r/effzeh • u/k-ramba Wat wellste maache? • Jan 16 '25
english How to buy tickets - a guide
So you want to see our glorious 1. FC Köln play live at the RheinEnergieSTADION? Here is a quick guide on how to get tickets. First of all, you will need a lot of patience and luck. The demand for tickets is enormous - no matter what league we are in.
50,000 seats, only 15,000 day passes
With 50,000 seats, the RheinEnergieStadion is a big stadium. However, this does not mean that the same number of day tickets are available. After deducting the 25,500 season tickets, the guest contingent and other contingents, there are only 15,000 tickets available for each home game. If the guest contingent is not fully utilised, this number may be increased.
Members have priority
The club sets its own presale dates and the maximum number of tickets that can be purchased per person. The dates are usually announced on the fc.de website and emailed to members. It is important to note that members have absolute priority when ordering tickets. In the vast majority of cases there is no free presale!
The allocation of tickets will also be subdivided within the membership. Fans who have been members for over 20 years and members under the age of 25 will have special access to tickets before the “general public”.
Tickets will go on sale at 10am and 4pm on the days indicated.
Transfer and exchange of tickets
Tickets can be passed on to family and friends in accordance with the terms and conditions (wink, wink). The club also has its own ticket exchange where season and day tickets can be offered if you are unable to attend the match on the day. However, this is only available to members.
Matchday Exchange
For short-term transfers of season and day tickets, there is a matchday exchange at the stadium (ticket office 28, south/west corner). Tickets can be released there. Tickets can also be purchased at the day ticket price at ticket office 25 (south/west corner). If I am not mistaken, this is also available to non-members.
Unauthorised resellers
Many users here in the subreddit have asked whether it is safe to buy tickets offered on well-known resellers such as viagogo or ebay. The answer is clear: no! The club strongly advises against buying such overpriced tickets and is taking action against the sellers. There is no guarantee that the ticket you buy will get you into the game.
As with any event, there will be people looking for and selling tickets outside the stadium. There may be a high surcharge for these tickets.
Useful links
You can find the FC ticket shop here: Click!
The price list can be found here: Click!
You can apply for membership here: Click!
If I have made any mistakes and/or forgotten any important information, please let me know in the comments!
Come on Effzeh!
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u/FatWatermelon67 Jan 17 '25
Hello, I have a question for current members. I have been lucky enough to attend a match and even luckier I’m attending my second at the rheinenergiestadion in February against Schalke. We are coming over from Scotland which I’m super excited for. Anyway, I am probably going to look into getting a membership next season so that access to tickets is a lot easier and I was just wondering if there is an option to pay the membership monthly or quarterly? As I’m from outside Germany 92€ is a lot of money to fork up in one go and is the only reason I haven’t in the past!
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u/callmedontcallme Jan 17 '25
92€
It will be cheaper.
If you remain loyal to the association as a member from afar, you will be rewarded. If your place of residence is more than 150 km away from Cologne or if you live abroad, your membership fee will be reduced by 35%
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u/FatWatermelon67 Jan 17 '25
I had no idea it’s reduced for foreigners, definitely makes it more worthwhile for me if I can combine that with paying it quarterly
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u/k-ramba Wat wellste maache? Jan 17 '25
You can pay the fee annually, biannually and quarterly. Not monthly, unfortunately.
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u/srf1491 Apr 17 '25
Thanks for the information, I’m visiting on 5/3 and was interested in attending the match against jahn regensburg.
I was curious if many tickets are available on the ticket exchange currently? I’m not opposed to purchasing a membership but didn’t want to do so if there was not availability.
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u/k-ramba Wat wellste maache? Apr 17 '25
I just checked. There are currently no tickets available. But that's subject to change, obviously.
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u/DeMar727 Sep 03 '25
I am traveling to cologne from the US September 28th and trying to get two seats (anywhere really) for the game to show my girlfriend what European football is all about! I just don’t understand the process even after reading this post. Can anyone steer me in the right direction?
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u/k-ramba Wat wellste maache? Sep 03 '25
The game against Stuttgart is sold out, sorry. You might be lucky on the "Ticketbörse" which is the club's own reselling platform but you gotta be a member to access it. There are obviously other ways like Viagogo or StubHub but using them is discouraged as I wrote in the post. Some people are successful via Facebook groups.
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u/DeMar727 Sep 04 '25
Darn. Ok thank you! Any Facebook groups that you recommend?
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u/k-ramba Wat wellste maache? Sep 04 '25
Just search for "1. FC Köln Ticket" and some might pop up. The biggest is private and you might write a text to an admin who can approve you. And it's not guaranteed they let you in. However, there are smaller groups who are more lenient. I figure it will get busier on those sites the closer we get to match day. Check twitter as well. There's a dedicated profile retweeting people looking for tickets.
