Estimated 70,000 Ireland fans to travel to France

Upwards of 70,000 Irish fans are expected to travel to France this summer for Euro 2016 despite the FAI receiving less than 40,000 tickets.

Figures released by the association show that 70,480 Irish fans made about 275,000 ticket applications for the Republic of Ireland's three group games against Sweden, Belgium and Italy in June.

Informed sources have told The Irish Times that although it is difficult to determine the number of Irish citizens who will depart for France specifically to attend the tournament, it is likely that at least 70,000 fans will make the journey for some or all of Ireland's group games.

Estimates had varied widely between 40,000 and 120,000, despite the fact that Irish applicants received some 38,500 tickets for the three group games. This is comprised of just over 18,000 tickets for the team's Group E opener against Sweden in Paris, just over 9,000 for the Belgium game in Bordeaux and 11,320 for the Italy game in Lille.

These figures are not directly representative of the number of Irish fans who have secured tickets as some supporters hold tickets for multiple games.

The tickets were allocated by an open draw process administered centrally by Uefa between December and February, with 2,000 held in reserve by the FAI for loyal fans who regularly attend matches but missed out in the main draw.

Fans will be given another chance to secure tickets when Uefa's resale portal reopens this morning, and Ireland supporters can register for email notifications of when tickets for their team's matches become available in advance of the portal opening.

The portal had initially opened for the month of March only, but in a statement on its website last week Uefa said extra ticket availability had been secured by intercepting unauthorised resales, and more exact seating plans have helped to increase attendance capacities in host stadia.

The Department of Foreign Affairs is expected to issue a comprehensive set of guidelines for travelling fans over the coming weeks.