Is India vs Brazil friendly today sold out?

About 70 per cent of the stadium is expected to be full for the match, with the lower levels almost sold out. But most of the seats in the C Stand – at the mid-level — on the east remain empty, primarily because of the exorbitant ticket prices.

Updated : Oct 03, 2026 17:32 IST , Kolkata - 4 MINS READ

Fans wave India's national flag near the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata before the start of the international friendly football match between India and Brazil. | Photo Credit: AFP

The Salt Lake Stadium on Saturday will host a historic fixture: India playing Brazil for the first time in senior international football. Though the teams have sweated it out in the run-up to the match, the response from the public has far from been what was expected.

About 70 per cent of the stadium is expected to be full for the match, with the lower levels almost sold out. But most of the seats in the C Stand – at the mid-level — on the east remain empty, primarily because of the exorbitant ticket prices. The C-Stand’s tickets are Rs. 7000 on the right and left and Rs. 15000 in the centre.

“The next time there is such a big fixture, please think about us. Being a religious Indian football fan, I am not extremely happy (with the arrangement). We have made it to the stadium for club football matches and have stayed with Indian football when it was struggling (at the club level),” Samim Akhter, waiting outside the stadium on the eve of the match, told Sportstar

“We have travelled and supported India when it has played small countries like Cambodia and Bangladesh. But now, when one of the biggest international teams is playing India here, many of us are not able to get the tickets because their prices are more than what we can afford. So, we will definitely watch the match, but we will enjoy it at home.”

The All India Football Federation (AIFF) partnered with the District for ticketing and had the early bird tickets, priced at Rs. 999, sold out within hours. The next tickets came priced around Rs. 4000 to 15,000.

“The initial spike in sales was encouraging for all stakeholders. But eventually, it slowed down, though it has undergone a slight rise in the last moments before the match,” a source close to the developments said.

The Federation has made several pushes to aid in added access to tickets. It gave 14,000 tickets to the three major clubs in Kolkata — East Bengal, Mohun Bagan and Mohammedan Sporting — at a 10 per cent discount. The allotted tickets were priced at Rs. 6000, provided at Rs. 5400, but barely had takers.

“Around 1000 to 1500 tickets were taken until Friday morning,” a source told this publication on condition of anonymity. “But if you open the District app today, you will still see tickets at Rs. 3500 available. Do you think people will go to the clubs for tickets?”

Sportstar reached out to all three clubs and the Federation, but all of them refused to comment on ticketing.

District, meanwhile, stressed that it had tried to enhance the booking experience, with specific seat selection frames in the applications and visualisation using artificial intelligence, but did not want to reveal the official numbers.

Closer to the match, it was also announced that Style Bazar, the principal sponsor for the match, was offering tickets as a pair through its ‘Buy One Get One’ offer. But the garment retail firm has yet to respond to a query about sales after the offer.

The high-profile match begins in about two hours, and fans have already begun queueing up outside the gates. Brazil arrives in this match after playing in packed stadiums in Queensland, and only by half-time will it be clear if India can match that on Saturday.

Published on Oct 03, 2026

Latest on Sportstar

1. Live Blog 2026-10-03T17:32:11+05:30

   India vs Brazil LIVE score: Vinicius, Endrick ready to shine in Kolkata; Real-time updates from IND v BRA international friendly
2. Which Indians have confirmed qualification spots for the LA 2028 Olympics?

3. Live Blog 2026-10-03T05:16:51+05:30

   Asian Games 2026 Highlights, Day 15: Kumkum, Pranavi make history; Aman, India cricket and hockey strike gold; Antim takes silver, Deepak bronze