FC Bayern is ushering in a new era at the Allianz Arena for the upcoming season. Starting with the 2026–27 season, Germany’s record champion will switch entirely to digital tickets. Paper tickets and printed admission tickets will thus be a thing of the past once and for all.
As reported by BILD, FC Bayern’s home games will in the future be accessible exclusively via smartphone. Tickets can only be managed through the FC Bayern app or the Allianz Arena app and presented at the stadium entrance.
The change will take effect as early as the first home game of the season. For the Telekom Cup match against RB Leipzig on August 15, the approximately 60,000 tickets already sold will be automatically deposited into the digital wallets of the respective apps two weeks before the game. On game day, fans will simply need to scan their smartphones at the turnstile sensors.
Bayern apparently considered a postponement a possibility
According to information from BILD, the plans initially drew criticism from some fans. Internally, officials are said to have even considered postponing the full transition once again.
In the end, however, the decision was made in favor of the new system. This also eliminates the previous options of printing tickets as a “print@home” version or storing them in an external smartphone wallet.
However, the new concept is not entirely without exceptions. As FC Bayern explained in response to a BILD inquiry, fans without their own smartphones—such as children or seniors—can contact the club well in advance of a home game. Individual solutions will be found for these cases.
Once inside the stadium, paper exit passes will also be available. Among other things, these will allow children whose tickets are stored on their parents’ smartphones to visit the concession stand on their own and then return to the stadium. According to BILD, similar arrangements are also planned for seniors and people with disabilities.
However, the requirement remains that at least one accompanying adult must have the digital tickets stored on a smartphone.
Greater sustainability and enhanced security
With this complete digitization, FC Bayern is pursuing several goals. The club aims to reduce paper and printing materials and thus operate more sustainably. At the same time, the new system is intended to curb the black market and make it more difficult to trade in counterfeit tickets.
Furthermore, club officials expect that digitally recording ticket holders will lead to greater security at home games at the Allianz Arena.
For Bayern fans, this change means one thing above all: Anyone who wants to attend a home game of the record-holding champions in the future should not forget their smartphone—and a sufficiently charged battery.