World Cup ticket sales top 2.45 million, 500,000 still left

ZURICH (AP) — World Cup ticket sales have reached 2.45 million, FIFA said Thursday, with more than 500,000 seats still available three months before the tournament starts in Qatar.

FIFA said 520,000 tickets were bought in a first-come, first-served phase of sales that closed this week. Brazil’s games against Serbia and Cameroon were among the most in-demand.

The top 10 places ranked by ticket sales to their residents include Qatar and neighboring countries Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. The United States, England, Mexico, France, Argentina, Brazil and Germany are also on the list released by FIFA.

The cheapest tickets for fans from outside Qatar are priced at 250 riyals ($69). Fans need a confirmed ticket purchase to book places to stay in Qatar through an official tournament website.

The 64-game tournament in eight stadiums in and around Doha starts on Nov. 20 and has a total capacity of about 3 million tickets.

About 2 million tickets were placed on general sale and 1 million were allocated for FIFA stakeholders such as member federations, sponsors and broadcasters, plus hospitality programs.

FIFA previously said it got 3 million ticket requests for the World Cup final on Dec. 18 — Qatar’s national day — at the new 80,000-seat Lusail Stadium.

Tickets sales are now paused with FIFA promising an update in late-September about the last round of selling that runs through the tournament.

More seats typically become available as stakeholders return some of their allocation, and during the World Cup from fans of teams that are eliminated.

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