World Cup South Africa 2010: 2009

Ticket applications hit 220,000 mark within 48 hours

Minggu, 13 Desember 2009

The aftermath of the Final draw has seen a sudden global surge in ticket applications for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in the third ticketing phase. The third phase kicked off on Saturday 1pm, and since then 219,162 ticketing requests have been received via FIFA.com.

“We still have 47 days to go in this third phase of ticket sales. We are pleased with the interest shown so far. It shows the impact the final draw has had on football fans and the FIFA World Cup next year,” said Horst R. Schmidt, chairman of the Ticketing Sub-Committee.

Applications for tickets to Africa’s first FIFA World Cup™ can be made via www.FIFA.com/2010. South African residents have an option to apply for tickets at FNB branches across the country. Fans have until 22 January to apply for individual match tickets or Team-Specific Series. In the event of over-subscribed matches or categories, or over-subscribed ticket products or categories, there will be an electronic random selection draw on 1 February to identify the successful applicants.

“Now that the match schedule has been confirmed, we encourage fans in South Africa, Africans and football fans around the world to grab this chance and purchase their tickets for what will be an unforgettable event,” says Danny Jordaan, Chief Executive Officer of the 2010 FIFA World Cup Organising Committee South Africa.

The prices for group matches range from USD 20 to USD 160 (opening match: USD 70 – USD 450; final: USD 150 – USD 900) or ZAR 140 to ZAR 1,120 (opening match ZAR 490 – ZAR 3,150; final: ZAR 1,050 – ZAR 6,300. Category 4 tickets, the most affordable, have been exclusively set aside for South African residents.

All 32 participating member associations are allocated 12 per cent of all purchasable tickets in the stadiums where their three group games will be played. These tickets were made available as from 6 December 2009 through specified websites operated by the 32 participating member associations.

source:fifa.com

Third ticketing sales phase to kick off on 5 December

A global rush for 2010 FIFA World Cup™ tickets is expected on 5 December 2009, the day after the tournament’s Final Draw, when the third ticketing sales phase kicks off.

“It’s traditionally by far the most important sales phase, as the world’s football fans will by then know who will be playing whom in the group matches,” said Horst R. Schmidt, chairman of the Ticketing Sub-Committee, ahead of the start of the next sales phase.

The tournament line-up will pit many of the world’s football superpowers against each other and will include most of the game’s leading international stars.

Applications for tickets to Africa’s first FIFA World Cup™ can be made via FIFA.com. South African residents also have the chance to apply for tickets via application forms available in all FNB branches across the country. “The good news for all football fans wanting to experience this special event is that about one million tickets for all 64 matches and categories will become available in the third sales phase – including a limited number for the opening match and the final.” Fans will have to apply within 49 days (until 22 January) for individual match tickets or Team-Specific Series. If there are over-subscribed matches or categories, or over-subscribed ticket products or categories, there will be an electronic random selection draw on 1 February to identify the successful applicants.

“We’re confident that our preparations for the tournament are going extremely well. Now, it’s time to focus on the teams and the stars coming to South Africa 2010, for the global football world to see who their teams will be up against and for our Host Cities and residents to gear up to welcome the teams that will be heading their way. We encourage fans in South Africa and around the world to grab this chance to get tickets for what will be an unforgettable event,” said Danny Jordaan, Chief Executive Officer of the 2010 FIFA World Cup Organising Committee South Africa.

So far, a total of 674,403 tickets have been sold, corresponding to 90% of the tickets made available to date. Of those tickets, 53.6% (361,582) have been purchased by South African residents. The foreign country that has purchased the most tickets is the United States (84,103 tickets), followed by the UK (48,388), Germany (25,112), Australia (17,876), Canada (11,662), Switzerland (11,045), Japan (10,558) and Brazil (8,006). There are two types of ticket products available: individual match tickets for a specific match as well as Team-Specific Ticket Series (TST) to follow the national team of the customer’s choice. Applicants can apply for a maximum of four tickets per match and for up to a maximum of seven matches. The maximum number of TSTs that each applicant can apply for is four.

The prices for group matches range from USD 20 to USD 160 (opening match: USD 70 – USD 450; final: USD 150 – USD 900) or ZAR 140 to ZAR 1,120 (opening match ZAR 490 – ZAR 3,150; final: ZAR 1,050 – ZAR 6,300. Category 4 tickets, the most affordable, have been exclusively set aside for South African residents.

All 32 participating member associations will be allocated 12 per cent of all purchasable tickets in the stadiums where their three group games will be played. These tickets will be available through individual websites operated by the 32 participating member associations.

