MOSCOW, January 19. /TASS/. Over 82,400 requests were applied from around the globe for tickets of the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup, which is due to kick off in Russia in less than five months, the world’s governing body of football said in its statement on Thursday.

"82,478 FIFA Confederations Cup 2017 tickets had been requested by fans from all continents by the time the first sales window closed at 12.00 CET (14.00 Moscow time) on 19 January 2017," FIFA said in its statement. "Russian fans are on top of the list with 71,266 tickets requested, followed by their Chilean counterparts with 4,949."

The statement from FIFA said that, "The tickets purchased by 5 April 2017 will be delivered by courier service free of charge as of April 2017."

Ticket prices for the 2017 Confederations Cup and the 2018 World Cup were announced in Moscow on July 5 after the board meeting of the Russia-2018 Local Organizing Committee (LOC), attended by FIFA officials. The first stage of ticket sales for the 2017 Confederations Cup in Russia was launched on December 9 last year.

FIFA’s Head of Ticketing, Falk Eller, was quoted in the statement as saying: "The sales system in place ensures that fans all around the world have fair and equal access to tickets."

"The number of ticket requests from Chile confirms the great appeal of the tournament, not only in Russia but also abroad, as some fans are willing to cross the world to see their team play in the FIFA Confederations Cup," Eller said.

"We are convinced that the Tournament of Champions will have a thrilling atmosphere in the stands and that the coming sales phases will enable more fans to secure their tickets," the FIFA official added.

Ticket prices for FIFA Confederations and World Cup tournaments are usually divided into three categories and the global football organization visas the price for each category. The fourth category introduced for the World Cup in Russia by FIFA today is the cheapest compared to the others.

A special fourth category was introduced by FIFA on July 5 and was reserved for residents of host country Russia, who will be able to apply for FIFA Confederations Cup Russia group-match tickets starting at 960 rubles ($16).

FIFA’s Thursday statement also said that: "As requested by the Russian authorities, to attend FIFA Confederations Cup matches, all fans need to obtain a personalized Fan ID to enjoy all matches for which they have purchased tickets."

"Following the random selection draws and once fans have received confirmation that tickets have been successfully allocated to them, they can apply for their Fan ID…," according to FIFA.

The fan-ID will play an important role in the provision of security during the major football tournaments in Russia as they would be granting admittance to the stadiums and would also serve as visas for foreign visitors.

A holder of the fan-ID will be allowed to enter the country without having a Russian visa and stay for the duration of the global football tournament as well as for the period of ten days before and after the championship.

In order to clear the country’s border a holder of the fan-ID would also have to produce an identification document, a ticket for a match or a document verifying the purchase of a ticket.

Russia’s first center for the registration and issuance of fan-IDs for the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup and the 2018 FIFA World Cup was opened in early December in the country’s second largest city of St. Petersburg.

Last month FIFA announced that host cities of the upcoming FIFA Confederations Cup were getting ready for this year’s football competition, which is often dubbed as the ‘Tournament of Champions,’ with a unique campaign being rolled out in the Russian cities of Kazan, Moscow, St. Petersburg and Sochi.

The 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup will be held between June 17 and July 2 at four stadiums in Russia and they are Otkritie-Arena in Moscow, St. Petersburg Arena, Fisht in Sochi and Kazan-Arena in Kazan.