All purpose ‘Going to Qatar’ thread

[EJsens1]

42 minutes ago, Free kick said:

I was on the FIFA page for the tournament website and looking at the packages available.   i will try to dig it up again and send you the link.    Be warned, seeing the price for a single ticket can be traumatizing 🙂

 

So again, this is different than the main ticketing procedure.  I posted the link to this above.  What you’re looking at is a premium ticketing service that offers lots of perks before, during and after the game.  The fee, the $950 US per game you mentioned, also guarantees you the ticket depending on the package you choose.  Again, this is completely separate from the main ticketing process that will commence in January (only a few weeks away).  The tickets you would buy from FIFA are just the tickets, nothing else.  

If was to make an educated guess, expect to spend around $1000 for the 3 games.  Could be a bit more, could be a bit less.  When I went in ‘14, we had 5 games.  If I remember correctly it was around $1500 for the 5 games.  The stadium was set up to have 3 tiers for pricing from really good seats to crummier seats.  So there are price differences obviously there.  I feel like we got the 2nd tiered ones but I can’t remember.  
 

The bottom line is, you’re not going to get tickets here for $60.  It will never happen.  It’s the World Cup.  Happens every 4 years.  However you won’t be paying a $1000 a game,  FIFA sets the prices.  Surprisingly they don’t go ape shit with the prices.   

[JamboAl]

To me, a "reasonable" price for a ticket would be in the US $175-350 range.  I suspect the range will be higher for Qatar.  Definitely, not for the budget conscious supporter.

[EJsens1]

26 minutes ago, JamboAl said:

To me, a "reasonable" price for a ticket would be in the US $175-350 range.  I suspect the range will be higher for Qatar.  Definitely, not for the budget conscious supporter.

You could be right.  I actually was able to get a picture of the tickets we had from ‘14 from my email.  We actually paid less than I remembered.  I really don’t know what the cost will be for tickets, I just don’t think it will be an outrageous amount.  

[shorty]

Man I remember writing (an actual letter, sent by mail) to the CSA to request tickets for USA94, and we paid at most $60-70 per ticket for the four games we saw in Detroit, San Francisco and Dallas.  1000% inflation in 20 years is crazy. 

[ESG Shawn]

20 hours ago, OhCanadaOhBaby said:

I promised myself if Canada made it, I would go. Only thing is, I know nothing about the world cup process as I've never looked into going before.

I don't know if anyone in this forum has been before and are familiar with the process, but if someone would care to give a slight World Cup crash course for planning the trip/some tips for getting set up I think a lot of people would appreciate it here.

 

Thanks for starting this thread - I've said in the past, the next time Canada qualifies for the WC, I have to go, even if its on the moon, so I've started to kick the tires on the planning process as well. 

I was fortunate enough to attend Russia 2018 and I am happy to share my planning experiences. I ended up staying in Russia for roughly 2 weeks (the group stage). 

Tickets:

With Canada not qualifying and Russia being the size it is, our plan was to set up in Moscow as a home base and then try to get as many tickets possible to matches in Moscow and cities within a reasonable train trip, with the exception of St. Petersburg where we were willing to move home base if need be. Qatar/Doha  won't have this issue as all venues seem to be reachable in a single day. 

We ended up getting 4 matches via the initial FIFA lottery, and ended up picking up a 5th match via the second FIFA lottery (not sure if the process is the same for Qatar, but if you win the initial lottery for tickets, you can decline the seats. Those seats were re-released in a secondary lottery, and that's how we picked up the 5th match.)

In terms of pricing, we were all over the place in the stadiums for each match, but I recall never paid more than $200 CAD per match. There were 4 price categories you could choose from, but you couldn't pick your specific section/row/seats. I do recall billing with my credit card was an issue and had to frantically call Mastercard to authorize a transaction while was in the queue for tickets - so prepare for that. 

Accommodation: 

We left this pretty late, so my advice, given the circumstances noted in this thread, is to lock something up early as possible. Because of our tardiness, we ended up having to stay in the suburbs of Moscow (about 30 min train into the centre city). It was roughly a 3 star hotel but prices were jacked up - I'm sure this will be the case in Qatar. 