Football fans can also purchase authorised travel packages through participating tour operators appointed by FIFA through MATCH Event Services Pty Limited by clicking the link on the right hand side.

source: fifa.com

South Africa and FIFA

Jumat, 11 Desember 2009

Since I hate soccer with a passion, I would have a deep sense of schadenfreude if South Africa were not ready for the world cup. (For those of you Natal graduates, schadenfreude is a German word: schaden means harm or damage and freude joy, so schadenfreude is pleasure derived from the misfortunes of others.)

The reason for my aggressive attitude is not really that I like to see my country fail but rather that I am disappointed that a game (which I regard with distain) can be the catalyst for the government and provinces of this country to do so much in a short time to produce many things that are needed (like rapid-transit systems) and so many things not needed (like large stadiums) while nothing happens about the eternal African usual suspect problems of healthcare, accommodation, employment, crime, infrastructure, water, and so on.

The cash spent is about R9,6-billion allocated for transport projects and R8,4-billion for the construction of World Cup stadiums. A further R1,5-billion was allocated to the International Broadcast Centre, in Johannesburg, and other aspects of the country's information and communication technology infrastructure.

One wonders what would have happened if FIFA had not said that there must be stadiums for the World Cup but that crime must significantly reduce and infrastructure and employment must significantly increase for the World Cup. Well, we know the answer to that. We do have the budget to nail accommodation, employment, crime, infrastructure, water and employment but, unless we have somebody demanding that something be done about it by some specific deadline, all that happens is that politicians do nothing but talk and buy smart cars.

I think there is no doubt that some of the structures that have been built for the World Cup are quite magnificent, particularly the stadiums. But they contribute very little to our society. The Cape Town stadium will be used four times for the World Cup and thereafter . . . well, perhaps as much as the old Green Point stadium, which is to say not much at all.

Let us look to the other side: the stadiums were built on a very fast track and are a job well done. What does this tell us? If you want something built quickly and well, give it to the experts and they will do the job. The experts in this case are private-sector contractors. But if you want something messed up, then give it to a loose consortium of cadres and comrades with impeccable struggle credentials, all of whom have limited knowledge of big-project construction. The results of the latter, we have seen, are a waste of money with no specific result. But guess what - when Fifa cracks the whip, out go the comrades and in come the private-sector experts, who will get it right.

And the FIFA people have taken the form of gods. They decree that the whole of Cape Town central be blocked for the World Cup draw - and so it is. They block-book all flights between Cape Town, Johannesburg and Durban, making intercity travel between these centres very difficult and expensive. They pronounce, they dictate, they pontificate. And we, in awe and amazement that such luminaries can even exist, bow down and lay out the red carpet, all in the name of the 'beautiful' but actually deadly boring game.

In all this, there is one enduring symbol of failure of the World Cup. It is in the form of the South African woman. She may be in the Tugela valley, in Limpopo province, in the Northern Cape, in the Eastern Cape . . . anywhere in this country. She walks with an erect carriage because, balanced on her head, is a 20-l plastic drum of water. She is taking water from a river to her house. The reason for this is that, wonderfully, magnificently, South Africa can spend billions of rands for the sake of entertainment but cannot get it right to bring piped water to the houses of tens of thousands of people, who will not be watching the World Cup. How much more can we fail?

Worldcup 2010 South Africa Picture

Worldcup 2010 South Africa Picture

Green Fields of England Song

Green Fields of England was written in support of England at the World Cup in 2010. In the lyrics we hoped to capture and celebrate, the pride that an Englishman has for England, its character, and its football team.

This song is for England, not the UK or GB. My late Grandfather did serve in both world wars, and that line is for him.

You can go to and hear the song for free.

Play it loud!

Green Fields of England by George and the Dragons
[©M.Charles]

Verse 1
Never underestimate the love of an Englishman,
Love of an Englishman for England
Deep within his heart he feels such pride for his country
The precious country, that he loves

Pre-chorus
From the Angel of the North to the Cornish coast
From Charlton, Hurst and Moore to a Sunday roast

Chorus
`Till I die I`ll love the green fields of England
Green fields of England that is home
Deep in my soul you find the things that I stand for
Grandfather fought for in the wars

Verse 2
And when they're under fire, we`ll lift them higher
So get behind the Boys,
Come on and make some noise, for Eng---LAND
From the Beatles and the Stones to the Fawlty Towers
We gave the world football and this time its ours

Chorus
'Till I die I'll love the green fields of England
Green fields of England that is home
Deep in my soul you find the things that I stand for
Grandfather fought for in the wars

Pre-chorus
From a sense of fair play to a pint of beer
The best league in the world you're gonna find it here
From the fish and chips to strawberries and cream
We gonna get behind Capello`s Eng-lish team

Chorus
`Till I die I`ll love the green fields of England
Green fields of England that is home
Deep in my soul you find the things that I stand for
Grandfather fought for in the wars