PFF warns of scalpers on the loose

Manila, Philippines - Tickets to the highly-anticipated football match between the Philippines and Sri Lanka are selling like hotcakes.

Mariano Araneta, president of the Philippine Football Federation, is concerned that fans might end up buying their tickets on the black market, at a much higher price.

“And there’s nothing we can do about it. It’s a hot commodity and people are willing to pay twice or thrice as much,” he said heading to Sunday’s match at the Rizal Memorial Stadium.

“Ninety-five percent of the tickets have been sold with still six days left. So we are expecting a sell-out crowd on Sunday,” he said.

Tickets are priced P3,000 and P2,000 for the VIP stands, the only roofed portion of the stadium, down to P300 and P200 for the open area.

Araneta said 12,873 tickets were printed. As of yesterday, only 125 of the P300 tickets are available, and the expensive ones are almost gone.

“We heard that tickets with a face value of P2,000 are now being sold for P5,000, and those at P300 being sold for as much as P800,” he said.

Araneta said he consulted a lawyer, but was told that there’s no stopping people who already have tickets in their possession from selling them at a higher price.

As long as they don’t force their buyers to get them at a higher price, and as long as they don’t sell their tickets within the venue itself there’s no stopping these scalpers, he added.

He also said organizers should also be on the lookout for people who might be selling fake tickets because it’s not that difficult to have them scanned and look like the real thing.

The Azkals are facing the Sri Lankans as part of the qualifiers for the 2014 World Cup. The first match is scheduled tomorrow in Colombo.