Transport: 

Moscow Subway + Uber got us everywhere we needed to be quick and easy.  In terms of inter-city travel, on matchdays, your match ticket allowed for free travel on inter-city trains which was helpful. If I recall correctly, our "Fan-ID"/passport gave us free transport on the Moscow subway and I'm sure FIFA will have a similar set up for Qatar.

Google Translate app was clutch to help converse with drivers, and locals for that matter. 

 

 

 

[Neil R.]

On 12/30/2021 at 5:37 PM, EJsens1 said:

From November 1st, around three weeks before the opening game of the tournament on November 21st, the following maximum prices per night per room may be charged:

★ 5-star luxury hotels: 2133 Qatari riyals (approx. 520 euros)

★ 4-star hotels: 482 riyals (approx. 117 euros)

★ 3-star hotels: 438 riyals (107 euros)

★ 2 and 1 star hotels: 296 riyals (72 euros)“

Thank you very much for the information on maximum hotel prices.

I found this link today. It mentions a few additional price categories:

https://www.alansarilaw.com/the-ministry-sets-the-maximum-rates-for-leasing-hotel-rooms-during-fifa-world-cup-qatar-2022/

* 296 QR for 1 and 2 star hotels

* 438 QR for 3 star hotels

* 464 QR for regular hotel apartments

* 482 QR for regular 4 star hotels

* 537 QR for special hotel apartments

* 886 QR for special 4 star hotels

* 911 QR for regular 5 star hotels

* 1222 QR for luxury hotel apartments

* 1488 QR for special 5 star hotels

* 2133 QR for luxury 5 star hotels

* 2801 QR for 5 star hotel resorts

I'm pleasantly surprised the maximum rates for 3 star and regular 4 star hotels are 438-482 QAR ($152-$167 CAD). Hopefully some of those will be available when the booking website opens.

Edited January 1, 2022 by Neil R.

[EJsens1]

13 hours ago, Neil R. said:

Thank you very much for the information on maximum hotel prices.

I found this link today. It mentions a few additional price categories:

https://www.alansarilaw.com/the-ministry-sets-the-maximum-rates-for-leasing-hotel-rooms-during-fifa-world-cup-qatar-2022/

* 296 QR for 1 and 2 star hotels

* 438 QR for 3 star hotels

* 464 QR for regular hotel apartments

* 482 QR for regular 4 star hotels

* 537 QR for special hotel apartments

* 886 QR for special 4 star hotels

* 911 QR for regular 5 star hotels

* 1222 QR for luxury hotel apartments

* 1488 QR for special 5 star hotels

* 2133 QR for luxury 5 star hotels

* 2801 QR for 5 star hotel resorts

I'm pleasantly surprised the maximum rates for 3 star and regular 4 star hotels are 438-482 QAR ($152-$167 CAD). Hopefully some of those will be available when the booking website opens.

Again, I would take the hotels/villas/cruise liners and whatever other options they present with a grain of salt on pricing.  We’ll have to wait and see until something official comes out.  My gut tells me you can’t overcharge like crazy.  If you want sold out games (assuming no Covid restrictions) you need to have people there who aren’t all just ridiculously rich.  Otherwise, it will be a bust.  They have one stadium with 80000, another with 60000 and six stadiums with only 40000 capacity.  Not as big as some previous tournaments, but still big enough where they need lots of people who can afford to pay reasonable prices.  Plus they’re jamming in 4 games each day, compared to the usual 3 per day.  If the thought is fans can attend multiple games per day, again charging an arm and a leg for middle class type fans won’t work.  

[gigi riva]

On 12/30/2021 at 7:19 PM, SthMelbRed said:

A good friend of one of my best mates currently lives in Qatar, working for FIFA. He said that residents are prohibited from providing accommodation to visitors without special permission. Not sure if it's true, or not, but it's what I was told.

Im sure that will change in due time 

[gigi riva]

Way back in June of 1986 I ws only 17 years old, I promised myself back then that I would attend a World cup that Canada has qualifyed never expected at the time that I may have to wait more than 30 years for it  but that is history lets just move forward, I would love to to go see Canada in Qatar even ifm it is for one game  and I have to fly in and Fly out . I think I will go the FIFA route and grab tickets there.

