Abu Dhabi: With hosts Al Jazira having sent the football pundits for a toss by setting up a semi-final clash with Spanish giants Real Madrid, the demand for the semi-final and final Club World Cup tickets have shot through the roof.
Blackmarketeers are also trying to cash in on the demand and websites like dubizzle.com are flooded with tickets at an exorbitant price.
While the price demand for a Category 1 tickets worth Dh250 is Dh750, for a Category 2 ticket worth Dh100, the asking price is Dh500 and for Category 3 ticket worth Dh40, prices have shot up to Dh350.
For sceptical buyers, sellers are even ready to meet them by the gate to hand over tickets at the venue before the match.
With Real Madrid having landed last night, straight after routing Sevilla 5-0 in La Liga, the demand over the next two days is expected to rise further. Though the official ticketing website www.ticketmaster.ae doesn’t show any availability, fans can still hope of grabbing a seat as the local organising committee has decided to release another fresh batch of tickets, it is learnt.
However, to know when would that be, one will have to keep checking the website in the run-up to the matches.
Contacted by Gulf News, a blackmarketeer who had posted an advertisement for ticket sales said, he had purchased 12 tickets anticipating such a demand.
An Al Jazira fan, who didn’t want to be named and was in a hunt for ticket said, “I didn’t buy a ticket thinking Al Jazira won’t make it to the semis and now I want to be there to support them. I’m ready to even pay extra but I’m worried about fraudsters so want to be 100 per cent sure.”
