JOHANNESBURG-With only five days to go until the end of the first sales phase, tickets for the 2010 FIFA World Cup are in great demand, organizers of the event said. Spokesperson of South Africa's Organizing Committee, Delia Fischer,
said by Thursday, online applications for more than one million tickets
had been received from over 160 countries via FIFA.com for the 743,000
available tickets for sale at this stage.
This excludes any applications handed in by South African residents at
FNB branches in the host country. The number of applications has far
exceeded FIFA's and the Local Organising Committee's expectations. Not
surprisingly, the country that has submitted the largest number of
applications is South Africa followed by the United Kingdom and the
USA.
We have had a phenomenal response from football fans around the world.
We do expect a last-minute rush over the next few days to submit
applications to beat the 31 March deadline – in particular in South
Africa. This is the best chance to secure a ticket at an early stage,
so as not to miss out on this unique opportunity to be part of the
first FIFA World Cup on African soil, commented FIFA Secretary General
Jrme Valcke.
Half of the applications made so far have been for the Team Specific
Series, which allows fans to follow their team of choice as it
progresses through the tournament. This reflects the growing popularity
of this special ticket product, which was introduced in 2002.
Danny Jordaan, the Chief Executive Officer of the 2010 FIFA World Cup
Organising Committee South Africa, hailed the interest in tickets.
We are very excited to have passed the one million mark for ticket
applications for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The interest in South Africa
and around the world has been incredible. We are now completing
magnificent stadiums and world-class infrastructure and are well placed
to stage an authentic African showpiece that global football fans will
never forget, he said.
said Fans have until midnight (CET) on 31 March 2009 to make ticket
applications on the www.FIFA.com website. In addition, South African
residents can submit a paper application in one of the 700 FNB branches
across the country. This ticketing purchase solution has been developed
with FIFA Partner Visa.
Irrespective of the date of their order during this first sales phase,
which commenced on 20 February and will end on 31 March 2009, all
applicants have the same chance of success. In case of over-subscribed
matches, a random selection draw will be held on 15 April to allocate
tickets for over-subscribed matches. All applicants will know by the
end of April 2009 at the latest whether they have been successful or
not.
The second sales period for 2010 FIFA World Cup match tickets begins
on 4 May 2009 and will be open until 16 November. Tickets will then be
allocated on a first come, first served, subject to availability
basis in this sales period.