Fans click online for final ticket allocation

Swiss fans now have one week to register for the last tickets for Switzerland's group games at the Euro Keystone

Football fans have one final chance to get tickets for Switzerland's Euro 08 group-stage matches by entering an online draw that opens at midday on Saturday.

There are 5,600 tickets available for each match but as demand is certain to greatly exceed supply, the Swiss Football Association (SFA) will allocate the tickets by lottery. Members of the public have one week to register.

Most applicants will be disappointed. During the first phase of ticket sales in spring 2007, Uefa – European football’s governing body – received 10 million requests for 350,000 places. Fans can buy a maximum of four tickets per game.

The tickets now up for grabs are for Switzerland’s three group-stage matches against the Czech Republic, Turkey and Portugal. The games will take place at the St Jakob’s Park stadium in Basel in June.

The head of the SFA Peter Gilliéron confirmed to swissinfo that the tickets are only on offer to Swiss residents. Although the names of the purchaser and his or her guests will be registered by the SFA for security purposes, they will not appear on the tickets.

Gilliéron warned the public to be vigilant about ticket touts. “There are people out there promising tickets which have not even been printed yet, so fans should be cautious,” he said.

The SFA received 7,747 tickets from Uefa for each Swiss match. This represents about 20 per cent of the capacity of the Basel stadium.

Of these, the SFA will sell 5,600 tickets per game to the public. The remainder will be kept for sponsors and what Gilliéron called “the family of football”.

The SFA has no tickets available to sell for group games Switzerland is not participating in.

One week window

The online draw to buy tickets runs from February 9 to Saturday February 16. All applicants have an equal chance of getting tickets regardless of when they register, organisers explained.

“The first to register has no greater chance of getting a ticket than the last to register,” Gilliéron said.

So-called loyal fans will be given priority when it comes to getting tickets. Loyal fans are those who have attended at least eight of the national team’s last 16 games. This is no mean feat considering that eight games were played away.

Those who sign up for this last round of tickets will be notified by email in March whether they have been successful or not. Tickets can only be paid for by credit card.

It will also be possible to book tickets for the quarter and semi-finals for which Switzerland might qualify. However purchasers will have to have previously registered for group-stage tickets.

As for the Championship final in Vienna, no arrangements are in place for distributing tickets to Swiss fans should Switzerland run out on the pitch that day.

swissinfo with agencies

Ticket prices:

Switzerland vs Czech Republic (June 7, 2008) SFr110 ($100) to SFr400

Switzerland vs Turkey (June 11. 2008) SFr70 to SFr 175

Switzerland vs Portugal (June 15. 2008) SFr70 to SFr 175

Quarterfinal tickets SFr95 to SFr 290

Semi-final tickets SFr130 to SFr 480

Ticket prices include use of public transport in Switzerland and Austria on the day of the match and the following day until midday.

Euro 2008

Co-hosts Switzerland and Austria qualified automatically for the tournament, which takes place from June 7-29, 2008.

The 31 games will be played in four cities in Switzerland (Basel, Bern, Geneva and Zurich) and four cities in Austria (Innsbruck, Klagenfurt, Salzburg and Vienna). The final will be held in Vienna on June 29. Switzerland will play its three group matches in Basel.

The finals will be broadcast in 170 countries and are expected to be watched by about eight billion TV viewers.

Up to 5.4 million football fans are expected to follow the tournament in Switzerland, including 1.4 million from abroad.