Thousands of Ireland fans are expected to land in Prague this week for the crucial World Cup play-off against Czechia – with away-end tickets advertised on reselling sites for as much as €77k apiece.
Despite Ireland only being allocated just over 1,000 tickets, the numbers travelling to back the Boys in Green could be ten times that, fan groups have said.
But ticket reseller StubHub could make Irish fans’ dreams come true – that’s if they have a spare €77k squirrelled away. StubHub showed that four tickets in the Ireland away end are available for over €77,000 each, marked down from €100k.
Ireland will take on Czechia at the Fortuna Arena in Prague. Pic: Sebastian Widmann – UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images
There are also a scattering of tickets available in the home section of the 19,370-seater Fortuna Arena. But Irish fans have already been warned that they will be refused at the gate if their ID doesn’t match the name on the ticket purchased through Czechia FA’s loyalty programme.
After Troy Parrott’s hat-trick against Hungary secured Ireland the play-off spot last November, Ryanair announced an extra 3,000 seats to and from Prague for Irish fans between tomorrow and Friday.
The airline revealed to Extra.ie yesterday that 5,000 seats to and from Dublin and Prague have been sold this week, while the Ryanair website shows that the few flight tickets left are going for up to €400.
After Troy Parrott’s hat-trick against Hungary secured Ireland the play-off spot last November, Ryanair announced an extra 3,000 seats to and from Prague. Pic: Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile
Many of those flying over will be watching the match in one of the city’s Irish pubs. The bar manager at The Dubliner Irish Pub, Ben McBride, told Extra.ie yesterday that fans had arrived as early as Sunday to ‘scout for pints’.
He said: ‘We’ve had so many calls and queries about fans trying to reserve a table for the game, and I think we’ll be at capacity for the entire day. We might even have a queue at the door when we open at 11am,’ he joked.
‘We expect the bulk of Ireland supporters to arrive Tuesday and Wednesday, but we’ve had a few already, some who just landed earlier today… Most don’t have tickets for the game.
‘There is an optimistic mood … after that play-off [against Hungary] there’s no reason not to be going into it confident, but there will be lots of craic either way,’ Mr McBride added.
If Ireland win, they will face either Denmark or North Macedonia next Tuesday in the playoff final in the Aviva Stadium for a spot in this summer’s World Cup.