By Adedapo Adesanya
The Federation of the International Football Association (FIFA) has said that a total of 2.45 million tickets have now been sold for the Qatar 2022 World Cup.
With less than 100 days to go until the start of the first showcase to be held in the Middle East and Arab (November 20 – December 18); hosts Qatar, the United States of America (USA), England, Saudi Arabia, Mexico, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), France, Argentina, Brazil and Germany are leading the ranking of ticket sales by country of residence.
In the last sales period alone, which ran from July 5 to August 16, when fans were able to buy tickets on a first-come, first-served basis, a total of 520,532 tickets were sold.
The world governing body revealed that the biggest number of allocated tickets were for group-stage matches such as Cameroon v. Brazil, Brazil v. Serbia, Portugal v. Uruguay, Costa Rica v. Germany, and Australia v. Denmark.
It was revealed that fans living in Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the USA, Mexico, the UAE, England, Argentina, Brazil, Wales, and Australia led the way, and the digital queues, by securing the biggest number of tickets.
It encouraged holders of one or more matches in their FIFA ticketing account to start planning their trip as soon as possible by booking their accommodation if living outside of Qatar, and by applying for their Hayya, (the Fan ID for the tournament) via or the Hayya to Qatar 2022 app.
“An approved Hayya application, alongside a valid match ticket, will grant spectators access to stadiums, provide entry to Qatar for international fans, and offer free public transport on matchdays, along with a host of other benefits.
“Those who have not yet secured their seats, or those who would simply like to take advantage of Qatar’s compact nature by adding more matches to their programme, should keep an eye on from late September onwards when the launch date of the last-minute sales phase will be communicated,” FIFA advised.
It was announced that during the last-minute sales phase, which will run until the end of the tournament, tickets will also be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis and confirmed immediately after payment.
Currently, the FIFA platform is the only official channel for the general public to buy tickets, with fans urged to stay away from unauthorised websites, adding that over-the-counter sales will also start in Doha following the launch of the last-minute sales phase.
