It is Lionel Messi’s farewell match, after all!
So it is no surprise that excitement in Argentina is at fever pitch. The frenzy was so intense that the online platform for buying tickets crashed shortly after sales began. In the end, Argentine media reported that all tickets had sold out in less than two hours.
During the FIFA international break, Argentina will play a friendly against Benin at the Monumental Stadium in Buenos Aires on 6 October. Ticket sales began at 6:00 pm local time on Thursday.
The tickets were being sold through a company called Deportick. Within seconds of sales opening, millions of fans tried to access the website. The site could not cope with the huge volume of traffic.
Many people were shown a message saying they would have to wait more than an hour to buy tickets. Complaints also began appearing on social media. Some expressed concern that it would be difficult to secure tickets after such a long virtual queue.
Argentine newspaper Olé also followed the ticket-buying process. Even after 70 minutes in the virtual queue, it was still showing the same message, saying they would have to wait more than an hour for the opportunity to purchase tickets.
The Monumental Stadium has a capacity of around 85,000. However, tickets for all seats were not put on sale. The Argentine Football Association (AFA) also reserves tickets for sponsors and partners. As a result, fewer tickets were available to ordinary supporters.
In its report, Olé said that at around 7:15 pm local time, a supporter posted a screenshot on X showing that they had made it through the virtual queue and were able to buy tickets. At that point, only a few seats in the upper stands were still available. Those tickets were priced at 320,000 pesos, equivalent to Tk 26,000.
Just 13 minutes later, at 7:28 pm, another user reported that all tickets had sold out. Many supporters were still seeing a message on the website telling them to wait for more than an hour.