It’s the day football fanatics have been waiting for. On Tuesday, August 20 at 12.00 CET the first tickets went on sale for the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil.For those not wanting to read the 30-page FIFA ticketing strategy document or watch 90 minutes of the curiously titled "relive the FIFA World cup ticketing announcement." we have put together the most important information, dates and facts that you need to know about purchasing tickets for the 2014 FIFA World Cup.Essentially the ticketing has been broken down into a three-stage programme with both lottery and first-come first-served stages.August 20 – October 10 During this first stage, people will be able to register online and request the tickets they want in several price categories according to the desired stadium or the team they would like to follow at the World Cup (although who the opponents will be will remain unknown until after the group draw in December). Allocations will not be made on a first come first serve basis so there is no rush on August 20: people who apply in October will have as much chance of a successful application as those who submit their order in August. You will need to enter payment details at this stage.October 10- November 5 All the requests will then be collected and processed and entered into a lottery system. The winners’ seats will be assigned randomly but also “based on the number of tickets ordered”. This means that if you order four tickets in one purchase, the four ticket holders will be guaranteed to sit together. If, however, you purchase your tickets in two orders or make a last minute order online or over the counter, there is no guarantee that all four fans will be sitting together.November 5 – November 28 A first-come first-served basis will then come into place for the next batch of tickets. So applying on November 5 would be wiser than waiting until November 28.December 8 – January 30 The whole process will then be repeated in sales phase 2, which will take place after the draw is made for the group stage of the World Cup. So by then fans will know where and when their team will be playing. There will be fewer tickets on sale at this stage, with returned tickets and a small amount of retained tickets up for grabs.February 28 – April 1 First come first served basis again.April 15 – July 13 Last chance online and over-the-counter tickets available in host cities in Brazil.Understanding the tickets There are three types of ticket products that you can purchase. • Individual match tickets for a specific match (each of the tournament’s 64 matches has an allocated number, although who will be playing in each match will not be known until the groups are drawn in December.) • Venue-specific tickets • Team specific series (between 3-7 matches). Be warned that if you select the team specific series you will purchase a ticket for each round of the tournament you requested, regardless of whether your team makes it to that stage or not. That means that if your team goes out of the competition you may have paid for tickets to the next round to see the team that just knocked them out.Prices Prices for international fans start from $90 (around 67 euros) and go up to $175 (131 euros) for group matches according to the ticket category, which is based on where the seat is located in the stadium. The opening match, which includes the opening ceremony, is an exception with prices ranging from $220 to $495.Brazilian supporters have been allocated 400,000 category 4 (most affordable) seats for the tournament, with prices starting from $30. Local residents who are students, over 60 or receiving social benefits will also be entitled to a 50% discount.According to Brazilian law 1% of seats will also be allocated for disabled supporters; the price has been set at the category 3 ticket price and those people will also be entitled to one complimentary ticket for anyone assisting them to the match.For full pricing details, consult the FIFA media information kitThings to watch out for Tickets can be resold on the FIFA platform but the main applicant and ticket holder (who is deemed responsible for ensuring the correct people are in their purchased seats) will not be able to sell his or her ticket until all the other tickets they possess are sold.This main applicant will never be able exchange the name on their ticket. So, basically, if you are the one ordering the tickets you better be sure you are going to be there.