
• In the case of private rentals, also check for positive guest reviews and that the landlord has complied with the platform's guidelines (e.g. AirBnB). Such attempts are particularly threatening if criminals suggest alternative payment processing such as with "PayPal Friends and Family" without any protection through chargeback options or buyer protection.
• If you want to book a hotel room, check the official website of the hotel operator. This may allow you to book earlier and sometimes more cheaply than via external online booking platforms. Make sure you are always on the hotel's official website to avoid falling for misleading adverts on search engines that claim to offer direct links to the hotel. These misleading adverts could lead to overpayments and difficulties with your booking.