Tickets for the controversial first-ever Old Firm game to be staged outside of Scotland are to go on sale in Australia later this week.
Ticketek will begin sales for the Sydney Super Cup on Friday (March 18) at 2pm (AEDT)/3am (GMT). The tournament, due to take place in November ahead of the FIFA World Cup, will feature the two Scottish clubs and Australian teams Sydney FC and Western Sydney Warriors.
Rangers will play the Warriors at Commbank Stadium, Celtic play Sydney at the new Sydney Football Stadium, while Celtic and Rangers are to clash at the 83,500-capacity Accor Stadium – formerly ANZ Stadium.
Tickets for the games begin at AUS$39 – estimated to be around half the cost of matches at Ibrox and Celtic Park. Corporate hospitality suite packages begin at $9,800.
While thousands of fans will be snapping up the tickets on Friday, reports in Australasia suggest the tournament – which has been opposed by many Old Firm fans – could be in doubt due to unresolved issues with organisers. Both Celtic and Ranges fans have urged their clubs to reconsider the move to play the game outside of Scotland for the first time.
Sky Sports NZ reporter Jason Pine wrote on Twitter: “Hearing football’s Sydney Super Cup may be in serious doubt. Unresolved issues with organiser escalating behind the scenes according to local sources. Launch may have been premature.”
Celtic boss Ange Postecgolou, who was previously the coach of the Australian national team, said recently: “It was an honour to be named Celtic manager last year and equally, it will be a huge honour and privilege to take my team back home to Australia.
“As one of the world’s truly great clubs, Celtic enjoys such huge support globally and in Australia in particular, and I am sure our supporters there will be delighted to see the club play and I hope they will make Sydney green and white for this tournament.
“In November during the scheduled break in the season, the Sydney Super Cup tournament will be very useful for us from a footballing perspective, but will also allow us to engage with supporters who do not get the chance to see the club in live action and hopefully, through our football, we will make many more new fans in the process.”
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