Ticket sales for the FIFA World Cup are nearing three million ahead of the tournament’s start in Qatar on November 20, according to FIFA President Gianni Infantino and event organisers on Monday.
According to Brecorder, Qatar, the United States, and Saudi Arabia were the top three purchasing countries among the 2.89 million tickets sold, according to World Cup Chief Operating Officer Colin Smith at a news conference in Doha.
Infantino said in a video address to the conference that 240,000 hospitality packages for the month-long tournament, the first in a Middle Eastern country, had been sold.
Qatar, the smallest country to host soccer’s global showpiece tournament, expects an estimated 1.2 million visitors during the World Cup. Due to limited accommodation in Qatar, thousands of fans are expected to stay in neighbouring countries for matches.
Yasir Al Jamal, the director general of Qatar’s World Cup organising committee, told a news conference that 2 million room nights had been sold and that Qatar had added an additional 30,000 rooms to accommodate last-minute ticket sales.
Soccer teams, their support staff, and World Cup officials will occupy many hotel rooms in Doha. Japan will be the first team to arrive at the tournament on November 7, according to Smith.