Cape Town -
Buy your World Cup tickets!
That was the message put out by South African officials and
World Cup sponsors after Friday's draw for next year's World Cup
finals.
Although the sport's controlling body Fifa have repeatedly said
they are happy with ticket sales and were well on course to reach
their targets, not everyone connected to the World Cup seems to
share their views.
The vice-president of the South African Football Association
(SAFA) appealed to South Africans to support the host team, who
were drawn into a difficult group with France, Uruguay and Mexico.
"Bafana have to get all the support they need."
He also called on South Africans to watch other matches. "We
have to sensitize football fans into buying tickets."
Fifa has made a number of tickets available to South African
residents only and these are being sold at much cheaper rates than
the other tickets, with the cheapest seat starting at R120.
On Sunday, two official sponsors placed expensive full-page
advertisements in the popular mass-circulation Sunday Times
encouraging fans to buy tickets.
Financial institution Visa, who are one of the competition's
global sponsors, had a full-page ad, in which they said: "Make Sure
You Can Say I Was There".
The advertisement, which pictured a football fan and his
daughter, went on to say: "Book Your Seat In History."
First National Bank, meanwhile, bought a four-page insert in the
middle of the main section of the newspaper, asking: "Have You
Landed Double Tickets?", in reference to a competition they ran
giving away tickets.
Elsewhere, the same sponsor offers potential customers
guaranteed tickets if they invest R50 000 or more.
Many South African fans though have complained that the process
of buying tickets through the official Fifa website (FIFA.com) is
difficult.
"I have tried several times to get on, but it simply proved
virtually impossible. In the end I gave up," football fan Peter
Walton said.
Others complained that their requests for tickets were turned
down.
"I can't understand it. We are being encouraged to buy tickets,
but when I applied, I got an e-mail back saying that I had not been
successful," said another fan.
"I find that very strange, but I am still hoping to secure at
least some tickets to see some of the matches."
Last month, Fifa had already extended the second purchasing
phase by a few days and said at the time that even team-specific
tickets which included tickets for the final were still available.
The third ticketing stage began on Saturday.
- Sapa