May 3 – FIFA has said that fans from around at the world requested 23.5 million tickets in the latest sales phase for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
Notwithstanding all the controversy surrounding the global finals in Qatar, demand for World Cup tickets remains huge, with residents in Qatar as well as supporters in Argentina, Brazil, England, France, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, and the United States queuing up to attend matches. The demand vastly outstrips the almost five million tickets requested in the second sales phase for the Russia World Cup.
The World Cup draw was staged on April 1, allowing fans in the last ticket window to follow their teams or pick their preferred matches. All the group matches involving Argentina and Lionel Messi as well as England vs United States were the most sought after. The final was again heavily oversubscribed as well.
The breakdown of applications per country reflects demand in the first ticket sales with only India and the United Arab Emirates dropping out of the ranking of the main markets. FIFA however didn’t disclose a more detailed breakdown of applications per country.
Fans will be notified of the outcome of their applications as of May 31. After the end of the first sales phase in February, FIFA allocated 804,186 tickets, slightly more than the 742,760 tickets following the first sales phase in Russia when 3,496,204 tickets were requested. The first sales phase for the Qatar World Cup generated 17 million ticket requests.
Individual ticket prices range from $69 to $1,607 for the showpiece event in Qatar. Local residents benefit from the cheapest tickets with category 4 costing as little as $11, the cheapest World Cup ticket since the 1986 World Cup in Mexico with seats for $3. In Russia, locals could snap up a ticket for $20. Major concerns however remain over affordable hotel space and travel to Doha.
Senegal and the Netherlands will kick off the tournament on November 21. The final will be played on December 18 at the Lusail Stadium.
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