Argentinian fans race against time for a ticket: the hope for the official ticket and the offer in a usurious resale

It is estimated that some 35,000 Argentines They have already confirmed their place at the Lusail stadium to watch and cheer in Qatar for the 2022 World Cup final. But there are thousands more (about 8,000) who, as if it were a test against time, still roam the streets of Doha and beg the Internet God for technology to wink at you through your cell phone or computer. Despairthis is the word that unites those fans who are looking for a last minute ticket, between hoping for an official ticket and betting on a usurious resale.

So that anyone queuing up at the bakery or butcher’s to prepare Sunday lunch can imagine what happens miles away, the panorama is as follows: Since time is the only thing that can’t be stopped or slowed down, the level of difficulty in finding a place is increasing.

The main motorcade, at these times, is based near FIFA’s press and ticketing center in West Bay. This is the Doha Exhibition and Convention Center (DECC), where the official ticket office is located. This is where tickets are sold, printed and collected.

How could you confirm clarionseveral Argentines have been lucky for those remains that appear without logic and benefit those who are faster and have the money to buy them.

Then there is the virtual opportunity, on the official FIFA website. This is split in two, because the ticket sale option is no longer available, but it is in the official resale where a ticket appears from time to time for those who enter and queue virtual: on Friday it marked 5 minutes, by Saturday it amounted to 25. The problem is that you could enter where the “cart” is, but find nothing and be forced to repeat the whole process.

How much are those official tickets worth? They are divided into three categories and the values ​​range from 1,607 to 604 dollars with an intermediate price of 1,002 of the US currency. Faces, yes… But it’s the final of a World Cup that will see Kylian Mbappé on one side and Lionel Messi on the other.

Contrary to what one imagines out of pure logic, the cheapest tickets, category 3, are the most sought after. Why? Not only because they are more accessible, but because they are the best locations according to the football culture of the Argentine fan: most of these armchairs are located behind the arches and it is here that the matches of the national team are experienced with more warmth and color.

What about resale? It’s still hot in the various WhatsApp groups that make up the Argentine fans who are in Doha and prices remain at stratospheric levels. Official values ​​triple and even quadruple. The game of supply and demand is in wild mode. A color data: when a group member succumbs to the temptation to pay an undue price, other members come to his rescue and advise him to wait.

The actor’s strategy is that the passage of time works in its favor with the retailers and, as always, the tickets end up appearing at much cheaper prices than the initial ones.

One of those WhatsApp groups is a little more radical and involves organizing outside the Lusail stadium and trying to jump the turnstiles into a waterspout where someone could get in the way. For example, warned or not, since the beginning of this Sunday there were thousands and thousands of Qatari police at the entrances.

Doha, Qatar. Special delivery.