South African soccer fans will be expected to pay significantly more for their Premier Soccer League ticket this season, when attending a match at one of the country’s World Cup stadiums. Sport24 reports that low ticket prices, as have been the norm in the past, wouldn’t come close to covering the cost of maintaining the state of the art facilities, which would cost clubs in the region R500 000 a day to rent. SAFA chief executive Leslie Sedibe told a parliamentary committee on sport and recreation that it is important for the development of the local game to raise the prices. The South African government spent an estimated $1.3bn building and upgrading the 10 stadiums scattered around the country and are now frantically trying to find tenants to take them on.
Deserving people were given tickets - premier - 14/07/2010
The Gauteng provincial government spent R4-million on 4 613 World Cup tickets, Premier Nomvula Mokonyane said on Wednesday. ’The decision to purchase the tickets was based on the need for government to take steps to afford deserving Gauteng residents, who would not be able to afford to buy tickets, an opportunity to attend some of the World Cup matches,’ she said in Johannesburg. ’This was something not thought of during the World Cup, but something we planned for.’
Treasury to probe money wasted on tickets – 14/07/2010
The Treasury wants a full-scale probe into government spending on tickets for 2010 World Cup matches as well as other key sporting events, which could see Parliament testing whether a directive issued earlier this year has been flouted. By law accounting officers have little room for budget flexibility. According to a Business Report, this makes the mounting bills for tickets - which this week reached the R140 million mark just for the World Cup event - look even more extraordinary.
There are no more tickets left for the World Cup final, FIFA said on Thursday. Spokesman Nicolas Maingot said tickets for the final taking place at Soccer City on Sunday were completely sold out. According to a report on the IoL site, there were, however, 2 700 category one to four tickets left for the third place playoff taking place between Germany and Uruguay in Port Elizabeth on Saturday.
Manuel defends WC tickets splurge - 06/07/2010defends
A distinction should be made between parastatals and state departments spending money on 2010 World Cup tickets, Minister in the National Planning Commission Trevor Manuel said. According to a Mail & Guardian report, this follows an outcry over state entities spending millions on soccer tickets. Manuel said parastatals were business entities that needed to make profits by engaging on a social level with clients. ’Some of the parastatals are.’
Big-buck black market for semi tickets - 04/07/2010
Officials at FIFA’s ticketing office have confirmed that the semifinal in Durban is all but completely sold out, leaving die-hard fans to hit the streets or search online forums and social networking sites as a last resort. The Tribune went in search of tickets on the beachfront this week and were told ’big bucks’ would be needed.
Eskom is one of several parastatals who collectively spent a staggering R80-million. The embattled power utility alone splashed out R12-million. The Sunday Times reports that South African Airways bought 1749 tickets just two months before receiving a R1.6-billion bailout from the government, in December 2008. It is the biggest spender on World Cup tickets so far, laying out R23-million.
Ticket scalpers in Cape Town are making profits of up to R20 000 a day by selling quarter- and semi-final World Cup tickets on Gumtree. The Cape Argus reports that dozens of touts continue to flout FIFA regulations by selling and reselling tickets outside the stadiums under the nose of police and 2010 volunteers, who are clearly turning a blind eye. The number of World Cup ticket offers on Gumtree, some selling at double the price of the ticket’s face value, has spiked over the past 24 hours.
Ministers to explain WC tickets spending - 30/06/2010
Ministers and heads of government departments will be asked to explain their expenditure on World Cup tickets, Scopa chairperson Themba Godi is quoted as saying in a Beeld report, which notes the government could have built at least 900 houses with the money spent on the soccer tickets. It says the confirmed bill for tickets currently stands at R48m, but the full extent of expenditure will only be known when the Auditor-General completes his reports.
The DA has formally requested that Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan be brought before Parliament’s Select Committee on Finance to answer questions about what action he is going to take against government departments and public entities that have spent almost R50m on Fifa World Cup tickets. The Witness says DA chief whip Ian Davidson confirmed he has written to the chairperson of the committee requesting that Gordhan be brought before the committee.
Fans have lined up for three hours at a suburban shopping mall in Port Elizabeth to buy the most sought-after ticket in town: entry to Friday’s blockbuster 2010 World Cup quarterfinal between favourites Brazil and the Netherlands. The Times reports that officials are expecting the first ever sellout at the 42, 286-seat Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium after empty seats at all six previous matches at the new stadium.
