2010 World Cup tickets go on sale

The first tickets for the 2010 World Cup which is being staged in Africa for the first time went on sale Friday.

FIFA has some three million tickets available for 64 matches ranging from 80 dollars for group stages to 900 dollars for the final.

Application forms were made available online on FIFA’s website (www.fifa.com) and at local branches of the FNB bank in South Africa which is one of the event’s sponsors.

“We are going to be so proud. We have to do our best to save money and enjoy it,” soccer fan Nelson Gumede told AFP while picking up an application form in Soweto on the outskirts of Johannesburg.

Tickets will be available in three types of sales phases: the random selection draw, the first come first served, and last minute sales.

Applications for the first phase close on March 31, with FIFA holding a random draw on April 15.

The one month global soccer fiesta is being staged for the first time in Africa at ten stadiums in nine South African cities hosting the world’s best teams.

One person is allowed to apply for only four tickets per game for a maximum of seven matches. A ticket applicant may not apply for two matches taking place on the same day.

The most expensive ticket for the opening match for category one stadium stands – located alongside the pitch – is 450 dollars.

Semi-final tickets go for 600 dollars while the final costs 900 dollars.

For the first time in the history of the world’s top football event, FIFA has set aside 120,000 discounted tickets for South African residents, including 40,000 free tickets for stadium construction workers.

This week around 400 builders at the stadium site in Nelspruit, in eastern South Africa, were dismissed for going on strike in a move that could put at risk its July completion deadline.

The FIFA deadline for the completion of all the 10 stadiums is October 15.

The event starts on June 11, 2010 with the draw for the 32 qualified teams taking place in Cape Town in December.