How to Get Soccer Tickets in Buenos Aires: A Complete Guide for Tourists

If you’re planning to attend a soccer match in Buenos Aires, getting your hands on tickets might not be as straightforward as you’re used to. Back home, buying soccer tickets is often as simple as going online or using TicketMaster, but securing tickets for a Primera División match in Buenos Aires can be more challenging, especially if you don’t speak Spanish or aren’t familiar with the local process. In this complete guide for visitors, we’ll walk you through everything you need to know to buy soccer tickets in Buenos Aires, avoid common mistakes, find the best seats and fully enjoy the passion of Argentine football.

While it’s possible to buy soccer tickets at some stadiums on the day of the game, this isn’t always guaranteed. Popular clubs like Boca Juniors often restrict ticket sales to members only, and River Plate gives priority to club members and their fan club before making tickets available to the public. Club office sale dates and regulations can vary from club to club, game dates may change, all making it tricky to know where to buy tickets at the stadium and whether they’ll still be available when you arrive. For major matches, tickets often sell out early to club members or are only available in advance. To avoid disappointment, it’s crucial to plan how to buy your soccer tickets, whether you choose to go solo or with a group.

If you’re planning to attend a soccer match in Argentina on your own, this guide offers essential tips on what you need to know for experiencing live soccer in Buenos Aires.

If you prefer to skip all the research, leg work and logistics that are uniquely Argentinian, we offer soccer game packages with pregame food, beers, soft drinks, knowledgeable bilingual guides, transportation to and from which can be reserved in advance.

🎟️Football tickets, getting there & stadium entry🏟️

Buying soccer tickets in advance

Primera league clubs will announce their advance ticket sales on their respective websites the week of the game. All matches are grouped per week and exact match dates/kick off times are not confirmed by the AFA until 1-3 weeks before. Tickets may be sold at the stadium on game day or more commonly at the club’s main office a couple of days before.

For those hoping to purchase tickets more than a week in advance directly from the club will have to unfortunately wait until the week of the match.

💡Local tip: Due to rampant inflation and fluctuating exchange rates in Argentina, many clubs delay the announcement of public ticket sales on purpose. To cope with these economic shifts, clubs are offering significantly better rates to members for individual games, while non-members are charged higher prices for one-time use tickets.

 Here is a helpful map with all of the more popular Argentina Primera league stadiums:

For a big football match, people line up early for public ticket sales. If you’re patient enough to join the die-hards in line, know that there will be a queue several blocks long and tickets will sell out. Triple check the info for ticket sales on the club’s official website or Futbol website Ole as times/dates/locations may change. Clubs like River Plate will give strict priority to club members and Boca Juniors do not even offer public ticket sales anymore. If you’re not sure or misinformed beforehand, you could end up going on the wrong day, or standing in the wrong line (members only line).

Scalpers and Third-Party Vendors: Last-Minute Ticket Options

Another option on the day of a game is to buy a ticket from a scalper outside the stadium before a match or from an unauthorized online vendor platforms. We are not fans of Viagogo or Stubhub as their occasional failed deliveries often lead guests our way frantically seeking tickets on game days so our view is biased. But there are success stories.

Scalpers are around on game days, but frowned upon by police so they will want to keep their distance from the stadium. If you chance it and buy from a scalper, check the tickets and talk to a few to compare prices and gauge what the tickets should look like and cost.

Scalping at River Plate: If it’s a ticket for a River Plate game at their massive “El Monumental” stadium take note that their security and entry policies have become cumbersome to say the least. Following the 2018 Copa Libertadores championship incident where some hooligans pelted the Boca Juniors bus in transit, River Plate have applied measures to keep hooligans and criminals out. The club sells tickets to members only first then the official fan club before moving on to public sales. Almost all tickets have now shifted to a River Plate hosted facial recognition system as of January 2025. In theory there may be “protocolos“, one time special use tickets given to sponsors and friends of the players, but they are very uncommon now making scalping almost a fool’s errand at River.

Scalping at Boca Juniors:

There is a 7 to 8 year waiting list to become a member for La Bombonera matches, so getting entry to Boca Juniors games is tricky. Boca Juniors club uses plastic ID cards that are reused for entry to all games. Typically someone will lend you a card and set a point for the card’s return. Membership ID cards will not work if monthly dues are not up to date or the card has been reported as lost/stolen.

💡About 10% of Boca’s stadium have one time use plastic card tickets for international tournaments and regular season games. These would be the best case scenario for Boca Juniors matches.

Scalping in general: Clubs are slowly transitioning from paper tickets with magnetic strips to one time use plastic cards, QR codes and in the case of River, facial recognition. Cards and paper tickets are counterfeited so if the deal seems to good to be true then it probably is. Most tickets have a value printed on them to help you gauge what you should be paying. Ticket values are also publicized on the club’s pages with the exception of Boca Juniors.

