FIFA expressed apologies on Tuesday, March 13, for technical difficulties related to ticket sales in this year’s World Cup to be held in Russia on June 14 to July 15, 2018. Because of the large volume of fans trying to purchase football tickets for the said event, ticket sales for the World Cup had to be delayed.
Purchasing of tickets can be done through the official FIFA website. However, it was reported that football fans were having a hard time buying the much-awaited and much-coveted World Cup tickets.
This particular second cycle of Phase 2 is intended for a “first-come, first-served†basis. The said phase of ticket sales services kicked off on March 13th (12:00 noon, Moscow time) and will last until April 3rd.
The demand for tickets was phenomenal yesterday. Over 350,000 were allocated but it was just a fraction of the interest from fans around the globe.
ℹhttps://t.co/eVwXTEXPXu pic.twitter.com/7qL2H7U57W
— FIFA World Cup 🆠(@FIFAWorldCup) March 14, 2018
FIFA expressed on its Twitter account, “We apologize to those who’ve had difficulties purchasing tickets today. We’ve noted the many messages and fully understand your frustrations.†“We’ve been informed that the issues relate to the sheer volume of fans accessing the ticketing platform. We thank you for your patience,†FIFA added.
Phase 1 and Phase 2 of ticket sales were divided into two periods or cycles each. FIFA has already calculated an aggregate sum of 1,303,616 tickets, which were allocated in Phase 1 (both periods) and Phase 2 (first period). Still, the said number of available tickets is lesser than that of the actual requests. Because of this, the tickets will be distributed via random selection draw.
For the last minute sales or Phase 3 (last phase), the remaining tickets will be available on a first come, first-serve basis. Phase 3 will happen from April 18 until the final match day of World Cup 2018.
Ticket prices for the World Cup are allotted into three categories. In July 2016, FIFA introduced a fourth one which has the cheapest price, but only reserved for football fans residing in the host country.
The 2018 World Cup stadiums are located in 11 host cities in Russia, two of which are in Moscow, the Russian capital.