RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) - Less than 10 percent of ticket requests will be filled in FIFA’s second phase of allocations for the World Cup.
Soccer’s governing body received 3.5 million ticket requests in the second phase and said Thursday that 80 percent of the requests were from Brazilians.
About 220,000 tickets will be awarded in an electronic draw next month. Successful applicants are to be notified by March 11.
“Naturally, this level of demand can cause some disappointment, dissatisfaction and incomprehension among football supporters,” said Thierry Weil, the FIFA official in charge of ticketing.
FIFA said it was postponing the next sale phase period by two weeks. It will begin on March 12, and will be on a first-come, first-served basis. FIFA said applicants who win in the lottery must have funds in their bank accounts.
“If it is not possible to collect the payment, the request will be cancelled and the reserved tickets will be allocated to other fans who applied for tickets,” FIFA said in a statement.
The World Cup opens June 12 in Sao Paulo and closes July 13 in Rio de Janeiro.
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