Almost 20,000 going to Paris game

The Irish football team will have nearly 20,000 supporters in Paris at next month's World Cup qualifier after the FAI confirmed the French federation will provide them with just over 19,000 tickets for the game on October 9th at the Stade de France.

As is standard on these occasions, the Irish had originally been offered 10 per cent of the stadium's capacity - around 8,000 tickets - but with the FAI having received just over 25,000 applications the French have now more than doubled the allocation.

The figure is just short of the number distributed by the association for the Euro '96 play-off against the Netherlands in Anfield at the end of 1995 but exceeds by about 4,000 the number sold by Merrion Square for the Portugal game in Lisbon a month earlier which had previously been the highest total for an actual away match.

The FAI had been waiting until they were sure of their allocation before they started to get in touch with supporters who had applied for tickets. Their sale will likely to go ahead from Monday when those on the waiting list in line for the first 19,000 or so tickets will be contacted and asked to confirm their intention to purchase the seats.

Those tickets not purchased will then be offered to people further down the waiting list.

"The way we look at it, some people who are desperate to go may have registered in two or three different ways in an effort to make sure they get tickets and so the 25,000 figure may come down a little over the next week or so," said an FAI official.

"Having said that, however, the first people we have gone to about the tickets are our affiliates - the clubs and leagues - and the only ones who have come back to us saying they wish to alter their original request are those who are now looking for more than before."

Tickets for the game in Paris are priced at €20, €30, €45 and €70, with the FAI charging a handling fee of €2 per ticket.

Those offered tickets next week are likely to be given around 48 hours to decide whether they want to confirm the purchase in order to give the organisation a chance to work their way through the entire list.

Around 2,000 supporters travelled to Basel for Wednesday's 1-1 draw with the Swiss, down from close to 5,000 for last year's defeat. Many, however, are believed to have been waiting for the French game, which involves more glamorous opposition, falls on a weekend, and is logistically easier to get than the much smaller Swiss city.