[Wayverider]

I don't think ticket prices will be as outrageously high as some would have us believe. Its supply and demand and there will be a plethora of games to choose from (all in fairly close proximity). I recall in France 1998 - if you wanted to go to the France-Italy quarterfinal (which I bought a single ticket for it was an arm and a leg- lol $250 which was a lot back then. But the first round match between Japan and Jamaica you could almost negotiate your own price as it was a buyer's market). As much as we love Canada I don't think they are going to be a team that commands huge prices for tickets among scalpers, though perhaps a game vs England, Germany, Brazil, Qatar would be quite different. 

Obviously Qatar is a bit of a wild card compared to previous world cups as it is an entirely different country and culture, not used to 1 million plus visitors all at once. But make no mistake there will be hundreds of thousands of European fans entering Qatar who fully expect to do it on the cheap and also to drink copious amounts of alcohol all day every day. So I think for Canadians attempting to find some middle ground there will be pricing options. 

[An Observer]

12 hours ago, gigi riva said:

Way back in June of 1986 I ws only 17 years old, I promised myself back then that I would attend a World cup that Canada has qualifyed never expected at the time that I may have to wait more than 30 years for it  but that is history lets just move forward, I would love to to go see Canada in Qatar even ifm it is for one game  and I have to fly in and Fly out . I think I will go the FIFA route and grab tickets there.

I was 19 at the time and thought the exact same

[umpiredice]

Are we going to do any kind of a group tour or is it every man for himself?  I'm in either way and I want to go for the entire group stage.  I want tickets to all Canada's matches plus whatever other matches I can pick up.  I'm flexible for accommodation and can put up with sleeping in a tent in the desert for a fortnight, although something with walls and a roof would be preferred.

[umpiredice]

On 12/30/2021 at 3:46 PM, cornerkick said:

I’m glad someone started this thread.  I was about to post something yesterday on it after reading that AP story.  To be honest, I’m not encouraged after reading what AP is reporting.  

“Only approximately 90,000 rooms will be made available to the public via a website. ”

As much as I’d like to attend, I worry the lack of accommodation / pricing of it will make it too expensive.  Flying in from Europe or another country to watch a match, then flying out, would make it even more complicated and costly….

Qatar Airways is offering some kind of all inclusive deal for games.  Between 3-8k USD depending on what you want to see…eg group stage, Knock-out, etc.

https://www.qatarairways.com/app/fifa2022/?iid=ALL24232430

I checked out this website and there are no flights from Canada or the US.  Also, in the dropdown list to pick the team to follow, you can select Mexico or USA but not Canada!  Might have to wait until we've actually qualified before using this option.

[JamboAl]

36 minutes ago, umpiredice said:

Are we going to do any kind of a group tour or is it every man for himself?  I'm in either way and I want to go for the entire group stage.  I want tickets to all Canada's matches plus whatever other matches I can pick up.  I'm flexible for accommodation and can put up with sleeping in a tent in the desert for a fortnight, although something with walls and a roof would be preferred.

In order to do a group tour, you need to have access to tickets.  If there are tickets, Canada Soccer would be the people to manage that.  It would appear reasonable to think that Voyageurs members may get access to some of those tickets but then would they be offered to the group without a travel package?  It’s too early to know as any discussion is assuming we make it.  

[EJsens1]

2 hours ago, JamboAl said:

In order to do a group tour, you need to have access to tickets.  If there are tickets, Canada Soccer would be the people to manage that.  It would appear reasonable to think that Voyageurs members may get access to some of those tickets but then would they be offered to the group without a travel package?  It’s too early to know as any discussion is assuming we make it.  

Hmm..I was always under the impression that if you order tickets for one specific country, you still have to do it through FIFA. I’m not sure if you’re familiar with all the packages, but you can pick one country specifically for a type of package.  It would make sense that there is some sort of ticketing allocated for each country, but that’s not the case as far as I know..

This is a quote from the last one in Russia..

