体坛英语新闻：US, Latin American fans lead World Cup ticket demand

RIO DE JANEIRO, April 3 (Xinhua) -- Fans from North and South America have driven foreign demand for World Cup tickets, according to the latest figures from world football governing body FIFA.

During the first-come, first-served sales period, which opened on 13 March, 394,433 tickets were snapped up, of which 216,134 went to supporters in host nation Russia.

The highest demand outside of Russia was in the US, where 16,642 tickets were sold, followed by Argentina (15,006), Colombia (14,755), Mexico (14,372), Brazil (9,962) and Peru (9,766).

Reigning World Cup champion Germany was the leading non-Russian nation with 5,974 ticket sales while China (6,598), Australia (5,905) and India (4,509) led demand in the Asia-Pacific region.

Almost 1.7 million tickets have been allocated since sales began last September. The US leads the way overall with 80,161 buyers, followed by Brazil (65,863) and Colombia (60,199).

The final sales phase will begin on April 18. Fans will then be able to purchase tickets online on a first-come, first-served basis, subject to availability.

Football's flagship event will be played in 11 Russian cities from June 14 to July 15.