New Delhi: India’s Under-17 football World Cup matches may have been shifted to Delhi but that hasn’t been able to increase the demand for tickets here, which is still lagging behind leading centres Kolkata, Guwahati and Kochi.
World body Fifa agreed to amend the match schedule to shift India’s group matches from Mumbai to New Delhi, acting on a request from the All India Football Federation.
India are clubbed alongside Ghana, Colombia and USA in a tough Group A, playing all their first round matches at the 58,000-seater Jawaharlal Stadium here, beginning their campaign against the Unites States on October 6.
But demand for tickets — starting at Rs 80 — at the home team’s venue has been markedly low, with reports suggesting only 20 per cent of tickets sold so far.
With India in action on the tournament’s opening day on October 6, tournament director of the Local Organising Committee Javier Ceppi expected demand at the capital to be higher.
“Delhi is still lagging behind Kolkata, Guwahati and Kochi. As the capital, we expect Delhi’s ticket sales to jump. Yet, we are confident of filling the ground during matches,” Ceppi said.
