FAI reveal Euro 2012 ticketing plans

Soccer: The FAI will set aside between 6,000 and 10,000 tickets for loyal fans wishing to take in the Euro 2012 group stages, depending on what venues in either Poland or Ukraine the Republic of Ireland are allocated in the draw in Kiev on Friday, December 2nd.

The tickets will be available through an FAI fan sales portal on www.uefa.com to supporters who have attended away matches during the qualifiers, Vantage Club members, current season ticket holders and active block bookers.

Each of these 6,500 fans will be permitted to apply for two tickets per group game, as well as the knock-out stages of the tournament should Ireland progress, meaning there is a potential demand for 13,000.

The pricing structure for group stage tickets falls into three categories – €120, €70 and €30.

Entitled fans will be contacted by the FAI soon after December 5th and provided with a password. They can apply for tickets between December 12th and midnight on February 29th, 2012. This process will not be done on a first come-first served basis, meaning an application at any time between those dates will suffice.

Successful applicants will be see their payments deducted and receive notification by March 15th, 2012, though they are not guaranteed getting the allocation requested.

Fans who do not fall into the categories mentioned can purchase tickets from FAI partners Abbey Travel or official Euro 2012 agents Thomson Sport. The can also try their luck on the Uefa European re-sale portal which redistributes tickets based on availability of returns.

In a footballing context, Ireland will be hoping to draw one of the co-hosts from the pot comprised of the top seeds, considering the alternatives are either Spain or the Netherlands.

Drawing Poland or Ukraine would be similarly beneficial for fans considering the venues for Group A (Warsaw and Wroclaw in Poland) and Group D (Donetsk and Kiev in Ukraine) have a combined capacity of 100,916 and 132,568 respectively.

The venues for Group B (Kharkiv and Lviv) and Group C (Poznan and Gdansk) are smaller - 75,915 and 83,000 - and that is likely to be reflected in the allocation of tickets to travelling fans.