Underprivileged children to attend U-17 Women’s World Cup under new initiative

AMMAN — The FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup’s Local Organising Committee (LOC) has launched a new initiative to boost ticket sales and give underprivileged children the chance to attend matches.  

Under the initiative, companies, businesspeople, NGOs or sports clubs can purchase ticket packages for underprivileged school children.

 “The company pays a specific amount of money that includes the ticket, transport costs for the student and his or her meal,” said Samar Nassar, the committee’s CEO. 

In a recent interview at her office, Nassar told The Jordan Times that a number of companies and sports clubs had already bought packages, voicing hope that thousands of students would benefit from the scheme. 

For JD2,500, companies can purchase tickets for 250 students, while JD5,000 buys 500 tickets, JD10,000 buys 1,000 tickets and JD25,000 provides tickets for 2,500 students.

The same packages are available for companies to buy tickets for their employees. 

Nassar noted that the LOC has already worked with the Ministry of Education to identify underprivileged schools in different areas in the Kingdom.

Schools in Karak, Ajloun, Irbid, Jerash, the Jordan Valley, Zarqa, Tafileh and Amman will benefit from the service, she added.

“We are trying to expand to as many governorates as possible. Aqaba might be a bit difficult because people coming from there have to stay in the hosting city after the match.”

Natalie Asfour, who works at Abu Khader Automotive, said her company purchased the package to support the tournament and its organisers.  

“We hope that through this service many students will come to the matches. I call on other companies to join this kind of service,” she told The Jordan Times.

The LOC started selling individual tickets for matches in June and has launched an online campaign to boost sales. 

“The problem is that Jordanians like to buy tickets at the last minute, so we hope that with the approach of the tournament the demand for individual tickets will increase. We started promoting the ticket sales site on social media,” Nassar added.

She stressed that tickets are affordable for all, thanks to various promotions offering discounts of up to 30 per cent.  

“Also there is a package for people who live near the stadiums, so overall the ticket prices range between JD1.70 and JD50,” Nassar said.

The championship opens on September 30.