A total of 622,117 tickets were successfully allocated upon conclusion of the first window of sales phase 1 on 12 October 2017, the press service of the International Federation of Football Associations (FIFA) said in a statement.

Axar.az reports citing TASS.

"A total of 622,117 tickets were successfully allocated (subject to payment) upon conclusion of the first window of sales phase 1 on 12 October 2017," the statement reads.

"Some 3,496,204 tickets had initially been requested with many ticket products and matches being heavily oversubscribed, requiring the allocation of tickets through a random selection draw process carried out in the presence of a public notary," FIFA added. "From the total number of applications, the majority have come from Russia, and based on the results of the Random Selection Draw process 57 per cent of tickets were allocated to Russian fans." "At the same time, "tickets allocated to international fans account for 43 per cent of the total number of allocated tickets and the US, Chinese, German, Brazilian, Israeli, English, Finnish, Mexican and French fans all rank in the top ten."

FIFA pointed out that "during the upcoming sales period, which will start on 16 November at 12:00 am MSK and conclude on 28 November, fans will be able to purchase tickets in real time on FIFA.com/tickets with immediate confirmation of successful applications, subject to availability."

According to FIFA, "following the Final Draw of the 2018 FIFA World Cup on 1 December 2017, sales phase 2 will comprise a random selection draw period from 5 December 2017 to 31 January 2018 and a further first-come, first-served period from 13 March to 3 April 2018." Besides, "fans will also have a final chance to secure tickets during the last-minute sales phase, which will be implemented on a first-come, first-served basis from 18 April to 15 July 2018, the day of the 2018 FIFA World Cup final."

The 2018 FIFA World Cup will be held between June 14 and July 15, 2018, in 11 Russian cities - Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kazan, Nizhny Novgorod, Saransk, Kaliningrad, Volgograd, Yekaterinburg, Samara, Sochi and Rostov-on-Don. As many as 29 teams have already qualified for the World Cup, which include World Cup host Russia, Belgium, Germany, England, Spain, Poland, Iceland, Serbia, France, Portugal, Switzerland, Croatia and Sweden (Europe); Brazil, Uruguay, Colombia and Argentina (South America); Mexico, Costa Rica and Panama (North America); Japan, South Korea and Saudi Arabia (Asia); Nigeria, Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia and Senegal (Africa).