Opening and Cup Final Ticket Sales Already Exceed Stadium Capacities

08/21/2013 - 08h40

Judging by the demand on the first day that tickets became available, it's going to be difficult to get a seat to watch the opening match and the final of World Cup 2014.

Seven hours after tickets were made available on the FIFA website, the organization had registered more than one million ticket requests.

This first phase of sales will last until October 10. At that time, the authority that organizes the World Cup will process all applications and make selections through a lottery.

According to FIFA, the opening match in São Paulo alone received 168,000 requests for tickets, and it looks as if that number will multiply by October 10.

The opening game, which pits the Brazilian national team against a rival yet to be determined, will be held at Itaquerão stadium with seating for 68,000 people - giving a sense of how difficult procuring a ticket will be.

The same holds true for the final. 165,000 tickets were requested for the match at the 78,000 seat Maracanã stadium in just the first seven hours.

Tickets can only be requested through the FIFA website , which showed no notable problems. Some users, however, reported crashes and slowdowns.

Business manager Gabriela Saviani encountered difficulties when attempting to register his zip code.

"It said it was wrong, but it wasn't. I had to enter my zip code three times," she said, requesting tickets for the opening and for a semifinal game.

Another error was identified when an attempt was made to enter the following date of birth: October 19, 1986. This field is mandatory. The response? "Invalid birth date."

"UNEVENTFUL"

During a visit by FIFA general secretary Jérôme Valcke to monitor progress of work on the Amazônia Arena, he denied that the organization was experiencing problems.

"The system allows for the claim of one million tickets, there were no incidents. Timeout is 13 minutes, the system is working well," he stated. "Even those who failed today [yesterday], can try again later. Everyone has a chance to get a ticket."

(EDER FANTONI, MARTÍN FERNANDEZ, LUCAS REIS)

Translated by STEVE HUGHES

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