Tickets to Qatar 2022: they can still be hunted

FIFA surprised fans around the world who had not yet found an opportunity to buy tickets to enter a World Cup match in Qatar. Less than 20 days before the inauguration, the ticket sales platform released places for the games of the Mexican National Team against Poland, Argentina and Saudi Arabia, among others.

Available tickets may come from FIFA business partners (distinguished by category) that failed to connect with a recipient. The main partners of the organization are Adidas, Coca Cola, Wanda Group, Hyundai, Qatar Airways, Qatar Energy and VISA. A year ago, FIFA created a new commercial approach, so that brands can create and accelerate business opportunities by occupying events such as the World Cups.

“The tickets are not different from those that are established in the normal sale. What can change is the category or if they have VIP services such as access to lounges that include drinks and meals. The released tickets have several reasons, one may be that many promotion winners (especially in Latin countries) do not claim their prizes for fear of scams. Also, in Europe, an anti-world sentiment grew from content creators who rejected invitations to Qatar from brands. Other reasons can also be lack of confirmations, illnesses, personal situations or even lack of budget to activate those series of tickets with Big Promos”, Victor Alvarado, Influencer Marketing Leader (Spanish Speaking Countries) at OneFootball, explains to El Economista.

The last minute online sales phase started on September 27th and will last until the end of the competition on December 18th. During this sales period, tickets are assigned on a first-come, first-served basis and ticket purchases are processed in a real-time transaction, subject to availability and, if obtained, confirmed at the time.

In mid-October, Colin Smith, the FIFA World Cup’s director of operations, said that nearly 3 million tickets had already been sold, with Qatar being the country with the most, accounting for around 37% of sales. The United States is the second country with the highest demand, followed by Saudi Arabia, England, Mexico, the United Arab Emirates, Argentina, France, Brazil and Germany. Mexican fans are often the top ticket buyers at World Cups. In Brazil in 2014, they placed in the top five, a feat they repeated in Russia in 2018 and now in Qatar 2022.

If a fan still can’t get a ticket before taking their flight, they’re welcome. The Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy of Qatar approved that the visit must take place under the Hayya with Me (1+3) policy, this allows those traveling to Doha with a ticket for at least one football match to invite a maximum of three friends or relatives who do not have a ticket. However, all international travelers must apply for their own Hayya card, which costs $137, per person, and applies to people over 12 years of age.

One of the topics of discussion is that accommodation in Qatar demanded more places. However, you can still book through the official website of the Accommodation Agency or directly with hotels or travel agencies. Organizers added a third cruise ship for fan accommodation: the MSC Opera.

“There is no risk (for any fan to buy a last-minute ticket) because the accommodation is available, just a few days ago more accommodation was opened on the qatar2022.qa page,” Aboud Onji, Communications Director of the Embassy of Qatar, told this newspaper. Qatar in Mexico.

Entry to the World Cup: without PCR test or antigens, but with a vaccine against Covid

Foreigners visiting Qatar will no longer need a negative PCR or rapid antigen test to enter the country. The measure issued by the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) takes effect from November 1. The fans, players, officials, staff and media arriving are the largest influx of visitors ever seen in Qatar, which has a population of around 2.9 million.

marisol.rojas@eleconomista.mx