Over 800 000 tickets sold for World Cup in first phase

Fans have bought 804 186 tickets for matches at the World Cup in Qatar later this year in the first phase of sales, soccer’s world governing body and tournament organisers Fifa said on Wednesday.

Fifa said interest in tickets mainly came from Qatar, the United States, England, Mexico, the United Arab Emirates, Germany, India, Brazil, Argentina, and Saudi Arabia.

Tickets for the opening game on 21 November – which will feature hosts Qatar – as well as the final on 18 December were the most popular choices.

The majority of the 32 slots available for teams have been secured with a handful of World Cup qualifiers left to be completed.

The final draw for the World Cup where teams will be split into groups will be held on Friday.

Fifa added fans who did not succeed in the first sales phase will have another chance to apply during the next “random selection draw sales period” on their website on 5 April.