Defending champions Argentina are just two wins away from retaining their title, the first step being tomorrow’s semifinal against England in Atlanta. Crowds of fans throng the stands for a glimpse of Lionel Messi, the first name sought whenever Argentina are mentioned, and ticket prices for the Argentina-England semifinal have risen many times over. Argentina-England is not just a match; a political backdrop is woven into it, and that has affected ticket prices too.
Atlanta’s most expensive hospitality package is selling from 55,000 Brazilian reais — about Tk 13.21 lakh in Bangladeshi currency — and includes a VIP cabin. Tickets for the stands close to the pitch cost 19,300 reais (Tk 4.63 lakh). The cheapest tickets, a little farther from the pitch, are being resold for 11,000 Brazilian reais, or Tk 2.64 lakh. The semifinal round begins today with the France-Spain match in Dallas, which kicks off at 1 a.m. Bangladesh time; the cheapest ticket for that match is 5,500 reais (Tk 1.32 lakh), with Category 1 tickets starting from 11,000 reais (Tk 2.64 lakh), and some were still available a few hours before kickoff. According to the Argentine outlet La Nacion, a FIFA official said resale tickets for the Argentina-England semifinal had already sold out.
Atlanta police have tightened security for the Argentina-England semifinal because of the political rivalry. Citing Argentina’s federal government, Brazilian outlet O Globo said there was regular contact between the relevant authorities in the United States, Argentina and England to address possible risks, with particular concern over the travel to the United States of fans who are banned from entering stadiums. According to the Argentine outlet Todo Noticias (part of the Clarin group), the government has changed a security system called “Falcon Alert”: previously, when a banned fan left Argentina, only the destination country’s authorities were alerted, but that information will now also be sent to Franco Berlin, director of Argentina’s national sports-event security department, who has been in the United States since the start of the World Cup and can himself alert US authorities if needed.
By beating Switzerland 3-1, Argentina set up a semifinal against England, and in doing so World Cup football saw a piece of history: for the first time, the top four teams in the FIFA rankings are all playing in the semifinals. France and Spain, ranked first and third, meet in the first semifinal in Dallas today, while Argentina and England, ranked second and fourth, meet in Atlanta tomorrow. When the World Cup schedule was set on December 5 last year, the top four ranked teams were already Argentina, France, Spain and England.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report