SAO PAULO – FIFA says fans have applied for more than six million tickets for the World Cup in Brazil, nearly double the total available.
The first phase of ticket allocation ended Thursday. Because of the high demand, soccer's governing body will hold a random draw to allocate the tickets.
The second phase will be Nov. 5-28, with tickets available on a first-come, first-serve basis.
Brazilians made 70 percent of the requests, followed by Americans, Argentines and Germans.
FIFA says it received applications from 203 countries. The most popular requests were the opener in Sao Paulo on June 12, the final at Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro on July 13 and all of Brazil's matches.
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