Arguably "the hottest ticket in Sydney this weekend" is for the Australian women's football team's "eagerly-anticipated friendly with Brazil in Penrith," according to Mike Hytner of the London GUARDIAN. Attendances for the opening week of the National Rugby League finals "were dismal in Sydney," but there have been "no problems selling tickets" to watch the Matildas play their South American rivals at Pepper Stadium. The allocation of 17,000 tickets "was snapped up two weeks in advance" of Saturday's afternoon kickoff. The sellout has created a clamor for tickets "rarely seen for women’s football in Australia, with disappointed fans who missed out desperately seeking to get a slice of the action" by searching out resale tickets at "vastly inflated prices." One Matildas follower who posted on a classified ad site was willing to pay A$100 ($80.15) for a single $20 ($16.03) ticket for the game in Penrith. Another was offering A$140 ($112.21) for four tickets. Mark Slocum, a teacher from Sydney, said that he knew the A$150 ($120.23) he offered for four tickets "was over the odds." He said, "But you're taking your daughter to a packed stadium to watch an international football match. Whatever happens it's going to be a bloody brilliant experience" (GUARDIAN, 9/12).
