Many families travel to football stadiums each week to support their favourite football team and watch them play. Some people buy season tickets, prices of these can vary depending on which team you want to go and watch. A team like Arsenal for example are very expensive to go and watch an average single adult season ticket for them costs around £985-£1955. The pressure can be on for parents to take children to football matches as the popularity of the sport grows and the sales of kid's football kits rise. You can see how this may be expensive for family's and for those who can afford to visit I am sure they want to be in a safe and secure enjoyable place with a good atmosphere, but is a football stadium the best place for this?

Some football fans generally visit football stadiums as this is one of their interests but some supporters set out to cause trouble. There have been numerous stories in the press in the past surrounding football hooliganism and fights between other supporters. Alcohol is available at football stadiums, although you cannot take your drinks to your seat you can drink them before the match starts and in the intervals, however you cannot be in view of the pitch when consuming alcohol. Drinking alcohol can fuel emotions and this is often one of the main causes for arguments, racism and fights in football.

Stadiums can become very rowdy throughout games; often football fans sing songs about the opposition which includes explicit language. Arguments sometimes kick off when someone supporting the opposite team sits with the fans supporting the home team, these arguments can become heated and often fans are escorted out of the stadium by police and security guards. None of this behaviour is suitable for families with young children.

Not all but some football stadiums have certain sections for families. For example Liverpool have their very own family section which is just above some of the away fans, this will make for a safe and secure place for young children to watch football matches without the disruption of football fights, foul language and hooliganism. Certain football matches have even been known to have been so dangerous, such as the Hillsborough incident, this probably would not be likely to happen nowadays with all of the modern technology but this is just an example of how things can go wrong at football matches.

Other serious incidents that happen quite rarely at football stadiums include flare throwing and coin throwing. Watching football matches on your television at home would probably be safer for families; it all depends on where you go some stadiums are more family friendly than others. There are a few plus points, like having the chance to purchase kid's football kits for your children and other types of football souvenirs but you will never know for sure what will happen inside of football stadiums.

What do you think about families visiting stadiums? Do you think they are a safe place?
Let us know your thoughts; we would love to hear from you.

Emily writes exclusively for Soccerbox, here you can take a look at a new range of football shirts, training wear and a wide variety of memorabilia.