Costa Rica will welcome limited fans for its World Cup qualifiers, and it won’t come cheap.
Those wishing to see the Costa Rican men face Mexico and Jamaica next month can expect to pay steep prices for the experience. According to the Costa Rican Football Federation (FEDEFUTBOL), tickets to La Sele vs. Jamaica will cost 60,000 colones each, which the national team’s match vs. Mexico will run 150,000 colones (about $95 and $150, respectively).
The date on which tickets will go on sale has not yet been announced, but it will be through the platform www.specialticket.net.
Costa Rica will allow 3,000 fans at the important matches, but only about 2,000 tickets will be available to the public. Some seats are already earmarked for FEDEFUTBOL sponsors, while 200 will be raffled at no cost among fans. Details of the raffle will be announced this week.
The 3,000 fans represents less than 9% of the National Stadium’s maximum capacity. Attendees will be required to wear masks and remain distanced from people outside their social bubble, among other Covid-related measures.
The decision to allow fans is considered a pilot program for La Sele’s matches in September. Capacity and other measures may change in October and beyond.
Costa Rica’s scheduled World Cup qualifiers for September and October are as follows:
- Sept. 2: Panama v. Costa Rica (away) – vaccinated fans only, up to 80% capacity
- Sept. 5: Costa Rica v. Mexico (home) – up to 3,000 fans
- Sept. 8: Costa Rica v. Jamaica (home) – up to 3,000 fans
- Oct. 7: Honduras v. Costa Rica (away) – about 10,000 fans allowed
- Oct. 10: Costa Rica v. El Salvador (home) – TBD
- Oct. 13: USA v. Costa Rica (away; Columbus, Ohio) – full capacity
The Costa Rican men will play 14 matches, seven home and seven away, over windows in September, October and November 2021 and January and March 2022.
The top three finishers advance to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar while the fourth-place squad has a playoff next June to decide another berth.
