There are collectors and then there are investors – hoping that their purchased objects will increase in value overtime. FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 memorabilia is no stranger to that, but one particular item stood above the rest – the finals match ticket.
During the course of World Cup, it’s common to see people on huge placards asking if they can have an attending fan’s physical match ticket “for collection/souvenir” purposes. When The Peninsula asked several of them about the rationale, they said that it was because of the worth it will have in 15 to 30 years.
For an instance, eBay, an e-commerce company is selling a 1986 World Cup full ticket Argentina v England (PSA 1.5) for a whopping $15,000; 2018 World Cup finals ticket, France v Croatia costs $1,000; and this year’s finals ticket, Argentina v France, costs from $500 to $642.
The prices rise as the year progresses. PSA is the largest and most respected third-party authentication and grading company in the world for tickets and memorabilia.
Shree Shafi, who attended the finals and had a physical ticket match, said: “This is the best souvenir I got from the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022.” He then placed it in a ticket holder, which he will keep at his home in Nepal.
“This is very special for me because I’ve been following the World Cup for years and with Qatar hosting it and watching live in-person is spectacular. I’m thinking of selling it in a few years.”
Radwa Garcia from Spain said having an actual match ticket is like physically holding a part of a memory. “When everything becomes digital and all can be seen through the screen, it still feels good to see the real thing – not from a phone or computer. Holding the match ticket and feeling the paper is like a photograph for me, it brings memories of the stadium when I entered it, and cheered on La Albiceleste.”
The sports collectible industry is predicted to increase at a pace of 9.7 percent compound annual growth rate (CAGR), or rate of return, between 2022 and 2031, according to a 2021 data from Nasdaq, an American stock exchange.
Meanwhile, a 2003 study titled “Collecting celebrity: The meanings and process of collecting sports memorabilia,” revealed that “collecting sports memorabilia has changed dramatically since baseball cards first appeared more than a century ago. What began as a marketing gimmick and later became a hobby for millions has now evolved into a potential investment strategy.”
Instead, sports memorabilia collectors have become investors who want to “buy and sell on the Internet without taking physical possession” of specially printed cards.”
This year’s World Cup saw nearly three million tickets sold, and with FIFA announcing in November that fans can get a personalised souvenir tickets which will be rolled out mid-January next year, time will tell people who will be selling their actual match tickets online.
Only those who bought the original tickets for the event may purchase souvenir tickets.
The price per souvenir ticket is QR10 and all tickets containing within a single application number will be printed. The total price is calculated as QR10 multiplied by the number of tickets with the same application number, it explained.
Beginning at the end of February or the start of March 2023, souvenir tickets will be sent via regular mail to the address listed on the FIFA ticketing account.
Souvenir tickets should arrive by the end of March or the start of April 2023 as the projected shipping period is around a month. The pricing of the souvenir tickets includes shipping charges.
