Tournament access for low-income groups
Initiative description: Creating opportunities for low-income groups that reside in Qatar and the region, or that have been involved in the preparations for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™, to attend or experience the tournament. This will be achieved through the tournament ticketing policy, and, if needed, by increasing the availability of low-cost accommodation.
Tournament organisers provided low-income groups the opportunity to attend the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ by pricing tickets at an affordable rate for Qatari residents and by offering tickets for seats with a partially obstructed view for sale. These obstructed view tickets were also distributed free of charge to tournament workforce and volunteers.
Tickets for residents of Qatar
There were four ticket price categories for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ (Category 1-4), with Category 1 seats being the highest priced and located in prime areas within the stadium. Category 4 were the most affordable. To make the tournament more accessible for locals, Category 4 tickets were reserved exclusively for residents of Qatar. Category 4tickets ranged from QAR40 (equivalent to USD11) for group stage matches to QAR750 (equivalent to USD206) for the final match. For group stage matches, Category 4 tickets were 20 times cheaper than Category 1 tickets. In total, approximately 380,000 Category 4 tickets were sold for the tournament, which equals around 12% of the purchasable inventory.
Approximately 96% of Category 4 tickets were sold to migrants residing in Qatar. Indian, Bangladeshi, Egyptian and Pakistani residents purchased 66% of the available Category 4 tickets. The remaining 30% were sold to nationals of numerous other countries.
Accessibility tickets for local and international disabled people and people with limited mobility were also priced as Category 4. For more information about accessibility tickets, please visit the accessibility at the tournament web page of this report. Ticket prices in Qatari riyals are shown below.
To help ensure that Category 4 tickets were reserved for residents, each ticket applicant had to provide their residential address in Qatar as well as their Qatar ID (QID) number. The QID number is a unique identification number issued by the State of Qatar to its citizens and residents for the purpose of residency, employment, health care, and other government-related functions.
Obstructed view tickets
Obstructed view tickets are seats that have a restricted view of the pitch of up to 50%. These tickets were made available to the general public providing another opportunity for low-income groups to access affordable tickets (see pricing table below). Obstructed view tickets were also distributed free of charge to the tournament workforce and tournament volunteers, providing access to matches for people who may not have otherwise purchased tickets.
Information on Category 4 tickets and obstructed view tickets was made available on the FIFA ticketing platform.
For information on Qatar’s efforts to offer low-cost accommodation, including fan villages and the possibility of staying with friends and family, please visit the adaptable, efficient accommodation solutions web page of this report.