”No - tickets will be available exclusively through Federation International de Football Association (FIFA) - FIFA.com

The only way to transfer or resell tickets is with the written consent of FIFA, who will publish a Ticket Transfer and Resale Policy when sales begin.”

I was also able to ascertain the pricing from Russia ‘18.  Again, nothing too crazy.  I can’t see them being raised dramatically

 

 

[JamboAl]

29 minutes ago, EJsens1 said:

Hmm..I was always under the impression that if you order tickets for one specific country, you still have to do it through FIFA. I’m not sure if you’re familiar with all the packages, but you can pick one country specifically for a type of package.  It would make sense that there is some sort of ticketing allocated for each country, but that’s not the case as far as I know..

This is a quote from the last one in Russia..

”No - tickets will be available exclusively through Federation International de Football Association (FIFA) - FIFA.com

The only way to transfer or resell tickets is with the written consent of FIFA, who will publish a Ticket Transfer and Resale Policy when sales begin.”

I was also able to ascertain the pricing from Russia ‘18.  Again, nothing too crazy.  I can’t see them being raised dramatically

 

 

Thanks.  I think Qatar may be a bit different because of the lack of accommodations but who knows; I’ve never attended a World Cup before so can only go by the folks who have.  It’s interesting that the local government has taken control of all the rooms, to what end, who knows?  Suspect this WC will be a bit more controlled than previous ones.

[EJsens1]

Just got this tweet for Qatar..if you’re thinking of going and going through the ticket process, along with another person, start gathering all your info and get your financials lined up.  
The one question I’m not sure is when you apply (first come, first served), should everyone going apply or just do it under one umbrella.  When we went in ‘14, the three of us who went, all applied.  We put the same names down for all 3 separate applications.  Mine ended up winning and the others did not, but I’m not sure if it was just luck that way or the system filtered us out.  My suggestion, everyone apply.  You should be able to sell your tickets back to FIFA.  I’ll try to get confirmation here.

Cant wait to get the info though!

 

Edit: I forgot to mention, but are those fans wearing Canada jerseys?!

Edited January 17, 2022 by EJsens1

[Free kick]

1 hour ago, EJsens1 said:

Just got this tweet for Qatar..if you’re thinking of going and going through the ticket process, along with another person, start gathering all your info and get your financials lined up.  
The one question I’m not sure is when you apply (first come, first served), should everyone going apply or just do it under one umbrella.  When we went in ‘14, the three of us who went, all applied.  We put the same names down for all 3 separate applications.  Mine ended up winning and the others did not, but I’m not sure if it was just luck that way or the system filtered us out.  My suggestion, everyone apply.  You should be able to sell your tickets back to FIFA.  I’ll try to get confirmation here.

Cant wait to get the info though!

We Know that that CSA will get a allotment of tickets.  All the national associations get some.  if i am not mistaken, even when we failed to qualify, the CSA would get an allotment of 8K tickets.  How they distribute them?   That's what I would like to know.

[OhCanadaOhBaby]

10 minutes ago, Free kick said:

We Know that that CSA will get a allotment of tickets.  All the national associations get some.  if i am not mistaken, even when we failed to qualify, the CSA would get an allotment of 8K tickets.  How they distribute them?   That's what I would like to know.

So you think it would be easier to go through CSA? I highly doubt that especially if we make it. Family and friends are definitely gonna get the majority of those. As just fans, we will probably have to go through FIFA directly. 

[EJsens1]

23 minutes ago, Free kick said:

We Know that that CSA will get a allotment of tickets.  All the national associations get some.  if i am not mistaken, even when we failed to qualify, the CSA would get an allotment of 8K tickets.  How they distribute them?   That's what I would like to know.

We do?  I’ve seen that rumour floated around but I’m actually not sure how true it is.  I’m not trying to be an ass.  I don’t know.
My understanding is that yes, Canada is allotted tickets, but it is still through FIFA.  Under the packages you select, in this case being the package to every Canada game, all the fans who are selected are put into the same sections based on the tier you select (ie tier 1 being great seats, tier 2 good seats, tier 3..etc.) through said allotment, creating a Canada section so to speak.  I’m not saying this is fact.  Just my interpretation of it.  Obviously we will get a better idea of what the options are when they release the information.  My suggestion, if your option is available, plan for both.

