Ticket speculators cash in on the World Cup in Qatar

Desperate fans turn to illegal sellers as there are no tickets left at the FIFA box office

Many stowaway football fans who came to Qatar on the eve of the final matches of the World Cup are increasingly turning to ticket speculators, as there are almost no tickets left on the official FIFA resources.

Spontaneous markets appear near stadiums in Doha. Buyers and sellers are not even afraid of police patrols, CCTV cameras and laws prohibiting the sale of tickets by hand in the emirate.

“The black market has formed. We sell the tickets that are in the highest demand,” an anonymous ticket dealer from France told Reuters, saying the sales made him enough money to pay for a trip to the final, as well as a bonus. He added that he charges “the most devoted fans” a 1,000 percent surcharge for tickets to popular matches featuring stars such as Messi and Ronaldo.

Many seasoned ticket speculators have traveled to Doha to cash in on the Middle East’s first World Cup. They trade either through specially created groups on social networks, or outside the stadiums with their hands.

The organizers of the World Cup on December 3 urged fans not to go to stadiums without tickets in order to avoid crowding near sports arenas.

At the same time, the punishment for speculators in Qatar is quite mild, and most, if not all, such cases ended in fines.

special law

Before the start of the tournament, the Qatari authorities passed a special law on the World Cup, which gives FIFA exclusive rights to sell tickets. Under this law, speculators face a fine of up to 10 times the face value of tickets sold illegally.

FIFA management has already warned that it will cancel those tickets that will not be sold on its official resources.

“Fifa’s ultimate goals are to prioritize the safety of all fans and ensure a fair pricing scheme for World Cup tickets,” a FIFA spokesman said. Adding that the international federation is in constant contact with the Qatari authorities to ensure the implementation of “appropriate measures within the framework of applicable law.”

Demand for tickets is expected to pick up towards the end of the World Cup, especially as Qatar has lifted the requirement for incoming fans to have pre-purchased match tickets in hand.

Outside the official FIFA ticketing center in downtown Doha on December 4, loudspeakers repeated the recorded message “no tickets” all day long.