Hundreds of fans denied entry into SA - 27/06/2010Hundreds
Six hundred and thirteen travellers have been barred entry into South Africa during the 2010 World Cup, the Home Affairs department said. Spokesperson Ronnie Mamoepa said that since the beginning of the month, the travellers were denied entry because their names appeared either on the Interpol, FIFA or South Africa’s Visa and Entry Stop List, notes a Mail & Guardian report. ’The 613 foreign travellers were detected through South Africa’s movement control system launched in May this year,’ he said.
Dozens of South African and foreign fans have been robbed of hundreds of thousands of rands after buying tickets that were later cancelled because they were not bought through FIFA-accredited agents. The Sunday Times reports that this may also partly explain why blocks of empty seats and, in some cases, deserted suites have been spotted at some World Cup matches. Clifford Green, a lawyer acting for Fifa and its hospitality affiliate Match, confirmed that this week he had handed police a lengthy dossier of affidavits from seven companies, outlining their huge losses.
Cops issue stern warning to ticket touts - 26/06/2010
Police have issued a stern warning: if you are caught selling World Cup tickets, you will be arrested and prosecuted. Gauteng police spokesman Brigadier Govindsamy Mariemuthoo issued the admonition after three men were released on bail when they appeared in a special World Cup court in Randburg on Friday. The men - a South African, an American and a German - were arrested following a Crime Line tip-off on Thursday. Police seized 70 World Cup match tickets.
More tickets will be sold for the second round of the World Cup after some ticket-holders saw their teams eliminated from the tournament, FIFA said on Wednesday.
About 4 000 tickets will go back on the market for the first round of 16 match, between Uruguay and South Korea on Saturday in Port Elizabeth, FIFA said.
Another 1 000 tickets will be sold for Sunday’s match between Argentina and Mexico in Johannesburg’s Soccer City.
The Taxpayers’ Movement of SA (TPM) is closely following the issue of 2010 World Cup tickets it claims were purchased with taxpayers’ money, notes a report on the IoL site. ’We note that political parties and trade unions have lodged complaints with Treasury, and we are aware that Treasury has referred the matter to the Auditor General, so we will be monitoring the outcome,’ said the non-political watchdog. The TPM would like to see the rest of government respecting Treasury’s stance on the issue and, if necessary, would take the matter up with authorities.
It is estimated government departments have spent R10.9m on tickets for the Soccer World Cup despite a warning by Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan that this would amount to financial mismanagement and wasteful expenditure in terms of the Public Finance Management Act. According to a Beeld report, five state departments have so far answered parliamentary questions on their expenditure related to the World Cup. These have bought a total 3 321 tickets for state officials and business contacts. Tim Harris (DA) said this was unacceptable – ’especially if one considers that thousands of South Africans could not afford the tickets or get their hands on them’.
Officials may be held liable for WC splurge – 09/10/2010
Accounting officers of those government departments – both provincial and national, as well as municipalities and state-owned entities – that have splashed out on buying 2010 World Cup tickets have been warned by Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan that this spending splurge falls under the provisions for ’financial misconduct, irregular expenditure and fruitless and wasteful expenditure’ in the Public Finance Management Act. According to a Business Day report, he said accounting officers could be held personally liable for the unlawful expenditure – also prohibited by the Municipal Finance Management Act – and could be charged with financial misconduct.
FIFA’s ticketing fiasco hit new lows on Monday morning when hundreds of Capetonians were turned away at the ticketing centre, notes a Sport24 report. FIFA announced via a press release that 15 000 partially obscured tickets would be made available across the country at R140 each, but fans who turned up as early as 24 hours before to secure their place in the queue were left disappointed once again to hear this was not the case.
Government departments have been ordered not to splurge on 2010 World Cup tickets, spokesman Themba Maseko said after it emerged that state entities and the SABC spent nearly R6 million on securing match seats. ’Advice has been given to departments, government departments, not to purchase, but we are aware that some agencies, state agencies, may be acquiring tickets for a variety of reasons,’ he told a post-Cabinet briefing.
FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke has responded to a few critical 2010 World Cup issues just over a week before the tournament. After the LOC had sat down in their final Board of Directors meeting before the start of the tournament, Valcke expressed FIFA’s satisfaction with the fact that the percentage ticket sales for the 2010 World Cup have surpassed that of Germany 2006 and it is edging closer towards the 100% mark.
With the kickoff of the 2010 World Cup getting ever closer, the LOC is hopeful that all match tickets will be sold out, well before the start of the tournament, notes a report in The Sowetan. ’We are well on track with regard to the sale of tickets, the demand is high, as you see at various ticketing centres,’ said soccer boss Irvin Khoza. Khoza spoke to Sowetan at the unveiling of the Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane, standing alongside FIFA president Sepp Blatter.
100 000 tickets sold since Friday – 31/05/2010tickets
According to the News Today site over 100 000 World Cup tickets were sold after going on sale at 9am on Friday 28 May. Fourteen matches have sold out including the Final, the Semi-Finals and the 3 South Africa Group Games. Of the 100 000 tickets, about 53 000 were sold through FNB branches, 30 000 through FIFA’s website and Call Centre, 13 500 through the FIFA Ticketing Centres and 3 500 through Shoprite/Checkers.
Economy blamed for slower ticket sales – 21/05/2010
Leading international corporate hospitality provider Proske group has voiced concerns over the possibility of empty seats the upcoming 2010 World Cup, notes a Goal.com report. While slow sales for general tickets has been well documented, the global recession is also expected to have an impact on the sale of corporate hospitality packages, which have been a great source of income for host countries in the past.
With less than 25 days to go and over 2,5 million tickets sold for the 2010 World Cup, excited fans will be planning their trips to the various stadia around the country to watch the greatest sporting event in the world, notes a Money Web report. However, some will unhappily miss out on their matches when they discover they are in possession of tickets that have been unlawfully sold to them. ’In the week ahead, we will see the implementation of a Regulation approved by the Minister of Trade and Industry that makes it unlawful for any entity or person to sell, or otherwise dispose of, 2010 World Cup tickets for commercial purposes’, says Clifford Green, director at Edward Nathan Sonnenbergs.
WC tickets too expensive for poor Africans – 14/05/2010
Despite being cheaper than in previous World Cup finals, tickets are still beyond the means of many poor Africans. Though the 2010 World Cup in South Africa was said to be an African festival, many African fans will not be part of the football fiesta owing to the high cost of tickets and the absence of direct flights to South Africa. Despite 2010 seats being cheaper than in previous World Cup finals, they are still beyond the means of many poor people.
With exactly a month to go before the event kicks off on African soil, 90% of the tickets have been sold. Goal.com reports that ticket sales are on track for the 2010 World Cup to be declared a sold-out ahead of the tournament’s opening match at Soccer City in Johannesburg on June 11. Ticket sales have been heavily scrutinised over the past few months, and concerns over empty stadiums were raised in the media, but as the showpiece tournament approaches, the venues are filling up well
For a group of youngsters, the international flavour of the 2010 World Cup came to South Africa a few weeks early as they took to the field for the 2010 National Schools Football Final, with each team ’adopting’ a 2010 World Cup participating nation, notes a SA.info report. The tournament, which took place at Marks Park Sports Club in Johannesburg on the weekend, forms part of the My 2010 School Adventure campaign. What the children did not know was that, as a reward for going so far in the campaign, 5 000 World Cup tickets were made available to the young players through the 2010 World Cup Ticket Fund.
In the final run-up to the 2010 World Cup, South Africans have snapped up tickets in a last-minute surge in local sales that will give the tournament a more African flavour, as foreign sales sag. According to a Mail & Guardina report, the decision last month to begin over-the-counter sales in South Africa saw enormous queues spring up, with local fans buying 180 000 tickets in the first week. Previously South Africans had to buy tickets online or at bank branches, a cumbersome process in a country where internet access remains a luxury and public transport is poor.
South Africans who buy 2010 World Cup tickets on the Internet risk being turned away from stadiums, notes a Sunday Times report. And the locals re-selling these tickets could also end up in hot water. The only way to re-sell tickets is through FIFA’s recently launched Ticket Transfer Platform, a website that allows the on-line re-sale of match tickets and the transfer of tickets from one guest to another.
