UEFA has currently sold 80% of tickets for the matches of the Euro 2012 European Football Championship, Head of Planning, Ticketing and Admission Services at UEFA Pedro Correia has said.
"According to our forecasts, the payment will end by the end of July 2011. As of today, 80% of orders have already been purchased. However, all of the ordered tickets are considered sold," the Ukraine 2012 Information Center quoted Correia as saying.
The UEFA official said that the payment of tickets was a long process. He added that the payment process was being delayed not only for technical reasons.
"Firstly, we offer each client various opportunities to pay for tickets, as it is convenient for them. Secondly, the character of fans is also influencing [the sale of tickets]. In case of the payment by bank transfer, everybody postpones [the purchase of tickets] until the last day. Some people, perhaps, think that after winning a lot of tickets, they don’t need all of them. Thirdly, the technical component also plays its role here. UEFA is checking all clients as to whether there is the threat of tickets being resold or entering the black market," Correia said.
He said that if the payment for ordered tickets is not made, they will be put up for resale via a lottery that will be conducted after the draw for the finals of the tournament, which will be made in Kyiv on December 2, 2011.
"Unredeemed tickets will be sold to other people standing in a queue. We have determined the second queue of those who want to buy tickets, and they will be notified of such a possibility. Thank God, there are still a lot of people who want to buy tickets," he said.
