Americans appear set to be by far the most numerous group of foreign fans coming to South Africa for the 2010 World Cup, Parliament’s sports and recreation portfolio committee heard this week. This is according to the number of tickets sold up to the end of football governing body FIFA’s third sales phase, which ended on January 22. Sports24 reports that LOC CFO Farouk Seedat said 107 576 tickets for the event had been sold to the general public in the United States. The second-highest number of sales was in the United Kingdom (63 835) followed by Germany (29 733) and Australia (26 488).
The main port of call for two luxury ’floating hotels’ which will bring tourists from around the globe for the FIFA World Cup spectacular will be Durban, notes a News24 report. At a special media tour on board the MS Amsterdam, which is similar to the MS Westerdam and MS Noordam which are charted for the event, Werner von Moltke, founder of One Ocean Club (OOC) said that Durban with its ’superb winter climate’ was the place to be during the World Cup.
Football fans and their families are being targeted by a range of scams and rip-offs in the run-up to the 2010 World Cup, a Times Money investigation has found. With big screens being put up for ticketless fans, the certainty of a party atmosphere and breathtaking landscapes to explore, many fans are thinking of heading south this summer. However, those looking to book a last-minute trip to the competition have been warned to watch out for fraudsters and check that they are not paying over the odds.
The South African Football Association will take its new team bus on a six-week tour of the country as it attempts to convince local fans to get behind the host nation at the 2010 World Cup. South Africa will celebrate the 100-day countdown to the 2010 tournament next week when it plays neighbor Namibia in a friendly in Durban, but the local organising committee has admitted to disappointing ticket sales for the host’s 2010 World Cup games. Sport24 reports that the apparent lack of interest has now spurred SAFA to take Bafana Bafana’s new vehicle, which it unveiled this week, across the country.
Cheaper seats for poorer South Africans – 26/02/2010
2010 World Cup organisers have agreed to increase the number of cheaper seats available for South Africans to 29% of the tickets on offer for the tournament. The Cape Times reports that the LOC board of directors had decided to raise the allocation from 11% to give poorer South Africans a greater chance of seeing games, LOC CEO Danny Jordaan said. The decision should help sell tickets amid sluggish sales to foreigners, but may knock expected revenue from the month-long tournament beginning on June 11.
FIFA will increase the number of Category 4 tickets for the 2010 World Cup, says General-Secretary Jerome Valcke. ’These are specially-priced tickets for South African residents selling at R140,’ he said at a workshop held for the 32 teams participating in the upcoming tourney in June. He said 11% of stadium capacity was currently made up of Category 4 tickets and FIFA hoped to increase this to 20 percent for most matches. ’We will do our best to get up to 20 percent for most of the matches but we will not discount any ticket prices,’ he said, adding that free tickets will not be given away.
FIFA general secretary Jerome Valcke has lashed out at journalists following reports that ticket prices had been cut. The Times reports that Valcke said the football federation had made a pact with President Jacob Zuma that World Cup venues would be filled but this would not be achieved by slashing ticket prices. ’We will not, at any point, offer free tickets for the World Cup,’ said Valcke. ’The amount of money FIFA will make (from the event) will be enough to cover the (organising committee’s) budget and we will not cut ticket prices to achieve that.
Mugabe’s nephew lands major FIFA deal – 22/02/2010
In Zimabwe, the exclusive and lucrative contract to sell FIFA’s World Cup hospitality packages has been awarded to president Robert Mugabe’s nephew, businessman and former Zanu-PF MP Philip Chiyangwa, who is the subject of international sanctions. Chiyangwa’s Native Investment Group (NIG) was hand-picked late last year to sell World Cup packages for FIFA. The Cape Times reports that while ticket prices are being slashed in South Africa to fill stadiums, and Zimbabwean fans had only bought 546 tickets by the beginning of this month, Chiyangwa has claimed his Native Investment Group, which he directs, is doing a rip-roaring trade.
PE frustrated about 2010 ticket sales – 21/02/2010
Frustrated Port Elizabeth tourism officials say FIFA’s secrecy surrounding ticket sales for the 2010 World Cup matches in the city is adversely affecting plans for the event. Sunday World reports that the best news so far from FIFA was that the England versus Slovenia game on June 23 was sold out, according to Nelson Mandela Bay Tourism (NMBT) official Erenel Louw. ’However, even judging from this figure it is still impossible to calculate the total number of tourists expected here. You could calculate an average of how many friends or family are expected to come along with each ticket-holder’, he said.
Early-bird South African fans who rushed to secure the best seats for the World Cup matches have just had their Category 2 and 3 tickets devalued by R700.
