ISL 2017: North East United FC open physical sale of tickets for fans

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North East United FC in pre-season (Image courtesy: NEUFC on Twitter)

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North East United FC are one of the most followed and loved teams in the country. With a fan base of eight states combining to form the core supporter base of North East United, the team has never had an identity crisis or lack of fans -- something which other ISL teams face but wont acknowledge. 

The demand for tickets has been such that in the past few ISL seasons that the club has had tickets which were priced at Rs 180 going for Rs 3000 in the black market. The limited amount of tickets which were put up for sale online were sold out like hot cakes.

North East United are also one such team who have had a good number of female fans flocking the stands too and are one of the few franchises who provide a safe secure environment for women spectators to come and witness football games without having to worry about any other issues.

This season, first, the team management decided to sell tickets only via their online ticketing partners BookMyShow. But in a recent meeting, the management has decided to sell tickets physically as in that way people in the remote places of the region, who come to Guwahati in search of ticket,s can get them in a hassle free manner, as online tickets get sold out within hours of going online.

Another issue that the management wishes to curb is the issue of black marketing. Earlier a person could buy ten online tickets in one attempt, but now, one can only buy four as per new plans. With physical tickets going up for sale, the club can monitor the number and price of tickets sold more closely. 

The physical ticket counter goes live on Wednesday and will open at 9 am and close at 6 pm, the location is the book office counter at the main gate of the Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium. The price for physical tickets will be 

• Rs 249 for north and South Stand, 
• Rs 375 for northeast and south east stand (all the Highlander Brigade members, or readers wishing to be highlander brigade members remember to buy tickets of the South East Stand), 
• Rs 650 for West Upper Stand, 
• Rs 850 for West Stand Premium, 
• Rs 1200 for VIP tickets. 

At the kit launch on Tuesday, owner John Abraham stressed on the importance of having a good supporter base cheering for the team. Even coach Carlos echoed the owners thoughts as he mentioned that he has visited a lot of states in the north-east like Meghalaya, Manipur and Mizoram, and has come to know that football in this region is treated as a religion.

He also mentioned that he wishes to see a good turnout for the game against Jamshedpur FC and that the fans have an important role, as they can change the morale of the team within seconds and he wished to use this passionate support to create a fortress in Guwahati. 

Tickets for the opening game are now available online and fans willing to go old school and get a feel of the city and the fans can stand in queues from tomorrow and buy tickets physically from the above mentioned box office counter. Tickets bought online can also be redeemed from the online booking counting present in the box office. 

With just 27,000 tickets to sell this season, North East United will be a little disappointed as for the past few years, they have seen attendances of way over 30000. 

Also, a lot has been said and written about North East United not having a shirt sponsor. However, the fact is that NEUFC does have a shirt sponsor and co-sponsor, but they were just not on display during th kit launch because it was the kit sponsor Performax’s private event and the club didn’t want to display other brands at one of its sponsors events.

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