Empty seats inside Khalifa International Stadium after ticketing problems left hundreds of fans stuck outside. Getty Images
Empty seats inside Khalifa International Stadium after ticketing problems left hundreds of fans stuck outside. Getty Images
Empty seats inside Khalifa International Stadium after ticketing problems left hundreds of fans stuck outside. Getty Images
Empty seats inside Khalifa International Stadium after ticketing problems left hundreds of fans stuck outside. Getty Images

Fifa ticket app fault leaves fans shut out of England v Iran match


Nick Webster
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Hundreds of fans were shut out of the England versus Iran game on Monday evening due to a fault with Fifa's e-ticketing system.

Supporters told of their frustration as they stood outside Khalifa International Stadium in Doha after kick-off at 4pm (5pm UAE). Tickets seemingly disappeared from the Fifa app.

"We cannot see our tickets and there is this line, so we don't know what is going on," one fan told Reuters before the match.

"There is no point in panicking at this point. Good luck to everybody else."

Avinash Fernando of Sri Lanka said “all the tickets I have have disappeared", from the app.

Sections of the stadium — which was sold out in advance of England's opening game — were empty well into the match, which England led by 3-0 at half time and were 6-1 up going into added time after 90 minutes.

Fifa said: “Some spectators are currently experiencing an issue with accessing their tickets via the Fifa ticketing app. Fifa is working on solving the issue.

“In the meantime, fans who are not able to access their mobile tickets should check the email accounts they used to register with the ticketing app for further instructions.

"In case fans cannot access their email accounts, the stadium's Ticket Resolution Point will be able to support. We thank fans for their understanding as we work to fix the issue as soon as possible.”

England fan Paul Bine with the Hayya card that did not help his entry into the stadium. Andy Scott / The National
England fan Paul Bine with the Hayya card that did not help his entry into the stadium. Andy Scott / The National

After the match, England fan Paul Bine told The National that he eventually managed to get into the ground after spending 90 minutes trying resolve the issue.

“I got to the stadium in plenty of time, around two hours before kick-off," Mr Bine said.

"I got to the front of the queue but my app with the QR code wasn’t working so they wouldn’t let me in.

"I got another card out with my Hayya code on but that wasn’t working either. It was a nightmare.

"It took me about an hour and a half to get it sorted, with another print out of my ticket. I only just made kick-off. It was worth it though; 6-2 was a great result.”

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Company name: Letstango.com

Started: June 2013

Founder: Alex Tchablakian

Based: Dubai

Industry: e-commerce

Initial investment: Dh10 million

Investors: Self-funded

Total customers: 300,000 unique customers every month

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Timeline

2012-2015

The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East

May 2017

The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts

September 2021

Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act

October 2021

Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence 

December 2024

Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group

May 2025

The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan

July 2025

The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan

August 2025

Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision

October 2025

Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange

November 2025

180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE

PROFILE OF INVYGO

Started: 2018

Founders: Eslam Hussein and Pulkit Ganjoo

Based: Dubai

Sector: Transport

Size: 9 employees

Investment: $1,275,000

Investors: Class 5 Global, Equitrust, Gulf Islamic Investments, Kairos K50 and William Zeqiri

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Selma Abdelhamid, the group's moderator, offers her guide to guide the cost of having a young family:

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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

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Updated: November 21, 2022, 4:49 PM