FIFA Delays Release of World Cup Tickets

FIFA will delay the release of the next batch of World Cup tickets after more than six million requests were made during the first stage.

Brazilian authorities supervise the ticket lottery based on the World Cup bill that FIFA approved. It took longer than expected to decide how to conduct the supervision, which has caused the delay.

FIFA said it needed “to ensure the Brazilian authorities’ involvement in supervising the procedures for the allocation of tickets following the first sales period.”

FIFA were unable to inform applicants of the initial 6.2 million ticket requests by November 5, the original dealine, and has now delayed the second stage to November 11.

FIFA marketing director Thierry Weil said: “As the next sales period is on a first-come, first-served basis, it is essential that all those applicants for tickets from the first period have been informed on the status of their application by the time we reopen sales.

“We cannot risk any fan not being aware of his/her success before we put the remaining tickets on the market. Obviously, our priority is to ensure every applicant has an equal chance of success.”

Around 3.3 million tickets are expected to be sold, with aprroximately one million offered in the first phase of sales.