INTEREST in the Champions league match between Maccabi Haifa and Manchester United, being staged at Nicosia’s GSP on October 18, has been “massive” according to Ronis Soteriades President of the Manchester United Supporters Club in Cyprus and sources in Israel.
“Since the draw, there has been a great response,” said Soteriades, “I’ve even had calls from people who are not even football fans wishing to get tickets just because it is Manchester United.”
Sources in Israel have suggested that up to 15,000 Haifa fans could make their way to the 25,000-capacity all-seater stadium in Nicosia. It is the first time an Israeli club has made it to the group stages of the Champions League.
GSP officials yesterday discussed issues of ticket allocation, pricing and security arrangements with club officials although no official statements were released.
“No doubt all the matches will be a sell out, in addition to Manchester United’s appeal, Greek Champions Olympiakos will attract many Cypriots, as will last year’s runner’s up Bayer Leverkusen,” said Soteriades.
Speculation surrounded the question of ticket prices, with some sources suggesting that ticket prices could be as high as £50. However, a UEFA spokesman said, “Ticket prices for the away fans may not exceed the price for the equivalent ticket paid by the home fans.”
The spokesman also confirmed that all three matches would be held in Cyprus, despite speculation in the media that one or even two of the matches could yet be staged in Israel.
Israeli sources said that Haifa fans could be offered a travel/ticket package priced at $100 that would include airfare, travel to and from the stadium and the cost of entry.
FIFA regulations state that away supporters must be allocated tickets of no less than five per cent of the total capacity of the stadium, approximately 1,000 tickets. Leaving a minimum of 8,000 available.
Speculation in Cyprus suggested that tickets remaining after allocation to both ‘home’ and away fans would be offered to the general public as a ‘three-match season ticket’ in an effort to generate maximum income to cover the security costs by cashing in on the appeal of Manchester United.
Sources in Israel also claim that the chance to play against Manchester United had already lead to in-fighting amongst the Haifa players, with players arguing over who had the right to swap shirts with David Beckham at the end of the game.
Olympiakos will be the first team to play a Champions League group match in Cyprus on September 24, with the Leverkusen game taking place on October 1.
The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.
