World football governing body FIFA, organisers of the FIFA Arab Cup Qatar 2021, say fans now have the opportunity from Tuesday to secure their tickets for the first FIFA pan-Arab tournament.
FIFA a statement on Tuesday said the ticket sales would be on a first-come-first-served basis, with the tournament just about two months away.
“Fans have another chance to secure their tickets for the first FIFA pan-Arab tournament from Tuesday, via FIFA.com/tickets.
“While a random selection draw applied during the exclusive Visa Pre-sale, spots will be allocated on a first-come-first-served basis this time and this will be confirmed immediately after payment.
“Tickets for all the matches are still available, including the curtain-raisers at two brand-new stadia that will be used at the FIFA World Cup 2022 — the stunning Al Bayt and the ground-breaking Ras Abu Aboud,” the organisers said.
“Tickets that have already been purchased for these matches remain valid in spite of the changed kick-off times.
“Fans will be able to attend two out of the four matches taking place daily during the group stage, as long as there are four hours in between kick-offs, to allow enough time to get to the second stadium using public transport.
“Team-specific ticket series will also be available once again during this sales phase, which will be concluded on Oct. 12 at 12:00 AST/11:00 CET.
“Finally, the last-minute sales phase will start on Nov. 2 and run until the end of the tournament,” FIFA added.
It also said a selection of affordable tickets would be available.
“A full overview of the sales phases and ticket prices is available at FIFA.com/tickets. Visa, the Official Payment Services Partner of FIFA, is the preferred payment method for fan ticket purchases for the FIFA Arab Cup Qatar 2021.”
The FIFA Arab Cup Qatar 2021 will offer a glimpse of what to expect one year later at the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022.
During the first FIFA pan-Arab football tournament, spectators and competitors alike will experience Qatar’s hospitality as 16 teams from across the Arab world take the pitch between Nov. 30 and Dec. 18.
Besides Al Bayt and Ras Abu Aboud, Al Thumama, Ahmad Bin Ali, Education City and Al Janoub stadiums, all built from scratch in preparation for 2022, complete the line-up of magnificent FIFA Arab Cup venues.
FIFA stated that 23 national teams were invited to participate, with seven out of 14 advancing from the round of qualifying matches to meet hosts Qatar and the eight highest-ranked nations, who qualified directly.
“The 16 teams will now compete in a group stage followed by knockout matches, making for a total of 32 games played over 19 days.
“As the tournament will take place at the same time of the year as football’s global showpiece in 2022, fans and teams will enjoy mild temperatures.
“The host country’s compact nature will offer minimal travel distances between venues and an exciting match schedule, allowing fans to purchase selected tickets for more than one match per day during the group stage, while ensuring sufficient travel times between kick-offs,” FIFA also said.
It added: “Fan ID is a smart-technology identification card designed to provide fans with the ultimate experience in Qatar.
“It will be mandatory for all ticket-holders that attend the FIFA Arab Cup 2021 matches, and will serve as a means of identification and provide access to tournament stadiums.
“Fan ID will also provide ticket-holders with access to a number of services and benefits relating to transportation, tourism and others, in order to enhance their experience while in Qatar.
“Fans planning to attend the FIFA Arab Cup 2021 should apply for their Fan ID once they have paid for their match tickets and have received their ticket application number by e-mail.”
FIFA noted however that Fan ID is operated by the government of the State of Qatar and it is not responsible for its application process, issuance and/or use.
On COVID-19 measures, FIFA said the host country would put all necessary machinery in place to protect the health of the players and fans.
“In light of the COVID-19 pandemic and as was the case for the FIFA Arab Cup 2020 and the FIFA Arab Cup Qatar 2021 qualifiers held in June 2021, the host country will provide the required safeguards to protect the health and safety of all involved in the competition.
“Attendees must follow the travel advice from the Qatari authorities and the guidance from Qatar’s Ministry of Public Health.
“Additional information on COVID-19-related safety measures to access the FIFA Arab Cup Qatar 2021 stadia will be available at FIFA.com.
“To date, ticket-holders are required to be fully vaccinated with one of the vaccines approved by the Ministry of Public Health,” the statement said