From technological developments to new legislation, ticket vendors, events organisers, artists, sports teams and politicians have long debated how to make sure tickets get into the hands of the right people.
One option not usually discussed is the use of armed forces.
However, it was military personnel that were employed to distribute 5,000 tickets for Indonesia’s recent international football match against Thailand in a bid to make sure real fans rather than touts were successful.
While online scalpers and bots might have been out of the picture, the divergent idea was not a roaring success, with hundreds injured in a stampede to buy the prized AFF Suzuki Cup semi-final tickets at an army headquarters in Jakarta.
Video footage showed a crowd of thousands jostling and shoving to get into a gate barely a metre wide, with police and the military unable to keep the queue under control. Some fans were hospitalised and others detained.
Speaking ahead of the sale, Indonesia football association chair Abe Wellington said: "We hope to be able to avoid the middleman. We want the widest access given to the community of football lovers in Indonesia."
Indonesia won the game 2-1.
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