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It’s just about 90 minutes to Wednesday’s FIFA World Cup showdown between England and Croatia in Dallas.
Already, dozens of soccer fans are gathered at Fort York and the Bentway in Toronto, decked out in a kaleidoscope of flags, scarves and jerseys from across the world. They await the 2:30 p.m. opening of the gates for the FIFA Fan Festival.
For some, the festival is nothing but joy. It’s a special celebration that Toronto has the opportunity to host, bringing together global food, fandom and music. But other fans say the event has its issues when it comes to obtaining a free ticket.
A festival for all
Toronto’s Fan Festival brings an energetic atmosphere and unity to the city, say supporters in attendance.
Trish Duza, 27, said it was cool to see fans from around the city and the world attending to cheer on their team of choice. Attendees also don’t have to be super fans to enjoy the soccer and the festival, the Toronto resident said.
“The whole city’s alive right now.”
Some fans, including 20-year-old Diego Toruno and his family, attended the festival as an early celebration before heading to the Ghana and Panama match at Toronto Stadium later in the evening.
Toruno said he was looking forward to seeing many fellow Panamanian fans at the event. His family drove to Toronto from Boston to attend the FIFA World Cup.
“I’ve dreamed of going for years and years, and I just can’t believe I’m having the opportunity to be here and support the country.”
‘Kind of terrible’ ticketing
But getting into Toronto’s festival wasn’t necessarily easy. In fact, according to 42-year-old Hamilton resident Ed Franco, it was “kind of terrible.”
“The ticket process was completely ridiculous,” he said. “They offered a couple of free tickets, but then all of a sudden you see people selling them.”
Franco compared the experience to a similar event he attended when he had travelled to Portugal to cheer on the team at the UEFA European Championship. That festival was open to all fans, he said, whereas Toronto’s ticketing process made it feel like festival was for “more of a select group.”
Tickets were also an issue for Ashie Galloway, 45, who travelled from Ghana with his family to watch their national team play at Toronto Stadium.
Galloway said he was hoping to see “soccer fever” and watch the England-Croatia game at the festival before heading to the stadium. But upon arriving, he and his family found out for the first time that free tickets for the festival had to be reserved in advance.
Standing outside the gates, Galloway said the family was checking Ticketmaster to see if they could score last-minute entry. If not, they would just head straight to the stadium to wait for kick-off, he said.
“It’s not really the best.”
Early bird beats the line
For the first hour after the event opened, lines were minimal and attendees flowed through the ticket and bag checks. But as the 4 p.m. kickoff to the England and Croatia match approached, the line began to stretch down the block as groups of fans arrived. Even at kickoff, the line stretched more than 100 metres, with groups of fans continuing to join the line.
“Hopefully we get in there and these lineups go by real quick,” Franco said, about 13 minutes before kickoff.
Nevertheless, Franco said he was looking forward to “good atmosphere and energy.”
“It’s one of those once-in-a-lifetime opportunities here in Toronto.”
