Global auction bidding for ticket to Riyadh Season Cup game kicks off at SR1m

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