Football in Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires has a strong claim as football's Mecca, and the sport is the national passion and obsession. The city has more than 24 professional football clubs, and the traditional ‘big five’ (Boca Juniors, River Plate, Independiente, Racing Club, San Lorenzo) are all located in Greater Buenos Aires. The Argentines’ passion for football is nothing short of fanatical, and a visit to a match at either La Bombonera (of Boca Juniors) or El Monumental (of River Plate) should be at the top of any football fan’s bucket list. Tickets to either are notoriously hard to come by, but with a bit of tenacity they can be acquired.

River Plate

Located in the wealthy residential neighborhood of Belgrano, River’s El Monumental, with a capacity of 86,000, is the largest stadium in South America, and it sells out for every match. In order to buy tickets through the club’s official website you must be a registered socio (club member), so buying tickets online is a no-go for tourists. However, if you are looking for tickets, I recommend heading to the neighborhood a couple of hours before the match.

Fans gather to eat, drink, and be merry in the parks around the stadium for hours before kickoff, especially in Parque de las Américas. There will be plenty of people around selling tickets, just keep an ear open. The price will vary greatly depending on the opponent, but I can assure you that the experience inside the stadium is well worth the price of admission. However, you must make sure that the person you buy the tickets from will enter the stadium with you, and don’t give them the money until you are through the turnstile. I cannot stress this enough: if someone tells you that they can’t enter the stadium with you for whatever reason, the tickets are guaranteed to be fake. Once you’re inside, get ready to enjoy one of the best atmospheres to be found in any football ground in the world.

Boca Juniors

Boca’s La Bombonera is one of the most iconic stadiums in world football. Known as ‘the chocolate box’ due to its unusual shape and extremely steep sides, its intensely passionate atmosphere makes it one of the best places to see a football match anywhere in the world.

Just like at River Plate, only socios are able to purchase tickets from the club. Most of the tickets are purchased by large, organized fan groups, who then sell them directly to their members. These groups can then turn a hefty profit by selling some of their leftover tickets to tourists who are looking to go to a match.

Similarly, I recommend heading to the neighborhood around the stadium before the game to ask around and see who is selling tickets. In the case of La Boca, you should try to get there at least four hours before kickoff to give yourself enough time to shop around the different fan groups and find the best price; the stadium is right in the middle of the historic neighborhood, and the crush of people on the streets means that most fans begin entering the stadium up to two hours before kickoff.

You’ll need to walk directly up to the fan groups to ask about tickets. Don’t be shy: they will be happy to sell you tickets, as these sales are the groups’ main source of funding. You can find the groups on different street corners around the stadium, usually around a grill enjoying a pre-game asado. Like I said, you can take your time to shop around to find the best price. And I recommend again that you ask the seller if you can pay them inside the stadium to make sure that the tickets are authentic. In this case, though, we have a friend who sells tickets through his fan group, so we can help put you in contact with him to make the process smoother. Feel free to reach out to us here or send us a message on Instagram.

A match at La Bombonera is a pure adrenaline rush from start to finish. It’s a can’t-miss experience for anyone visiting Buenos Aires.

San Lorenzo

San Lorenzo is the other team of the ‘big five’ that plays within the city limits. The team is not world famous like River or Boca, but this means that the tickets are significantly easier to come by: you can buy them directly on the club’s website, even as a tourist. The atmosphere is not quite as raucous as that of its larger neighbors, but a match here still makes for a fun experience, and the supporters’ groups located behind the goal still bring the energy, with drums banging and fans singing for the whole 90 minutes.

The club’s stadium, El Nuevo Gasómetro, is located in the slightly undesirable neighborhood of Bajo Flores in the city’s southwest, so it’s best to take an Uber to and from the stadium. Don’t worry, once you get close to the stadium, you’ll have no problems at all––it’s a very family-friendly atmosphere. For fans of the beautiful game, I definitely recommend adding a San Lorenzo match to your Buenos Aires football itinerary.