European club football can make European cities unexpectedly crowded. With our handy overview of play dates and affected cities it’s easy to avoid football crowds by picking the right days. Our overview of club football games has also been incorporated in the avoid crowds score for the affected cities.
We incorporated both Europa League and Champions League football. Qualifiers for the UEFA 2020 European Championship have not been added. These games however bring a different kind of fans. The impact of club football fans is usually much bigger on cities than those supporting their countries.
European football 2019
| wdt_ID | City | Team | Competition | Group | Opponents | Crowded days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Amsterdam | Ajax | Champions League | Group H | Chelsea, Valencia, LOSC | 17-09-19 Lille 23-10-19 Chelsea 10-12-19 Valencia |
| 2 | Athens | Olympiakos | Champions League | Group B | Bayern, Tottenham, Crvena zvezda | 18-09-19 Tottenham 22-10-19 Bayern 11-12-19 Crvena zvezda |
| 3 | Barcelona | Espanyol | Europa League | Group H | Ludogorets, CSKA Moskva, Ferencváros | 19-09-19 Ferencváros 06-11-19 Ludogorets 12-12-19 CSKA Moskva |
| 4 | Barcelona | FC Barcelona | Champions League | Group F | Dortmund, Internazionale, Slavia Praha | 02-10-19 Internazionale 05-11-19 Slavia Praha 27-11-19 Dortmund |
| 5 | Bruges | Club Brugge | Champions League | Group A | PSG, Real Madrid, Galatasaray | 18-09-19 Galatasaray 22-10-19 PSG 11-12-19 Real Madrid |
| 6 | Copenhagen | København | Europa League | Group B | Dynamo Kyiv, Malmö, Lugano | 19-09-19 Lugano 06-11-19 Dynamo Kyiv 12-12-19 Malmö |
| 7 | Lisbon | Sporting CP | Europa League | Group D | PSV, Rosenborg, LASK | 03-10-19 LASK 24-10-19 Rosenborg 28-11-19 PSV |
| 8 | Lisbon | Benfica | Champions League | Group G | Zenit, Lyon, RB Leipzig | 17-09-19 RB Leipzig 23-10-19 Lyon 10-12-19 Zenit |
| 9 | London | Arsenal | Europa League | Group F | Eintracht Frankfurt, Standard Liège, Vitória SC | 02-10-19 Standard Liège 24-10-19 Vitória SC 28-11-19 Eintracht Frankfurt |
| 10 | London | Tottenham | Champions League | Group B | Bayern, Olympiacos, Crvena zvezda | 01-10-19 Bayern 22-10-19 Srvena zvezda 26-11-19 Olympiakos |
| City | Team | Competition | Group | Opponents | Crowded days |
Stay out of trouble
Some games might bring violence to cities as supporters are reported to clash with each other and/or the police. Most European clubs don’t have problems with hooligans anymore but each year some riots errupt. Simply keep away from the fans of the visiting club and the area around the stadium will mean that you are safe. Also don’t wear the football jersey around opposing fans. Wearing a jersey from a rival team, even when they are not playing, could get you in eerie situations.
To keep order during high risk games, local authorities can put emergency regulations in place. These might include a temporary ban on alcohol in some parts of the cities or (random) frisking of people in certain areas. Also good to know is that some fan groups march from the city center to the stadium, it is smart to keep away from this.
Club football can cause traffic jams
European football can also cause traffic in cities to come to a stand still. Traffic jams around the stadium, fan marches and city centers are to be expected. If you have to catch a flight or train, it is smart to take this into consideration. Leave earlier or go on foot.