But the good news for everyone else is that, with 110 days to go before the football spectacular kicks off, Fifa has slashed the price of at least 30 percent of the 3 million Category 2 and 3 tickets, which cost up to R840. According to a report on the IOL site, the tickets will now be sold to South Africans for only R140 - a fraction of the original price.
FIFA general secretary Jerome Valcke has revealed ticket prices for South African residents will be slashed in order to ensure all matches at the 2010 World Cup finals are sold out. Sports24 reports that following disappointing sales to overseas supporters, category two and three tickets will be changed to category four seats which can be sold only to South African residents for around $20. ’We will increase the number of category four tickets because we cannot have a situation where the World Cup is in South Africa and people cannot see matches,’ said Valcke.
The 2010 LOC has embarked on a campaign in which football fans are being asked to select the best players ever to represent Africa at the World Cup. In return members of the public will win 2010 World Cup tickets for helping to select the best players through the media, including your favourite daily newspaper Sowetan. Eleven players in the starting line-up and three reserves are needed by the LOC as part of the 2010 World Cup 100 days countdown celebrations in Durban on March 1.
The first seven days of the fourth ticket sales phase for the 2010 World Cup of South Africa has seen a total of 117 589 tickets being sold to 119 countries. The Citizen reports that of those tickets, 99 042 were sold to South African residents, representing 84% of sales in this phase. About 11 500 applications are still being processed. This second-last sales phase will run until April 7.
The 2010 World Cup Ticketing Sub-Committee has opened a call centre to assist soccer fans who want buy tickets for the 2010 World Cup. Horst Schmidt, chairman of the FIFA 2010 World Cup Ticketing Sub-Committee, said the call centre will operate from 10:30 am until 7:30 pm, South African time. ’The fans understand that time is crucial now, as the tickets are allocated on a first come first served basis and that they should not wait for the last minute over-the-counter sales,’ he said.
After 100 hours, 74,146 2010 World Cup tickets have been sold, while 130,000 more were applied for during the fourth ticket sales phase. The first 100 hours of the fourth ticket sales phase for the 2010 World Cup of South Africa has seen a total of 74,146 tickets being sold, while an additional 130,000 applications are currently being processed. Confirmation is expected to be sent by the beginning of next week to those who have applied. This second-last sales phase will run until 7 April 2010.
FIFA this week confirmed that two million World Cup tickets had been sold.
’We are content with the ticket sales results so far having sold already 2 million tickets. We still have two more ticketing phases to sell out the event,’ said Fifa World Cup ticketing sub-committee chairman Horst Schmidt. These tickets were sold during the third ticketing phase. Tickets in the fourth sales phase will be available on a first come, first serve basis and the football body has encouraged fans to start applying for tickets. ’As we enter this fourth ticketing phase, it is important for football fans to note that time is very important when one applies for a ticket,’ said Schmidt.
The fourth round of ticket sales for the 2010 World Cup will kick off on Tuesday, with over 400 000 tickets available on a first-come, first-served basis. FIFA said this phase will be one of the last chances for fans to make sure they attend the first World Cup on African soil. The sale of tickets will run for 58 days and end on 7 April 2010. Fans can apply for the tickets on http://www.fifa.com/2010 or (for South African residents only) at FNB branches.
Tickets for the World Cup semi-finals and final, as well as two of England’s first round matches in South Africa, have sold out, FIFA said on Friday. FIFA said there were no more tickets for England’s matches against the United States in Rustenburg on June 12 and Slovenia in Port Elizabeth on June 23. Tickets for the match between world champions Italy and Paraguay in Cape Town on June 11 and Brazil and Portugal in Durban a fortnight later have also sold out.
The final phase of World Cup tickets sales will open on Tuesday with more than 400,000 seats still available.
Despite complaints about access and complicated online processes, the 2010 LOC says it will only introduce over-the-counter ticket sales in April. ITWeb reports that organisations such as SAFA have called for the immediate opening of over-the-counter sales, saying more needed to be done to cater for fans without access to the Internet and the unbanked population in the country. However, the LOC says it is satisfied with the levels of access to tickets and over-the-counter sales would only be introduced in the final sales phase. The final phase will be for the last 500 000 tickets. This will start on 15 April and end on 11 July, with tickets being made available on a first come, first served basis.
Fears of poor attendances at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa have been allayed after FIFA announced two thirds of match tickets have already been sold. Two million tickets have now gone, with several matches already oversubscribed, notes a Classic FM report. The sales, announced by FIFA after the third of five phases of ticketing, reflect a surge of interest from South African residents, easing concerns about apathy in the host nation. Of the 1.2 million applications received in the third ticketing phase, 79% were from South Africans.
