RIO DE JANEIRO: Silly and uninformed speculation that FIFA might be considering shifting the World Cup was finally blown out of the waters with confirmation of the start of ticket sales for next year’s final writes KEIR RADNEDGE.

Rumour had been sparked when FIFA postponed the announcement from the day after the final of last month’s Confederations Cup. This was exacerbated by president Sepp Blatter’s critical comment earlier this week about the Brazilian street protests.

However the world federation and the local organizing committee has finally confirmed that the sales of tickets will start on August 20 at 12.00 CET via FIFA.com.

The announcement also confirmed FIFA’s expectation that all 12 venues will be completed and fully operable well in advance of the finals.

Starting price

For international football fans, ticket prices start at $90 for the group-stage matches in category 3 (apart from the Opening Match for which the starting price will be $220).

For Brazilian residents, the cheapest tickets priced $15) are available for students, over-60s and adherents to the social welfare programme for 47 of the 48 group-stage matches (again apart from the Opening Match, which costs BRL 80 in category 4).

In total, about 3 million tickets will be available for fans to purchase during the three sales phases.

During the first sales period from August 20 to October 10 ticket applications may be submitted at any time during the period and at the end all requests will be collected and processed.

Applications

If the number of applications received per match and category exceeds the number of available tickets, a random selection draw will take place to determine the successful applicants for the respective matches or categories.

The first 300,000 category 4 tickets within this random selection draw will be offered on a priority basis to Brazilian residents who are over 60, students or Bolsa Família recipients.

To ensure that fans have a fair and equal opportunity to purchase tickets, two limits have been placed on applications.

Firstly, category 4 tickets are available to Brazilian residents only. Category 4, which is the cheapest ticket category, includes a minimum of 400,000 tickets.

Furthermore, to ensure that as many fans as possible receive tickets, a maximum of four tickets per match for up to seven matches may be purchased per household.

Discounts

In line with the 2014 FIFA World Cup General Bill, the following discounts will also apply for Brazilian residents:

Students, people over 60 Bolsa Família recipients will be entitled to receive a 50pc discount on the ticket face value within category 4. In addition, older people (over-60s) resident inBrazilwill be entitled to receive a 50pc a discount for category 1-3 tickets.

In accordance with applicable laws inBrazil, at least one per cent of the total quantity of purchasable tickets will be made available for disabled customers. Tickets for disabled people have been set at the category 3 ticket face value price.

Disabled customers also have the option of requesting a complimentary ticket for a companion who will assist them and accompany them to the match.

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