After three of five ticketing sales phases for the 2010 FIFA World Cup™ in South Africa, two-thirds of the available tickets have been sold.
The third ticketing sales phase, which will conclude with a random draw for oversubscribed matches on 1 February, saw a total of 1,206,865 applications received from 192 countries. Six matches are currently oversubscribed (in all categories), among them the semi-finals and the final. In total, 55 matches are oversubscribed in at least one category.
There was huge interest from South African residents, who accounted for 79% of the total applications received (958,381) in this phase. This represents an increase of 24.9% in applications from South African residents in the third sales phase when compared to the earlier ticketing stages.
Apart from the host country, the USA led the ticketing standings for the third phase with 50,217 applications, followed by the UK (41,529), Australia (15,523), Mexico (14,804), Germany (14,647) and Brazil (10,767). Increased interest was also noted in the neighbouring countries of South Africa – Botswana leading with 2,519 ticket applications, followed by Mozambique (1,795) and Namibia (1,191).
The next ticketing sales phase will start on 9 February 2010 and end on 7 April 2010. During these 58 days, more than 400,000 tickets will be made available on a first-come, first-served basis via www.fifa.com/2010 or in FNB branches (in South Africa only).
From 15 April 2010 onwards, ticketing centres will be open in each host city (with two in Johannesburg) where fans will be able to buy tickets over the counter and also collect their confirmed tickets.
To further enhance the service, ticketing call centres will be open during the fourth sales phase – both internationally and in the host country. The call centres will assist fans with enquiries and applications. The hotline number for international customers is 0041445832010, and for domestic customers 0831232010.
For residents of the host country, the allocation of category 4 tickets (the most affordable, for South African residents only – starting from USD 20/ZAR 140) will, as planned, increase significantly.
In recognition of Visa’s valued sponsorship, FIFA prefers Visa for ticket sales.
For further information, please contact:
FIFA Media Department Zurich – tel.: +41-43/222 7272 – fax: +41-43/222 7373 or e-mail: media@fifa.org – FIFA Media SA Office – e-mail: media-sa@fifa.org; mobile: Delia Fischer +27832010470 or Wolfgang Eichler +27832010471;
Communications & Public Affairs Division / Johannesburg, 27 January 2010 / 2010FWC-Ticket-E.doc
Source: FIFA
