ISL 2017/18: ID cards mandatory to purchase tickets for Bengaluru FC vs Chennaiyin FC final
What's the story?
With the ISL final just a couple of days away, football fans in Bengaluru (and in Chennai) will be looking to get their hands on the tickets for the summit clash between two of India's most popular clubs. However, with the online tickets getting sold out within just a few hours, they would now need to flock to the Sree Kanteerava Stadium, to buy the passes themselves.
However, there is a catch -- they need to produce government-issued ID cards, in order to buy the tickets, Sportskeeda has learnt.
In case you didn't know...
Bengaluru FC and Chennaiyin FC came up with the trumps in the semifinal against FC Pune City and FC Goa, respectively, to book their spots in the summit clash. What makes this clash all the more exciting is that it is a hotly-contested fixture, between the two South Indian giants.
The heart of the matter
The box office tickets go on sale at the Sree Kanteerava stadium in Bengaluru from 11 am on Thursday. These tickets will be available till the stock lasts. These tickets can be bought at Gate G of the stadium. The prices of these tickets range between Rs 100 to Rs 700.
However, fans would have to produce government-issued ID cards (driver's license, voter ID card or Adhar card), in order to avail these tickets. Each person with an ID card will be allowed to buy a maximum of four tickets. Incidentally, these steps are being taken, in order to curb the black-marketing.
While the Kanteerava Stadium has a capacity of 25,000, just a little over 6,000 of these tickets are left for the box office sale.
What's next?
Both the sides have proved their mettle in the ISL so far, and have set up a mouth-watering South Indian Derby for the final this season.
Author's take
While the production of ID cards is a welcome step with regards to curbing black-marketing of tickets, there is also a certain drawback. Underaged children, who form a sizeable portion of any football club's fan base, may not have government-issued ID cards, and would miss out on the opportunity to watch the final.