England attract little interest in Bulgaria
Reuters - Wednesday 31 August 2011, 14:31
SOFIA - Bulgaria are struggling to sell
tickets for Friday's Euro 2012 qualifier at home to England,
despite coach Lothar Matthaus saying that the match is the
biggest of the year so far for football in the Balkan country.
Local officials said Wednesday that they had sold less than
15,000 tickets for the game at the 43,600-capacity Vasil Levski
stadium in central Sofia.
"Our team only have a very slim chance of reaching the
finals but I'm still surprised because there are so many English
football fans in Bulgaria," Kristian Georgiev, a 24-year-old
fan, told Reuters at a quiet ticket office.
Bulgaria, who have failed to qualify for a major tournament
since Euro 2004 in Portugal, are fourth in Group G with five
points from five games, six behind leading pair England and
Montenegro.
The Bulgarian Football Union began selling tickets at petrol
stations three weeks ago in an attempt to beef up sales.