In its bid to break the attendance record for an Under-17 Women’s World Cup finals, the Jordanian organisers will be marketing the country as a whole, not just the football.
Tickets will cost between US$5 and $10 and the Local Organising Committee (LOC) is working with tour operators to include the tournament in packages with other attractions.
“We are doing venue packages for schools and other large groups,” says Samar Nassar, the LOC chief executive.
“We are also looking for international fans and want to offer package tours to attractions, so that people coming to the tournament will get reduced entry [fees] to places like Petra and the Dead Sea.”
On average, the stadiums in Jordan will need to be three-quarters full at every one of the 32 matches to beat the record total of 284,420 people who watched the last tournament in Costa Rica in 2014.
“The objective is not to raise money from ticket sales, but to raise awareness of women’s football and get people in the grounds,” adds Ms Nassar, who has already been contacted by two Japanese tour operators.
Four stadiums in three cities will host games with the capital Amman hosting 18 matches over two locations. The 13,000-capacity Amman International Stadium has 10 fixtures including the third-place play-off on October 20 and the final on October 21.
The King Abdullah II International Stadium, which is also in Amman and seats 12,000 people, hosts eight games including both semi-finals on October 16.
The remaining 14 games will be in two 12,000-capacity stadiums in Irbid and Al Zarqa. The Al Hassan International Stadium in Irbid will host eight games including both quarter-finals on October 31, while the Prince Mohammed International Stadium in Al Zarqa has six group matches.
In total, there should be 394,000 tickets available for the whole of the competition.
Crowds have risen and fallen since 207,803 people watched the first event in New Zealand in 2008.
Total crowds fell to 146,156 in Trinidad & Tobago in 2010 but 257,766 watched games in Azerbaijan in 2012 before that record was surpassed by the 284,420 people watching in Costa Rica.
That is the target for Jordan.
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