2 December 2009
A global rush for 2010 Fifa World Cup™ tickets is expected on Saturday 5 December, the day after the tournament’s Final Draw, when the third ticketing sales phase kicks off.
“It’s traditionally by far the most important sales phase, as the world’s football fans will by then know who will be playing whom in the group matches,” Horst Schmidt, chairman of Fifa’s ticketing sub-committee, said this week.
“The good news for all football fans wanting to experience this special event is that about one million tickets for all 64 matches and categories will become available in the third sales phase – including a limited number for the opening match and the final,” Schmidt said.
Applications
Applications for tickets to Africa’s first World Cup can be made via Fifa.com. South African residents also have the chance to apply for tickets via application forms available at all FNB branches across the country.
Fans will have to apply within 49 days (until 22 January) for individual match tickets or team-specific ticket series. If there are over-subscribed matches or categories, or over-subscribed ticket products or categories, there will be an electronic random selection draw on 1 February to identify the successful applicants.
Sales so far
So far, a total of 674 403 tickets for the World Cup have been sold, corresponding to 90% of the tickets made available to date. Of those tickets, 53.6% (361 582) have been purchased by South African residents.
The foreign country that has purchased the most tickets is the United States (84 103 tickets), followed by the UK (48 388), Germany (25 112), Australia (17 876), Canada (11 662), Switzerland (11 045), Japan (10 558) and Brazil (8 006).
Types of tickets
There are two types of ticket products available: individual match tickets for a specific match, as well as team-specific ticket series (TSTs) to follow the national team of the customer’s choice. Applicants can apply for a maximum of four tickets per match and for up to a maximum of seven matches. The maximum number of TSTs that each applicant can apply for is four.
The prices for group matches range from US$20 to $160 (opening match: $70 to $450; final: $150 to $900) or R140 to R1 120 (opening match R490 to R3 150; final: R1 050 to R6 300).
Category 4 tickets, the most affordable, have been exclusively set aside for South African residents.
All 32 participating member associations will be allocated 12% of all purchasable tickets in the stadiums where their three group games will be played. These tickets will be available through individual websites operated by the 32 participating member associations.
Football fans can also purchase authorised travel packages through participating tour operators appointed by Fifa through MATCH Event Services Pty Limited.
‘Time to focus on the football’
“We’re confident that our preparations for the tournament are going extremely well,” Organising Committee CEO Danny Jordaan said this week.
“Now it’s time to focus on the teams and the stars coming to South Africa 2010, for the global football world to see who their teams will be up against, and for our host cities and residents to gear up to welcome the teams that will be heading their way.
“We encourage fans in South Africa and around the world to grab this chance to get tickets for what will be an unforgettable event.”
Source: Fifa.com
