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Home tickets in high demand for 2017 Baku Islamic Solidarity Games

Organisers of the 2017 Islamic Solidarity Games have revealed impressive demand for tickets after announcing that all host nation Azerbaijan’s group football matches have sold out.

The football tournament will kick off in capital city Baku on May 8, with the group stages being held at the Dalga Arena, Azal Arena and Bayil Arena.

The Islamic Solidarity Games is a multi-sport event that takes place every four years and is run by the Islamic Solidarity Sports Federation (ISSF), a section of the Organisation of the Islamic Cooperation (OIC). The OIC is the second largest inter-governmental organisation after the United Nations, and has a membership of 57 states, across four continents.

The 2017 Islamic Solidarity Games will feature athletes from every one of the ISSF’s member nations, with athletes competing in 20 sports, across 270 medal events, including football, athletics, gymnastics, wrestling and boxing.

Tickets to see Azerbaijani athletes across all disciplines have been in high demand, as well as the Opening Ceremony on May 12. Category D tickets for the ceremony have already sold out.

Mirjam Bogataj, the head of ticketing for Baku 2017, said: “It’s fantastic to see that there is such a strong desire from people to support the Azerbaijani athletes at these Games.

“In terms of those people buying tickets, we are seeing some really interesting trends. The number of children’s tickets allocated for the sports sessions tell us that there is real demand from families to come and experience the Baku 2017 Islamic Solidarity Games.”

Bogataj added: “Tickets to the Ceremonies are always popular and Baku 2017 is no different. We would encourage anyone wanting to be part of either of these spectacular events to buy their tickets soon, to avoid missing out.”

Th 2017 event is the third staging of the Games, following editions in Saudi Arabia in 2005 and Indonesia in 2013. The 2009 event scheduled to take place in Iran was cancelled.