Tickets for the 2014 World Cup go on sale Tuesday and Fifa is expecting similar demand to that from the 2006 tournament in Germany.
Fans from around the world is allowed to apply for their tickets on Fifa’s website that began at 10am GMT.
Around 3.3 million tickets will be available for the 64-match tournament, Fifa sources said.
Fifa expects about 3.3 million tickets to be available for the monthlong tournament in Brazil.
Fans don’t have to rush to try to guarantee a ticket because all applications made through October 10 will enter a random selection draw if there aren’t enough tickets available to fulfil all requests.
The sales of the leftover tickets will begin November 5 on a first-come, first-serve basis. Another phase will begin December 8 after the World Cup draw determines where and when each nation will play. The tournament begins June 12, with Brazil playing the opener in Sao Paulo.
Fifa Marketing Director Thierry Weil said Fifa is confident the ticketing system put in place for next year’s World Cup will handle the expected high demand for tickets.
“We can do a lot of simulations but the biggest test will come tomorrow when it all starts,” Weil said. “But we are confident that things will work.”
Fifa is facing a higher level of complexity in the ticket sales this year because the Brazilian government demanded discount tickets be offered to some citizens, forcing a fourth ticket category. Weil said added difficulties to the sales operation, especially because of the need to verify the buyers’ eligibility to the cheaper price categories.
Nearly 800,000 fans attended the Confederations Cup in Brazil this year, with ticket sales easily surpassing those for the warm-up tournament in South Africa in 2009 and in Germany in 2005.
Many fans across Brazil faced difficulties picking up their tickets for the 16-match competition won by Brazil, with lines of up to three hours in some distribution centres. That prompted Fifa to allow fans attending World Cup matches the option of having tickets delivered to their home, although at their own cost.
“We all agree that the Confederations Cup is more than just a test event,” Weil said. “But for the operations side it’s the best thing that we can have. We learned a lot from what happened there.”
Fans buying the discounted tickets will not have the option to receive their tickets at home because they will have to show proof of their eligibility to the cheaper prices at the distribution centres.