The 2010 World Cup in South Africa will be played in front of fewer than half of the expected number of foreign fans, says governing body FIFA. Secretary-general Jerome Valcke said there were too few flights to cater for demand, and also suggested some fans were concerned about safety. According to a BBC News report, FIFA expects 450 000 foreign fans - compared with estimates of one million made in 2002. South Africans have snapped up most of the two million tickets sold so far. The US makes up the largest contingent of foreign fans wanting tickets - with the UK next on the list.
More than a million anxious soccer fans will know in a week whether their applications for 2010 World Cup ticket have been successful. The Cape Argus reports that applicants are to be notified by SMS or e-mail after the random draw. A million tickets for all four categories were made available for the third phase, which closed last week. 2010 organising committee spokesman Rich Mkhondo said the committee did not have final figures, but South Africans had submitted the most applications, followed by people in the US and the UK.
Jacon ’Baby Jake’ Matlala, a four-time world champion in various weight divisions, has added his voice to calls for South Africans to apply for tickets for the 2010 World Cup. The Sowetan reports that Matlala, an avid soccer follower, said it would be embarrassing for the 10 World Cup match venues to be packed with people from other countries. ’It is good that FIFA and the LOC have decided to meet and come up with simpler methods of ensuring our people access the World Cup tickets,’ he said. ’One of the methods is to sell the tickets over the counter, starting in April. I think we should have started with this method a long time ago.’
European soccer fans have also been slow on the uptake for tickets to 2010 World Cup, notes a report in the IoL site. Of the 21 000 tickets that are available for the three German games, only 6 700 have been sold. Meanwhile, it has also been reported that 22 000 tickets were available for the Netherlands’ three matches in the first round, but only 7 000 had been sold. Last week LOC chairman Danny Jordaan expressed concern about the few local fans buying tickets.
2010 tickets will be sold equitably – LOC – 19/01/2010
Tickets for the 2010 World Cup will be sold equitably, said the LOC. ’We heard the concerns of South Africans and we are looking at them,’ LOC spokesperson Rich Mkhondo said. ’We are going to employ the most equitable distribution of tickets.’ The Sowetan reports that at the moment, tickets can be bought by filling in application forms at First National Bank branches, or fans can apply online. Some soccer analysts have pointed out that not all South African soccer supporters would necessarily be familiar with the Internet and other technology used to apply for the tickets.
Tickets sales in Germany for the 2010 World Cup in were slow due to security concerns and high travel costs but were no cause for concern, said the German soccer federation (DFB). According to a report on the IoL site, for the group matches against Australia, Serbia and Ghana, German fans have only bought 579, 655 and 682 tickets respectively, the DFB said. ’It is not only an issue of security, it is also the high cost for the trip and the accommodation,’ said DFB chief Theo Zwanziger. Only 25 000 Germans have ordered tickets for all 64 World Cup matches.
Metal worker’s union Numsa on Wednesday called on World Cup organisers to reduce ticket prices. ’We strongly believe that the low purchases of the tickets are a manifestation of the sharpening class realities in our country and beyond our borders, wherein the ordinary people can’t even afford basic necessities such as bread, milk and a decent meal,’ spokesperson Castro Ngobese said in a statement. On Tuesday 2010 Local Organising Committee (LOC) head Danny Jordaan expressed concerns that locals were not buying tickets, especially for Bafana Bafana games.
Less that 100 000 tickets have been sold for fans in the six African countries competing in the 2010 World Cup finals that kicks off on June 11 at the new Soccer City Stadium. That was the sobering disclosure from the CEO of the 2010 Local Organising Committee, Danny Jordaan, at a media briefing in Johannesburg on Tuesday. But what has Jordaan worried is the fact few local fans are buying tickets for Bafana Bafana’s Group A matches. Bafana open the tournament at Soccer City against Mexico on June 11, then play Uruguay at Loftus on June 16 and finish their group programme against 1998 world champions France in Bloemfontein on June 22.
Football fans hoping to cheer on the Socceroos at next year’s World Cup in Applications for seats in the official Australian supporters’ allocation close on January 13 and, as of yesterday, thousands were still available. A Football Federation Australia spokesman said: ’The [federation’s] ticket allocation is the best chance local fans have of securing a ticket to the FIFA World Cup 2010 as there is a specific allocation available only to Australian fans. The urgency is that applications close soon for the Australia-only ballot so fans should make their minds up now if they are considering going to South Africa.’
FIFA website copes comfortably with soaring demand – 16/12/2009
Despite the soaring demand for 2010 World Cup tickets, the Web site has held up, says FIFA. The third ticketing sales phase for the major soccer tournament has seen the number of tickets applied for hit the 500 000 mark within the first 10 days. ITWeb reports that over 386 300 of those tickets were requested by South African residents, while 114 237 tickets applied for came from the rest of the world. While FIFA denied the complaints, saying the online ticketing process was running smoothly, it later admitted that it had to improve its capacity to prepare for increased online applications.
