体坛英语新闻：Brazilians scramble for Confederations Cup tickets

RIO DE JANEIRO, April 3 (Xinhua) -- Almost 70% of available tickets for June's Confederations Cup in Brazil have already been sold out, world football's governing body FIFA said on Wednesday.

Of the 792,000 tickets made available so far, 546,000 have already been purchased for the June 15-30 event.

FIFA said interest from fans was "uNPRecedented" compared to previous Confederations Cup tournaments.

"These figures prove that the FIFA Confederations Cup is a highly anticipated event, especially for those fans and local residents hoping to experience the action live in one of the six World Cup stadiums," FIFA marketing director Thierry Weill said.

"Despite the huge demand, there is still a good chance for fans to secure tickets for most of the matches before the end of the current sales phase on 28 May."

The most sought-after match so far has been Mexico's June 16 clash with Italy in Rio de Janeiro. FIFA said 60,717 tickets had been sold for the duel, which will be the first competitive fixture at the revamped Maracana stadium.

The tournament opener between Brazil and Japan in capital Brasilia on June 15 is second on the most popular list with 58,620 tickets already bought.

Uruguay's clash with Tahiti in Recife on June 23 has attracted the least amount of interest, with just 9,363 seats sold, followed by the Tahiti-Nigeria clash in Belo Horizonte on June 17 (11,194).

The Confederations Cup will feature each of FIFA's six continental champions, host nation Brazil and European runners up Italy.