体坛英语新闻：Latin American fans top Russia World Cup ticket global demand

MOSCOW, June 7 (Xinhua) -- Latin American fans have led global demand for tickets to the World Cup in Russia, football governing body FIFA said on Thursday.

Some 2,403,116 tickets have been sold since sales began last September, FIFA said in a statement.

Russian fans lead the way, having bought 871,797 tickets, followed by the USA (88,825), Brazil (72,512), Colombia (65,234), Germany (62,541), Mexico (60,302), Argentina (54,031), Peru (43,583), China (40,251), Australia (36,359) and England (32,362).

The World Cup will begin on June 14 when Russia meet Saudi Arabia at Moscow's Luzhniki Stadium. The final will be played at the same venue on July 15.

FIFA said a new batch of tickets for all matches would be made available on a first-come first-served basis on Friday.

"Fans are advised to place their orders as soon as tickets go on sale as high demand is expected and tickets are likely to sell out very quickly," the statement said.

FIFA added that discounted tickets for seats with a partially obstructed view will also be made available for Russian residents only.