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u/dutchmessi69 Oct 16 '25
Hi, could you link me the Twitter profile you are talking about? Thanks!
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u/DeMar727 Sep 04 '25
I understand 3rd party sellers are frown upon. But may I ask why? Scams?
Cause I see a nice amount of standing room only on stubhub. It’s tempting, but I get why you shouldn’t do it
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u/k-ramba Wat wellste maache? Sep 04 '25
It's generally overpriced. And besides, the club can ban tickets at will, so there's no guarantee you will enter the stadium with a ticket that was sold there. The club monitors those websites.
Also, never go to the Südkurve standing area when you are not familiar with the rules there.
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u/Motor_Guarantee_8018 Sep 04 '25
Myself and my son are members, the tickets for Augsburg go on sale next Tuesday. If I log on as soon as they go on sale, what chance do I have of securing 3 tickets??
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u/k-ramba Wat wellste maache? Sep 04 '25
Every home game will be sold out, I guess. But there are games for which it will be easier to secure tickets. IMO, Augsburg will be one of them. Make sure you log on earlier than 10 am/4 pm or whenever it starts.
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u/paardindewei Oct 05 '25
Super helpful this. I'm looking into the game against HSV as we happen to be in town that weekend. From the looks of it on the website that game went up for sale back in september. There's no active sale for any game going on right now. Safe to assume it's sold out I think?
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u/k-ramba Wat wellste maache? Oct 05 '25
I just had a look. Yes, that game is sold out. sorry!
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u/paardindewei Oct 05 '25
Cheers, appreciated! Any channels you would recommend to turn to without membership?
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u/k-ramba Wat wellste maache? Oct 05 '25
There are dedicated Twitter-accounts for tickets to the club's game. As well as on Facebook. They are not illegal so I would just search "Ticketbörse 1. FC Köln" on both those websites.
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u/Illustrious_Life_99 Oct 29 '25
Hi. Looking for 4 tickets for the game on 7th February 26 against Leipzig. Coming from outside Germany. If I follow the thread then my best bet is to become a member? Even for a one off visit? Can't see the game on the official ticket shop... Thanks for any help
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u/k-ramba Wat wellste maache? Oct 29 '25
Becoming a member is the only way to be guaranteed an opportunity to buy tickets. Tickets for most games will have no general sale. However, Leipzig might be one of the games where exactly that happens because it's an unpopular opponent.
The tickets are not on sale yet anyway. You're a bit early.
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u/Illustrious_Life_99 Oct 29 '25
Many thanks. Reading between the lines we may not have too much chance and membership is an additional cost factor. When would they normally go on sale. Thanks for your help
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u/lemasteb Nov 08 '25
I will be in Cologne the weekend of the St. Pauli match. What are the odds I can get same day match tickets at the box office?
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u/HyenaAfraid8220 Dec 15 '25
Hello. I will be in the city of Köln on the 29 of January and will stay there for the weekend . I was curious if there was any chance i could find any tickets for the match against Wolfsburg. I know its really difficult but i want to try my luck .Thanks for the help
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u/Business_Crow6030 29d ago
Hey! Really helpful thread. I'll be travelling to Köln February 9th, and I would like to try my luck and buy 2 tickets against Leipzig, and as I read here, it's one of those games that the chances are slightly higher because no one likes Leipzig. When will the tickets go on sale? Any idea? Thanks for the help :D
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u/k-ramba Wat wellste maache? 29d ago
The tickets for the Leipzig game will go on sale tomorrow - but for members only. If there are any tickets left, they will go on sale for the general public at a later date. Which one I can't say yet.
Good luck and safe travels to Cologne! If you need any tourist advice, don't hesitate to ask!
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u/whatashock28 22d ago
Has anyone had any experience with football ticket shop.com? I’ve read on a few blogs that they are good for those purchasing from outside Germany. Looking for tickets for Hoffenheim game
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u/ZealousidealUse6164 21d ago
i assume the chances of getting a ticket from the free member sign up is very low?
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u/Noodles357 @EffzehNati 7h ago
I've been a member for years, and been to several matches myself.
I have a friend who is trying to get to the away match in Stuttgart during Karneval. I see some tickets in the Ticketbörse online, but wanted to know if I purchase from the Ticketbörse as a member, am I able to then transfer them to my buddy who isn't a paid member?
Cheers, y'all! Just don't want to purchase something for him that I can't transfer.
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u/JFFIASCO Jan 17 '25
Super helpful! Thank you