At the Stadium on Game Day

At the stadium on game day

On game days buses, trains and subways that go near the stadiums will be packed with fans, chanting, banging on side panels all the way to the stadium. Once you get there, entry is a bit hectic with police controlling the throngs with multiple security checkpoints. Lighters and anything deemed “throw-able” will be confiscated. We have seen perfume, sun tan lotion, make-up, e-cigarettes and other random objects seized. Women will be separated from men and searched by female police officers. Purses and backpacks are allowed, but will be inspected thoroughly. Food and drink are not allowed past the first check point.

⚠ID checks are becoming more and more standard at stadiums. Presently (2025) having a picture of your passport on your phone works just as well as presenting a home country drivers license.

Seating Options at the Stadiums: River Plate, Boca Juniors, and Beyond

The most inexpensive sections at all stadiums are the “La Popular” sections and are for fans who stand the entire match. These are most commonly the lower tier, behind goal. We recommend avoiding these sections unless you are an experienced groundhopper. The rowdy Barra Brava (ultras) section chant, jump up and down, set off flares and leading the stadium with high energy chants and song throughout the entire match, even if they’re losing. Most importantly if the fans here notice you not helping amp up the ambiance they may kick you out among other things.

💡To see pictures of various points of view at different stadiums read the descriptions on our Instagram.

The plateas are the seated sections at the stadiums and the “best” will highly depend on the stadium and your preferences. Here’s a quick run down of the main stadiums and our typical recommendations for each:

• At Boca Juniors La Bombonera: A or B for the perfect depth perception and overall view of the pitch and stadium
• At River Plate’s El Monumental: The new Belgrano or San Martin inferior are the extended lower tier sideline
• At San Lorenzo’s El Gasómetro: Platea Norte, the sideline, superior seating and cover from the elements
• Racing Club’s El Cilindro: Sector C, upper tier sideline for the best overall view of the pitch and stadium as a whole
• Independiente’s Libertadores: Either Erico or Bochini Alta, upper tier sideline

Stadium Booze and Food

⚠Alcohol has unfortunately been banned from all Argentine stadiums. It is readily sold outside the police presence though along with the traditional street food; choripan (sausage sandwhich), morcipan (blood sausage sandwich) alongside hamburgers and the sort.

The stadiums in Argentina are definitely lacking when it comes to quality food and drink options. Many stadiums get ridiculed for not offering any beverages beyond overpriced Coke products. Each sector of the stadium has a couple of basic stands serving hamburgers, hot dogs, bags of chips and candy.

The more VIP and expensive sections often times have catering staffed with stadium “chefs”. Long story short, if you are not in box seating or a catered package try to eat beforehand.

💡If you want a solid pregame meal with beers, transportation to and from arranged, local guides and fellow futbol fans from around the world joining you for a fun outing check out our football game packages.

What Colors to Wear and Avoid at Buenos Aires Soccer Matches

Colors count. You’ll appreciate wearing the right team colors, or minimum avoid wearing the rival team colors. If you’re into doing it right you can get jerseys and futbol merchandise on Florida and Lavalle pedestrian streets in downtown Buenos Aires or search Google maps for “tienda de deportes cerca de mi” to see if any sport stores are nearby. Unofficial jerseys and older versions can be found at sport stores at discount pricing. Replicas are sold around the stadium on game day for about $15-20 USD alongside general knock off merchandise. For old school jerseys check around the mercado de San Telmo.

For last minute purchases there are always replica and knock off merchandise salesmen near the stadium on game days, but quality can vary.

💡Oddly, very few stadiums have official merchandise stands being sold on the grounds or within. For official merchandise its best to visit either the club office or the stores of the main clothing sponsor of the current team’s jersey (Ex: Nike is San Lorenzo’s clothing sponsor for 2025 so any flagship Nike store and stores carrying Nike products will have San Lorenzo jerseys for sale at most locations).

Colors for the five big Buenos Aires teams (and the best ones to see play) are:

Boca Juniors: Blue & Yellow

❌Do NOT wear Red and White (rival, River Plate)

River Plate: Red & White

❌Do NOT wear Blue and Yellow (rival, Boca Juniors)

Racing Club: Blue & White

❌Do NOT wear, Red and white (rival, Independiente)

Independiente: Red and white

❌Do NOT wear, blue and white (rival, Racing Club)

San Lorenzo: Red and blue

❌Do NOT wear White and Red (rival, Huracan)

💡A good general rule of thumb is to avoid wearing any club jersey other than the home team. The celebrated Argentinean national team jersey will of course be welcome at all stadiums.

As for weather not all stadiums/sections have roofs, so you’ll want to dress accordingly. It’s safe to assume that your section will be partially or totally open to the elements so expect a wet seat if it’s raining or recently did. Games are rarely canceled due to weather, even when its as important as a Superclasico like this one!

See you at la cancha!