(Doha) The sale of tickets for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar (November 21-December 18) began on Wednesday with prices that FIFA wants “within reach” of supporters, but some of them denounced prices considered too high.
Posted at 2:09 p.m.
A lottery system allows international candidates to buy tickets for a price starting at 69 dollars, for the matches of the group stage.
Residents of Qatar will have access to a preferential price category, which starts at US$11.
The price of a sesame for the final can reach 1607 $ US.
“The offer that is being made today, when the ticket office opens, reflects our aim to bring football to as many fans as possible around the world,” said Fatma Samoura, General Secretary. FIFA, quoted in a press release from the body.
In the evening, Football Supporters Europe (FSE), a network bringing together groups of national team supporters, denounced the World Cup as “the most expensive in history”.
“It appears that FIFA has significantly reduced the number of affordable tickets,” the organization wrote in a tweet.
Organizers have yet to announce how many spectators will be allowed into stadiums amid uncertainties related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
People who register now for the different offers, depending on whether they prefer to book for a specific match, follow a particular team or book by stadium, are participating in a lottery whose first draw will take place on February 8.
The lucky ones will then be notified before March 8.
The final draw for the matches of the first World Cup hosted in an Arab country is supposed to take place in early April, with FIFA hinting in its statement on Tuesday that it could be held on 1er April.