Nearly two million people lined up online to purchase tickets for Friday’s Lionel Messi match against Hong Kong, and the seats sold out in under an hour, according to the organizers.
On February 4, the 40,000-seat Hong Kong Stadium will host the legendary Argentine player and his Inter Miami team against a Hong Kong XI.
There was a massive line of football fans (tickets ranged from HK$880 to HK4,880, or $110 to $625) when they logged into the ticketing app on Friday morning in the finance hub, home to 7.5 million people.
According to Michel Lamuniere, chairman and CEO of Tatler Asia, which is assisting in the game’s production, “We are absolutely thrilled with the response from the fans.”
A screenshot of the app displaying an error message referring to “traffic overload” was shared on social media by certain users.
Messi last participated in a friendly match in Hong Kong in 2014.
Former Miami co-owner David Beckham stated the MLS team was excited to play in a “beautiful city with a great sports scene.” Beckham played in Hong Kong in 2003, shortly after joining Real Madrid.
According to the organizers, Jordi Alba and Sergio Busquets will also be part of Miami’s lineup in Hong Kong.
Players from the highest division in the Chinese territory will make up the Hong Kong XI.
