PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) — The final phase of ticket sales for the FIFA World Cup opened Wednesday morning, drawing massive demand as fans logged on for a chance to secure seats for matches set to take place this summer.
The last-minute sales window began at 11 a.m. and will remain open until the tournament starts. However, some of the most anticipated matches are expected to sell out quickly.
A FIFA spokesperson told Action News that more than 1 million tickets were sold in each of the first three sales phases, totaling more than 3 million for general sales. FIFA said the tournament will sell about 6 million tickets overall. Not all tickets have been released yet, and additional seats may become available in the coming days.
As Philadelphia prepares to host matches, excitement is building, but so is frustration over affordability.
“It was a bucket list, I’m old. I said it’s coming to Philly, they get four games, I’m going, and I can’t afford it,” said David Byrnes of Allentown. “As always, for the oligarchs only. I’d love to go, I’m passionate, and I can’t go.”
Ticket prices vary widely depending on the match, ranging from a few hundred dollars to several thousand.
“I think it’s really exciting. I’d love to go, but unfortunately, I don’t know that I’ll be able to go, but I hope to,” said Georgia Debuerba of Rockville, Maryland.
International fans are also feeling the financial strain.
“It’s so expensive to come here, it’s not possible for us,” said Minna Rödblon of Finland.
“We have to travel, so it’s expensive with tickets and traveling and everything,” she added.
As ticket sales surge, security preparations are already well underway. Maureen Rush, president of the Philadelphia Police Foundation, said law enforcement has been preparing for over a year, at least.
“These folks have been meeting away sooner than now; they’ve been meeting for over a year and a half and pulling all of these details together,” Rush said.
“They have to be agile, they have to be able to change plans, and they’re really good at this. I think everybody should feel very, very safe coming here.”
Jack Tomarchio, a former principal deputy under the Secretary of Homeland Security for Intelligence who has worked very closely with the Secret Service, said local, state and federal agencies will coordinate security efforts, including visible measures and others that will remain behind the scenes.
“They’re gonna be doing the physical security, which is setting up lines where people go. They’re gonna set up a buffer zone protection plan,” he said. “They’re gonna be looking for known actors that might want to cause trouble or cause a terrorist hit on this event. There are lots of layered types of security that nobody even talks about, nobody even knows about.”
The World Cup is set to begin in early June, with matches taking place across the United States, Mexico and Canada.
The first match in Philadelphia is set for June 14.
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