(Doha) The number of match tickets sold for the World Cup-2022 amounts to 1.2 million after the second phase of sales, announced on Wednesday the secretary general of the Organizing Committee, Hassan Al-Thawadi.
Posted at 9:32
“I think the demand is record high,” Al-Thawadi said at the Qatar Economic Forum in Doha.
“People are buying and looking forward to coming, there’s no doubt,” he rejoiced, while some supporters’ associations are worried about the price of flights, housing or even their rights in the rich and conservative Gulf emirate.
“We try to create an environment where the economy benefits, but which is also affordable and accessible for the fans, which is not always easy to balance,” conceded the leader.
New hotels regularly enter the accommodation platform for spectators with tickets, he said.
While the country has been called into question by NGOs on the issue of respect for human rights, especially migrant workers, Mr. Al-Thawadi once again insisted on the “progress” made since the award of the tournament in 2010.
“(Our) weariness comes from the misrepresentation of the facts […] and what is happening on the ground,” he said.
As for the preparation of the tournament, “the main infrastructures are finished and we are now in an operational phase” including accommodation and routes, said the secretary general of the Mondial-2022.
In total, the organizers of the first World Cup in an Arab country, from November 21 to December 18, said they had registered 40 million requests, 17 million during the first sales phase and 23 million during the second.
In all, there are just over 3 million tickets available (2 million for sale and 1 million reserved for FIFA and its partners).
For the next phase of sales, the dates of which are not known, the principle of first come, first served will apply, and no longer a draw.