FIFA announces last-minute ticket sales phase for 2017 Confederations Cup in Russia

MOSCOW, April 19. /TASS/. World’s governing body of football FIFA announced on Wednesday the launch of the last-minute ticket sales phase ahead of the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup kick-off in less than two months. "Fans from all over the world will, as of 12:00 CET (13:00 Moscow time) today, have the opportunity to purchase tickets for the FIFA Confederations Cup as the last-minute sales phase starts," the organization said in its statement. "Tickets for all matches of the Tournament of Champions - including Special Access Tickets for disabled people, people with limited mobility and obese people - will be available," the statement said. "During this sales phase, which will close on 2 July, tickets will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis as a real-time transaction, subject to availability." "Fans interested in tickets are advised to purchase as soon as the sales phase starts as certain ticket categories for specific matches may become unavailable at any moment," the FIFA stated. The global football body also stressed in its statement in particular that, "As requested by the Russian authorities, to be able to attend matches at the FIFA Confederations Cup Russia 2017, all ticket holders need to apply for a Fan ID." "Each individual needs to obtain one personalized Fan ID, irrespective of the number of matches that will be attended or the number of ticket applications submitted," the statement from the FIFA added. Fan-ID requirement for FIFA Cups in Russia One of the most important steps taken by the Russian authorities to provide security during the 2017 and 2018 FIFA Cups was the introduction of the so-called Fan-ID. The fan-ID will play an important role in providing security during the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup and the 2018 FIFA World Cup as they would be granting admittance to the stadiums and would also serve as visas for foreign visitors. A fan-ID holder will be allowed to enter the country without having a Russian visa and stay for the duration of the global football tournament as well as for a period of ten days before and after the championship. In order to pass through the country’s borders, a holder of the fan-ID would also have to produce an identification document, a ticket for a match or a document verifying the purchase of a ticket. Ticket sales The FIFA announced in early April that up to 212,000 tickets had been already sold for the matches of the Confederations Cup. According to the FIFA, the majority of ticket requests came from the hosting country, however "foreign fans have also shown increased interest, particularly those from Chile who have requested 7,111 tickets so far." The previous window of ticket sales closed on April 5, and the world’s governing body of football announced that the final stage of ticket sales would be launched on April 19, when the Last Minute Sales phase kicked off. Ticket prices for the 2017 Confederations Cup and the 2018 World Cup were announced in Moscow last year on July 5 after the board meeting of the Russia-2018 Local Organizing Committee (LOC), attended by FIFA officials. The first stage of ticket sales for the 2017 Confederations Cup in Russia was launched on December 9 last year and closed on January 19. Ticket prices for FIFA Confederations and World Cup tournaments are usually divided into three categories and the global football organization visas the price for each category. The fourth category introduced for the World Cup in Russia by FIFA. A special fourth category, which is the cheapest compared to the others, was especially introduced by FIFA last July and was reserved for residents of host country Russia, who were able to apply for FIFA Confederations Cup Russia group-match tickets starting at 960 rubles ($17). 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup The FIFA Confederations Cup, which is also viewed by experts as a rehearsal a year prior to the FIFA World Cup, will be held between June 17 and July 2 at four stadiums in Russia and they are Spartak Stadium in Moscow, St. Petersburg Stadium, Fisht Stadium in Sochi and Kazan Arena in Kazan. Participants in the 2017 Confederations Cup are hosts Russia, 2014 FIFA World Cup Champions Germany, 2015 Copa America Champions Chile, 2015 AFC Asian Cup Champion Australia, 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup winners Mexico, 2016 UEFA Euro Cup champs Portugal, OFC (Oceania Football Confederation) Nations Cup victors New Zealand and 2017 CAF Africa Cup of Nations Champion Cameroon. The Draw for the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup was held on November 26, 2016 in the Russian city of Kazan. Following the event, hosts Russia was placed in Group A alongside with Portugal, Mexico and New Zealand. Group B has brought together Germany, Chile, Australia and Cameroon. The opening game will be held in St. Petersburg on June 17 between Russia and New Zealand. Russia will face Portugal in Moscow on June 21 and on June 24 it will play Mexico in Kazan. Read more