Euro 2016 ticket scramble begins in earnest for green army

The big scramble for tickets for next summer's European Championships in France begins at 11am on Monday morning.

Fans will be asked to register their details on the official Uefa website at uefa.com/uefaeuro/finals/ticketing/index.html.

Tickets will range in price from €25 to €145 and fans can buy up to four tickets each. Only credit cards are allowed.

However, fans will not be informed about whether they are successful or not until February.

It would appear travellers have the best chance of getting tickets for the opening game in the Stade de France against Sweden as the stadium has a 80,000 capacity. The Stade de Bordeaux has a capacity of 42,000 and the Stade Pierre Mauroy a capacity of 50,000.

The draw for Ireland is widely regarded as being the toughest of all the groups, but from the fans point of view it could be a lot worse.

The matches against Sweden on Monday, June 13th and Ireland's final group game against Italy in Lille on June 22nd are places that are very accessible from Ireland.

Paris is served by Charles de Gaulle and Beauvais airports. Lille is within two hours drive of Paris Beauvais, Brussels and Charleroi airports. Both cities are also accessible by the Eurostar from London.

Aer Lingus fly direct to Bordeaux for the match against Belgium on June 18th, but there are direct trains from Paris to Bordeaux.

The Republic of Ireland is likely to be one of the best supported teams in next year’s championship though FAI spokesman Ian Mallon believes the prospect of 100,000 supporters travelling is wide of the mark.

Flights

FAI and Uefa officials will meet on Monday morning to discuss the allocation of tickets for Irish fans travelling to France.

The FAI is expecting about 50,000 fans to travel for the championships. Most will fly. A Ryanair flight from Dublin to Paris Beauvais arriving on Sunday, June 12th, costs €256.99 one way. The equivalent flight a week earlier costs €35.99. The lowest priced Aer Lingus single fare from Dublin to Paris Charles de Gaulle will be €284.99 on Sunday, June 12th.

A flight from Dublin to Bordeaux costs €314.99 on Aer Lingus for June 17th, the day before the match against Belgium.

Aer Lingus spokesman Declan Kearney said the airline has 160 flights a week to and from France with direct flights to Paris from Dublin and Cork.

Ryanair spokesman Robin Kiely said flights are already selling fast for Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland fans. He said Ryanair plans to schedule a number of extra flights from Ireland for the championships.

There are quite a few ferry options for fans taking camper vans. A one way ticket from Dublin Port to Cherbourg for two with a camper van cost €511.

Stena Line and Brittany Ferries also have regular ferry crossings to France. Some Irish fans may opt to travel to the championships via the UK and many of the channel ports are close to both Paris and Lille.