Riyadh: Bidding for a golden ticket to see a star-studded team of Al-Hilal and Al-Nassr players take on the mighty Paris Saint-Germain in Riyadh has kicked off at SR1 million ($270,000).
A global auction for the single pass to the sell-out Riyadh Season Cup match began on Monday evening.
The game will bring together stars of the rival Saudi clubs to take on French giants PSG at King Fahd International Stadium in Riyadh on Jan. 19.
Event organizers revealed they had received more than 2 million inquiries about tickets for the clash from fans in 170 countries.
The winning bidder for the special ticket is being promised an experience “beyond imagination.” The auction will end on Jan. 17 and all proceeds will go to the National Platform for Charitable Work (Ehsan).
In a tweet, Turki Al-Sheikh, chairman of the Saudi General Entertainment Authority, said the auction ticket would allow its owner certain match-day privileges, including attending the awards ceremony, access to the changing rooms of both sides, and a seat at a gala dinner attended by the footballers.
Al-Sheikh told Al Arabiya: “Everything is possible in Saudi Arabia in light of the support of our wise leadership.
“The cup represents a historic event by all standards, and is unprecedented in the history of football, after requests to attend reached more than 2 million from 170 countries.
“This is the largest in the history of Paris Saint-Germain matches.”
He added that tickets for the game were quickly sold out.
“If we had not stopped the system, the demand would have exceeded this number — every second it increases by 10,000 and 15,000 ticket requests.”
During several calls between Al-Sheikh and PSG President Nasser Al-Khelaifi, it was pointed out that tickets for the game could have been sold 100 times over.
“We asked the management of Paris Saint-Germain to triple the shirts of the French team to meet the demand expected from fans,” Al-Sheikh said.
And he was optimistic that the stars of Al-Hilal and Al-Nassr would be victorious.
“I promised the coach and the players a motivational gift if they won the cup, as we will face a great team and we will play and fight.
“God willing, the Riyadh Season Cup will remain in Riyadh despite the strength of the star-studded French team,” he added.
The game will be broadcast around the world on numerous TV channels and platforms and is likely to see Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo, now an Al-Nassr player, and Argentina’s World Cup star Lionel Messi of PSG go head-to-head again following their former Real Madrid and Barcelona days.
The combined Al-Hilal and Al-Nassr team will be led by an international coach and assistant.
