According to FIFA, the demand would be “huge”. On Friday, the body revealed that it had received 23.5 million ticket requests for the next World Cup in Qatar (from November 21 to December 18). An impressive total, especially since only 3 million places will ultimately be available throughout the competition. To sort out the applicants, a draw will take place from May 31. While many Blues fans have tried their luck, there will inevitably be some disappointed.
France is one of the “eight countries most in demand” for tickets for the competition, along with England, Saudi Arabia, Argentina, Brazil, the United States, France, Mexico and Qatar. But it is the Albiceleste matches that attract the most spectators: apart from the final, Argentina’s three pool matches are among the most popular. The prospect of attending Lionel Messi’s last World Cup certainly has something to do with it.
Already 800,000 tickets distributed
The same draw system had already been used for the first sales phase in January: only 804,186 tickets had been allocated out of the 17 million requests. Of the 3 million existing seats, only 2 million are available for sale, the last million being distributed to FIFA and its partners. A final sales phase will take place for the remaining places after the second draw, to distribute the final tickets.
Despite the large number of ticket requests, a lot of criticism surrounds the management of supporters in Qatar. The places for the final are in particular 30% more expensive than in Russia, four years ago, while accommodation on site should also prove to be very expensive.
