Tickets for the Liverpool Vs Celtic friendly in the Aviva stadium went on sale this morning at 9.30. Just before 11am Ticketmaster tweeted that the game was already a sell-out.
Tickets for @dublindecider@lfc V @celticfc at @avivastadium Dublin on Sat 10 August are on sale now:bit.ly/13DQ1BU
— Ticketmaster Ireland (@TicketmasterIre) June 13, 2013
@b_garts event is sold out now
— Ticketmaster Ireland (@TicketmasterIre) June 13, 2013
The 'Dublin Decider' gives many Irish Celtic and Liverpool fans a rare relatively inexpensive (tickets for adults were priced between €25 and €55 for premium level) opportunity to see their team play live so maybe the huge demand shouldn't be too surprising. Celtic especially would also be expected to bring over a large number of travelling fans.
Its interesting to compare the demand for a club friendly to the large swathes of empty seats at most competitive Ireland matches. While this is not comparing like with like, Irish soccer fans are buying these tickets. Liam Brady and others have consistently asserted that the sole reason for the poor attendances is the recession and not Ireland's archaic direct style of football and depressing baffling team selections under Giovanni Trappattoni. The economic depression is obviously a big factor but this does provide evidence that Irish football supporters are still very willing to pay for what they see as an entertaining product on the pitch.
Picture credit: Ray McManus / SPORTSFILE
