Football fans hoping to catch Real Madrid in action in the UAE later this year will have another opportunity to do so, with Fifa Club World Cup organisers soon to release a second batch of tickets for the tournament’s latter stages.
Ticket sales for the December 6-16 event, returning to the Emirates for the first time since 2010, have thus far exceeded expectations, with the initial allocation of seats for the semi-final and final appearing to have sold out.
Madrid, the Club World Cup defending champions, join the seven-team competition at the last-four stage, with their semi-final taking place at Zayed Sports City on December 13.
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The Local Organising Committee (LOC) have confirmed that another allocation of tickets will be released, meaning supporters could yet see Madrid attempt to become the first club to successfully defend the trophy. The UAE has hosted the Club World Cup twice before, in 2009 and 2010.
“It’s amazing,” said Aref Al Awani, tournament director of the LOC, when asked about ticket sales. “Even for the pre-season tickets, when we launched with our partner Visa in June, we were surprised that the sales were 10 times what we sold in 2009 and 2010. I cannot release the numbers yet, but I can assure you now that 70 per cent of the semi-final and final are sold.
“For the semi-final and final, we will open the batch again. Because everybody who’s going to the website will see that the first batch is sold out, but we’ll open the last batch soon in coordination with Fifa.”
This year’s Club World Cup will feature UAE champions and host representatives Al Jazira, New Zealand’s Auckland City and Mexico’s FC Pachuca. The final three teams - the respective club champions from South America, Asia and Africa - will be confirmed next month.
However, Al Awani is confident that, no matter who books their spot at the event, both Abu Dhabi's Zayed Sports City and Al Ain's Hazza bin Zayed Stadium will attract large crowds come kick off on December 6.
With Fifa #ClubWC draw done, Real Madrid intent on making history in the #UAE. Could face Al Jazira in semi-final. https://t.co/on24KRmrPR pic.twitter.com/FPWpt4Ud11
— John McAuley (@_JMcAuley) October 10, 2017
“Thankfully, we are having a big demand for the other games," he said. "For sure, the fans are mostly waiting for their teams to come in. But we’re sure even for the first three matches, when it will be decided who will qualify for the semi-final, we’ll have a big demand for tickets. For example, Jazira are discussing with us about buying tickets.
“I’m inviting all the interested fans to go and buy their tickets.”
Tickets are available online at FIFA.com/uae2017
