WORLD Cup resellers are flogging tickets below face value for the first time — in another sign the tournament could be a massive flop.
Hawkish dealers trying to turn a profit by selling seats to fans have instead been left out of pocket as demand plunges weeks before kick-off.
For at least one match, resellers have begun ditching their stock for as much as $450 below face value.
It means they are making a loss on the tickets despite buying them directly from Fifa last year.
One ticket on the official resale site for Austria against Jordan in the group stage on June 17 had been sold for a face value of $636 (£477).
But it was sold on the official exchange site for $191 when no takers came forward.
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It is thought to be the first time that tickets have been sold below their original price, with 10,000 seats still available for the tournament online.
A source said: “The tickets just aren’t as popular as Fifa hoped they would be, especially for games between nations that will not bring huge numbers of fans.
“Local interest in teams which are unlikely to get out the group stage is non-existent.
“Austria vs Jordan will be important for those nations, but a footnote for everyone else.
“Why would anyone pay $700 to see it?”
Two more seats for the Group J clash, at the 68,500-seat Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California, were offloaded at a $292 discount.
The pair of Category 2 tickets were offered for $173 (£129) despite having originally been sold by Fifa for $465 (£348).
The collapse in ticket prices for less-popular group games is the latest sign that the World Cup, being held across the US, Canada and Mexico, will not be as popular as expected.
Greedy Fifa bosses are already said to be nervous at the prospect that the biggest World Cup of all time will spiral into a massive flop.
Fifa president Gianni Infantino had boasted: “Seventy-seven out of 104 matches received requests for over a million tickets.
“We keep some tickets back for last-minute sales but every match is sold out.”
But a Sun investigation also found that demand for rooms has slumped in nine of the 11 US cities hosting matches.
Thousands of England and Scotland fans are also more likely to watch their games from home or at a cheaper holiday resort such as Benidorm in Spain.
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