Manchester City has partnered with ticket marketplace viagogo in a bid to provide fans from outside of the UK more opportunities to watch its men’s and women’s teams.
Following the deal, Manchester City’s hospitality tickets will be available via the platform’s marketplace, with the deal looking to solve one of the biggest issues facing the Premier League in recent years: ticketing scams.
These scams have become prevalent across the top leagues in Europe. While it is a significant problem for domestic supporters, international fans have to be even more cautious as prices are typically more costly.
The Premier League club and viagogo will aim to mitigate this by marking authentic tickets with an ‘Official Partner’ designation, aiming to give fans more confidence when purchasing.
Danny Wilson, Managing Director, Manchester City Operations, said: “We’re pleased to welcome viagogo as an official partner of Manchester City. By working closely with viagogo throughout this partnership, we will be able to offer a secure, safe option for fans to purchase hospitality in this way, improving access and best practices along the way alongside our current ticketing infrastructure.”
Additionally, Manchester City aims to reach more global fans with this partnership, leveraging the platform’s presence in 195 countries, perhaps targeting them as they are typically willing to pay more than local supporters.
Hospitality has become a reliable revenue source for many top teams. This has led clubs to explore moving from their traditional and historical stadiums to modern venues, which can better accommodate hospitality offerings.
AC and Inter Milan are one of the most recent examples of this, with both clubs looking to demolish the San Siro and replace it with a smaller but more contemporary home. Other clubs have redeveloped stands to cater for better hospitality offerings, such as Premier League side Fulham.
Real Madrid’s renovated Santiago Bernabeu stadium is the best example of this, with its over €1bn renovation contributing to the club’s record-setting €1bn revenue it achieved during the 2023/24 financial year.
Matt Drew, International Business Development Lead at viagogo, said: “Manchester City understands the importance of its supporter base both in the UK and across the world and our global platform will provide powerful data to enhance the club’s understanding of existing and further potential fans.
“Our goal is to enable more fans to enjoy the unbeatable live experience of matchday attendance with a safe, secure, and seamless experience, while helping our partner further expand their global reach. This partnership also highlights the benefits of viagogo’s direct issuance strategy, enabling Manchester City to distribute ticket inventory directly on the platform, giving fans more choice to see world-class football.”