Brazil2014: FIFA Gets 2.3m requests for tickets in 3 days

Three days into the sale of tickets for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, world football’s governing body FIFA said it had received over 2.3 million requests for tickets.

PANA reports that the figure is significant because overall, about 3 million tickets will be available for fans to purchase during the three sales phases.

According to FIFA’s official website, FIFA.com, FIFA Marketing Director Thierry Weil said most of the requests received so far came from host Brazil.

He described the high requests as ‘natural’ because Brazilians already know where their team will play most of its games.

‘That is why we have had so many requests. The second country with the most ticket requests is Argentina, who must be thinking about a meeting with Brazil in the final. The United States is third, followed by a long list of countries who do not yet know if their teams are going to make it,’ Mr. Weil said.

The first stage of ticket sales for the 2014 World Cup started Tuesday, and will last till 10 October, when all requests will be amalgamated and processed together. The ticket sales are being done via FIFA’s official website.

Ticket prices for group matches start at US$90 for international football fans. But the opening match will cost more, at US$220

Brazilian residents who are students or over 60 years old will have access to cheaper tickets – US$15.

The 2014 FIFA World Cup will be held 12 June to 13 July of that year.

The four-yearly World Cup, which features 32 teams in the finals, is the world’s most widely watched sporting event and the single biggest sporting event.