LAUSANNE (AFP) - More than 2.57 million tickets have already been sold for the 2014 World Cup finals in Brazil, world football governing body FIFA announced on Tuesday.

During the last sales period between March 12 and April 1, some 301,929 of 345,000 tickets available were allocated, which were snapped up mainly by residents of Brazil, the United States, Colombia, Australia, Argentina and England.

Last minute sales for football's showpiece event - which runs from June 12 to July 13 - will get underway on April 15 at 1000GMT on FIFA's website.

"The interest in the 2014 FIFA World Cup is amazing. Teams will have a strong fanbase in Brazil, as people are coming from all over the world for the tournament which will make history for sure," said Thierry Weil, FIFA Marketing Director in charge of ticketing.

"Whoever wants to be part of this event may still be able to buy tickets later this month."