Is it worth attending

For us, we love sports and especially football, so this experience was perfect. We previously had no ties with any Argentine football club, but we were interested in attending a River Plate match because we’re fans of their former player, Julián Alvarez. Having the “local” end-to-end experience from pre-game, the game itself and post-game was highly memorable. We’ve been to football matches across the US, England and Italy, but this River Plate match was the best sporting atmosphere we’ve been a part of. It was the loudest, most passionate fanbase we’ve had the pleasure of witnessing. Their fans are extremely supportive and at times fanatical in a respectful way to describe it. They have an area where the fans just stand and jump up and down. So you see this incredible ripple of fans bouncing throughout the stadium.

The main wow factor of this experience is the atmosphere inside the Estadio Monumental. It’s the largest stadium in South America (as of writing this) with about 84k+ seats. In football you typically have segregated seats dedicated to visiting away fans so they have more protection. You would rarely see mixed fans sitting next to each other in a football match due to potential violence when comparing it to American sporting events for example. In Argentina they had a policy where there was no segregated area for visiting away fans when we attended the match. So the stadium is packed with 84k+ home fans singing, cheering and shouting to support their club. It can be quite a stimulus overload of sound for some people. There’s also this indescribable piercing sound quality in the stadium when everyone is jeering in unison. However, now as of writing this, the Argentine league has ended that policy. Now away fans will have their own designated section at away games.

While watching a football match on its own is not the most unique experience since it’s something you can do in most countries, we’d argue the sporting atmosphere is unique. The fervorous passion and energy is something you will rarely find elsewhere.

We spent around $119 for our match day experience, which included game tickets. We purchased this experience from a site called Homefans (not sponsored) where they connect foreign fans with local hosts. Our host was extremely hospitable. They drove us to the game and back home and introduced us to their pre-game ritual. They paid for our food and drinks too at a local restaurant. As we got to know each other, they shared stories about the club, the history and their love for River Plate. It was very endearing to listen to. We later got our tickets from the host, which were incredible seats at the middle level of the stadium while being in the center, giving us panoramic views (as you see in the pictures). For $119, we got solid seats, round trip transportation, food and priceless hospitality (even if it sounds cliché). We felt the value to cost of this experience was more than justifiable.

The full experience from pick up, to pre-game and post-game lasted around 5 to 7 hours. The game was at 9 pm, which was quite late. We got picked up around 5:30 pm, and by 6:15 pm we pre-gamed, met others in our group and ate a meal. We eventually arrived at the stadium and watched the match. Afterwards we got home by midnight. While it is a longer experience we never felt restless for it to end. It’s a night experience that’s rewarding and will leave you happily ready to fall asleep.

Like a good night out, you feel fulfilled and rewarded and our experience for the evening game was exactly that. We were cheering and talking throughout the night. The energy spent for this experience felt reasonable. Expect your social battery to be drained. But because the match was late and we arrived home around midnight, it led to the perfect transition of later falling sound asleep.

There are few natural risks of attending a River Plate football match. The stadium isn’t on land that’s difficult to traverse through. Getting to the stadium is probably the “main risk”. For example we drove in a car. There aren’t many notable physical hazards at the stadium as well. Overall, we feel it’s a low risk event to attend unless a freak event occurs.

As mentioned above, when we attended the game they didn’t formally allow visiting away fans to the match. Now that policy has changed if you attend a match today as of writing this. We’d suggest not engaging with away fans if you now see them attending the games. As we approached the stadium and went through security, it was a bit jarring as tourists to see heavily armed security. It’s not something we’re too familiar with when attending a sporting event in general. There were heavily armed security officers, dogs and police vehicles throughout. We understood the security was in place for the protection and safety of fans and to deter any hooliganism or “Barra Bravas” which are “notorious fan syndicates”. They have a stereotype of causing trouble amongst fan groups. Our host also told us that some locals may have mixed feelings when they see foreigners watching the game because of ticket scarcity. Tourists are seen as partially responsible for driving up ticket prices for local fans and weakening the home support as tourists might not know the chants and songs. The host told us to keep a low profile when walking towards the stadium. Knowing these various things, we felt mentally a bit discouraged to hear the situation but we understood. It was good information to keep perspective. Ultimately we were fine and nothing happened to us throughout our entire time watching the match and after.

Attending a River Plate match through Homefans (not sponsored) was a predictable experience. After purchasing our tickets online, the host reached out to us and gave us instructions. We showed up, got our tickets and after passing through security were able to reach our seats. The experience was highly organized and structured. We just had to follow instructions and were able to immerse ourselves in the incredible atmosphere.

We would say attending a River Plate match is accessible for most people. They have designated areas for those with mobility issues although that might require a special request with the host to secure an accessible seat if possible. There is also a general admission section of the lower part of the stadium that is standing only with no seats. So if you’re there, you’ll have to endure standing for the duration of the match. Typically, this area is where more of the hardcore fans will be cheering the team on. During our experience, we were able to get seats. Overall, there is no technical ability required to watch the match.

Because we had a host that was willing to drive us to and from the match, it made our experience attending very straightforward. If we didn’t get a ride, there are other options such as hailing an Uber for example. The host was really kind to pick up and drop off each passenger from/at their spot. We didn’t have to meet up at a common point. Their hospitality and service was above and beyond and we’re incredibly grateful.

Booking the experience to attend a River Plate match via Homefans (not sponsored) was straightforward. After we did research about the match and logistics, we purchased our tickets online for the matchday. Afterwards we were connected with the host who reached out on WhatsApp to coordinate the logistics and the plan they had set for us. We followed their lead and things went smoothly. They planned the logistics quite well, which made our entire experience very simple to follow.