FIFA (International Football Federation) will put on sale this Wednesday (22), 50 days before the start of the North American World Cup, a new batch of tickets for the 104 matches of the competition, which starts on June 11, the entity announced this Tuesday (21).
“Tickets will be sold on a first-come, first-serve basis and purchases will be made in real time, depending on availability,” explained the world football governing body in a statement, stating that sales will begin at 12pm (Brasília time) on the official website fifa.com/tickets/.
“In addition to this series of tickets, others will continue to be offered for sale regularly until the final on July 19th”, also subject to availability, FIFA added.
When consulted by AFP, a spokeswoman for the entity informed that this sales phase referred to tickets in categories 1 to 3 and seats in the first rows, depending on the match.
“Ticket sales remain strong, with great interest in all matches,” he said.
More than 5 million tickets have already been sold, according to FIFA president Gianni Infantino, of the approximately 7 million on sale for the competition, considering the capacity of the World Cup’s 16 stadiums.
The tournament co-organized this year by the United States, Mexico and Canada will host 48 teams and 104 matches, 78 of which will be played on American soil.
The issue of ticket sales has generated controversy, as FIFA has been accused of offering tickets at exorbitant prices, despite promises made when the tournament was awarded to the three organizing countries.
The Federation of European Fans (FSE) and Euroconsumers, an organization that represents consumers on the continent, announced on March 24 that they had sued FIFA to the European Commission for abuse of a dominant position and to abandon its “opaque and unfair” sales procedures.
FIFA defended the price of these tickets, determined by “outsized” demand and variable pricing depending on the attractiveness of the match, according to Infantino.