Edited January 17, 2022 by EJsens1

[Free kick]

23 minutes ago, EJsens1 said:

We do?  I’ve seen that rumour floated around but I’m actually not sure how true it is.  I’m not trying to be an ass.  I don’t know.
My understanding is that yes, Canada is allotted tickets, but it is still through FIFA.  Under the packages you select, in this case being the package to every Canada game, all the fans who are selected are put into the same sections based on the tier you select (ie tier 1 being great seats, tier 2 good seats, tier 3..etc.) through said allotment, creating a Canada section so to speak.  I’m not saying this is fact.  Just my interpretation of it.  Obviously we will get a better idea of what the options are when they release the information.  My suggestion, if your option is available, plan for both.

Its not a rumour.   I recall discussions from years ago that the CSA got an allotment for a national association that didnt qualify for the WC.  so it was small (ie>; something like 8000 tickets).   Those FA's that did qualify for the WC obviously get a much larger allotment.   and what they dont sell, goes back in pool for general ticket sales.

Also,  it was not for friends and family.  

 

Again, i reserve the right to be wrong on this one.  But somehow FIFA has to be able to control the distribution in in a way so that they dont end up all in the hands of fans from one country or a few countries.   This is in their interest.    

Edited January 17, 2022 by Free kick

[JamboAl]

I would be shocked if FIFA would not allocate a good number of tickets to countries participating in the tournament.  Can you imagine Canada v Algeria, for example, in the World Cup where there were only a handful of supporters of the two countries scattered everywhere in the stadium while everyone else was a neutral and didn't care?

[Free kick]

15 minutes ago, JamboAl said:

I would be shocked if FIFA would not allocate a good number of tickets to countries participating in the tournament.  Can you imagine Canada v Algeria, for example, in the World Cup where there were only a handful of supporters of the two countries scattered everywhere in the stadium while everyone else was a neutral and didn't care?

Yeah.  that's pretty much what i am saying.    i was responding to teh suggestion that its all sold through FIFA.   

 

PS.:  I dont know either.   I think that we will just have to wait for what info Jamie @admin has on this or will find out in due course.   it takes someone who has a contact through the CSA

Edited January 17, 2022 by Free kick

[EJsens1]

4 minutes ago, JamboAl said:

I would be shocked if FIFA would not allocate a good number of tickets to countries participating in the tournament.  Can you imagine Canada v Algeria, for example, in the World Cup where there were only a handful of supporters of the two countries scattered everywhere in the stadium while everyone else was a neutral and didn't care?

As I said above, I agree that the process sets it up for Canadian fans to be together. First and foremost, they don’t want fan bases to be completely mixed together from a security point of view.  The optics of a fan base together looks so much better for a bunch of reasons we can all agree on.

5 minutes ago, Free kick said:

Its not a rumour.   I recall discussions from years ago that the CSA got an allotment for a national association that didnt qualify for the WC.  so it was small (ie>; something like 8000 tickets).   Those FA's that did qualify for the WC obviously get a much larger allotment.   and what they dont sell, goes back in pool for general ticket sales.

Also,  it was not for friends and family.  

 

Again, i reserve the right to be wrong on this one.  But somehow FIFA has to be able to control the distribution in in a way so that they dont end up all in the hands of fans from one country or a few countries.   This is in their interest.    

Yeah I don’t know for certain.  Obviously a lot more tickets will be allotted for Canada if they qualify.  If your option does exist and they get 15000 let’s say per game, basically the CSA will act as a bridge from FIFA, have to buy those tickets up and sell them themselves.  It’s a bit of a thorough process and detail required, that fans would need to fill out where the games are in another country.  Does the CSA have the staff to process this and do all the work?  Who gets a shot at them?  I can guarantee they aren’t contracting out these services to ticketmaster.  No chance FIFA allows that in order to control who owns each ticket.  Your actual name is assigned on tickets.  This is a federation that can barely ascertain a Davies jersey to sell on their website.  I’m being a smart ass there, but we’ll have to see.  If you can do it both ways, great!

[Free kick]

it should be much much more that 15K...