The price of a season ticket for Fifa U-17 World Cup matches in Kolkata, including the final on October 28, will be less than Rs 500, it was disclosed on Sunday by the local organisers. Season tickets for all 10 matches in Kolkata will be available from Tuesday at an early-bird discount of “about 60%”, reported PTI.
Season tickets will be available in denominations of Rs 480, Rs 960 and Rs 1,920. Kolkata is home to Group F teams and will host one round-of-16 match, one quarter-final, the third-place playoff and the final match.
Tournament director Javier Ceppi said the discount was unheard of in a Fifa World Cup. “You can actually see a World Cup final in less than Rs 50, when you’re buying it for 10 matches,” he said. “It’s amazing. We will open the venue packages initially. Effectively for the 10 matches in Kolkata, not individual matches.”
He added, “It will be limited inventory that will open up now. It will be at 60% discount of the original price of the tickets when tournament begins. It’s for rewarding the people who are buying first.”
The organising committee is hoping to assess the football fervour among the six host cities by offering this discount. “It’s a competition to gauge which city has the most passionate fans,” Ceppi said. “It will give a sense which city likes football most. It’s easy for us to see us then. I’ve been told that Bengalis like football, so it should reflect on ticket sales.
He added, “It’s a call for all football lovers because you don’t know the teams, who will play here. You need to be at the stadium regardless of who are playing to see a high quality football World Cup match.”
The ticket sales will start on Tuesday at 19:11, as a tribute to the Mohun Bagan players who had recorded a historic win over Britain’s East Yorkshire Regiment in the IFA Shield final in 1911. The Fifa U-17 World Cup will be held in India from October 6-28.