Club World Cup seats sell for five times face value
Tickets to the Club World Cup final in Abu Dhabi on Saturday night are changing hands at more than five times their face value.
Al Ain supporters said excitement had reached fever pitch after their squad’s semi-final win over the South American side River Plate.
On Thursday the website Viagogo, which allows ticket holders to sell their seats on for profit, showed those originally costing Dh100 now going for more than Dh500.
More expensive seats with a better view of the game originally cost Dh400. They were advertised on Thursday for more than Dh1,700.
“I would have gone to the stadium even if I didn’t find tickets,” said Safee Adel, 32, who has been an Al Ain fan since 1994 and paid Dh500 for a ticket with a face value of Dh100.
“Honestly, I don’t care about the price. I would pay any price for the ticket. It’s is a little risky but what can we do?”
The cost of tickets began to soar once Al Ain beat the South American champions on Tuesday in the first of the semi-finals.
In the second semi, European champions Real Madrid defeated Kashima Antlers of Japan on Wednesday to set up what many consider to
be the biggest match in UAE football history.
Mr Adel said he was now hoping his side could pull off what would be considered one of the greatest upsets of all time.
Real Madrid’s squad includes Gareth Bale – who scored a hat-trick in the semi-final and is believed to earn Dh1.6 million a week – and Luka Modric, who won the prestigious Ballon d’Or earlier this month.
“We have to remember that we are playing Real Madrid, the biggest club in the world,” Mr Adel said. “But if we play with the same spirit, there is no impossible. We have to fight for the glory. But we are happy to reach the final.”
The fixture has been sold out through official channels but websites such as dubizzle are still advertising tickets at inflated prices.
The match kicks off at Zayed Sports City Stadium at 8.30pm.
“The fans are very excited. They are all talking about this final match,” said Mohammed Nabil, who was taken by his father to watch Al Ain in 1985 and has been a fan ever since.
“Now so many people are selling tickets at high prices and fans will pay.”
Mr Nabil, 37, said he had booked his tickets for the final well in advance at face value.
He attended Al Ain’s quarter-final against Esperance de Tunis of Tunisia, and said he had never before seen the side’s supporters so exuberant.
“At first we just hoped Al Ain would get past the Tunisian team,” said the pharmacist, who was born in Al Ain but now lives in Ajman. “When we reached the semi-final against River, I was already satisfied with the achievement.
“Logically, Real will win by three or four goals but this is history for Al Ain. We need to fight until the end.”
A spokesman for Viagogo said that its service “does not set ticket prices”.
“Sellers set their own prices, which may be above or below the original face value,” the spokesman said.
Real Madrid’s squad includes Gareth Bale – who scored a hat-trick in the semi-final– and Ballon d’Or winner Luka Modric