RIO DE JANEIRO, (Reuters) – Almost 250,000 Confederations Cup tickets bought on the internet by Brazilian fans have not been collected with only two days until the tournament starts, FIFA’s general secretary said yesterday.
Jerome Valcke told a news conference the development raised concerns ahead of next year’s World Cup because Brazilian supporters, who have complained about the system, are used to turning up on match day to buy tickets before watching a game.
The problem has been made worse by the reduced number of places to pick up tickets with only one in each Confederations Cup host city except Rio de Janeiro which has three.
Huge queues formed over the last few days in a hotel in Rio and some fans complained of having to wait for over two hours to get the tickets, even with prior appointment.
