Demand beating supply for World Cup tickets

A Ugandan, who prefers not to be named, is in St Petersburg for the World Cup.
He watched the second round match between Switzerland and Sweden and is now doing his best to secure a World Cup semi-final ticket. The next match in St Petersburg is in the semis.
“I am keeping fingers crossed because right now, I would close my eyes and pay an arm and a leg,” he says.
While doing his ticket booking, he picked that particular second round ticket in the hope that his beloved Germany would win Group F and play the second round in Russia’s second biggest town. The Die Mannshaft finished bottom.
World Cup tickets are not sold at Stadiums, Uganda Premier League style. They are purchased on the Internet.
While it is illegal to sell World Cup tickets outside of the official channels, it isn’t against the law to purchase them from touts or scalpers.
And as the tournament approaches the business end of the season, fans of teams in the last eight are doing their very best to attend today and tomorrow’s quarter finals. At almost every World Cup game, there are fans looking for tickets outside stadiums. Some will shout out their need for tickets while others will hold placards written on ‘I am looking for tickets.’
That number of ticket-seeking fans has gone up with some fans, like those from Sweden, on the look-out for whoever may be willing to sell his or her ticket.
After all not many of them expected their country to be competing at the last eight stage.
There are other Ugandans who bought tickets to some truly appetizing matches but have had to forego some of the early games because of tight work schedules.
Russia’s vastness - it is the biggest country in the world and never before in the history of the competition have had fans to cover so much ground and nautical miles in between games – has meant that most fans have had to pitch camp in one city rather than attempt to attend games on a daily basis.
Those willing to sell their tickets are not letting them go on the cheap.
England vs Sweden tickets are going for as high as $1000, which way higher than the cost of watching the 2018 World Cup final.
When the quarter finals are done today and tomorrow, naturally there will be heightened interest for the semi-final tickets for St Petersburg and Moscow on Tuesday and Wednesday.

*The writer is Monitor Publications’ Sports Editor