Ticket applications exceed expectations: FIFA

Zurich, Feb 21 : FIFA received around 200 applications a minute in the first five hours when World Cup tickets went on sale on Friday.

There were 60,000 online ticket applications worldwide within the first five hours, far exceeding expectations, world football's governing body said in a statement.

It added that thousands of South Africans collected paper applications from bank branches in the 2010 tournament's host country.

Organisers said the opening day of ticket sales dispelled any doubts about the tournament going ahead in South Africa.

"The beginning of this part of the build-up to the World Cup is our irrevocable promise that we make to the people of the world that all is in place and will be ready for 2010," said Organising Committee chief executive officer Danny Jordaan.

The readiness of South Africa's stadiums and infrastructure has come under scrutiny but FIFA President Sepp Blatter said in December there was "no plan B".

Some 700,000 tickets are available for purchase out of a total of just over three million for the 64 games between June 11-July 11 next year.

Fans have from Friday until the end of March to apply for tickets before going into a random draw lottery in April to determine the successful applicants.

Some 20 million applications were received during the first phase of the sales process for the 2006 World Cup finals in Germany, which was conducted entirely online.

Ticket prices range from USD 20 to USD 900, a drastic increase in the standard USD 1.50 to USD 2.50 supporters pay for entry to South African premier league matches.

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South Africa soccer coach wants more tough matches

Polokwane, Feb 13 : South Africa's 2-0 defeat to Chile came as no surprise to coach Joel Santana and he wants the team to get used to playing similar opposition if the World Cup

hosts are to be competitive at the 2010 finals.

The Brazilian's charges were handed a comprehensive lesson inn Wednesday's friendly international, laying bare the task facing Santana.

"What happened really did not surprise me. Chile had a very strong team who know what to do out on the field. They made us hurry through everything," Santana said in a post-match interview.

"It was a good friendly for us. These are the type of games we need and we have to apply now what we have learnt."

The result was a reality check for South Africa after a record run of five successive wins, albeit all against African opposition.

"This game augers well for our future," added Santana, who took the job last May. "We were beaten by a better team and now we know where we stand and what we need to do."

South Africa have an extensive schedule of games over the next year to prepare for the 2010 World Cup. They will compete in the Confederations Cup in June, including a match against European champions Spain, as well as play friendlies against Portugal and Poland.

South Africa's next match is at home to Norway in Rustenburg on March 28.

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World Cup needs public's support, organisers say

South African organisers of the 2010 World Cup

today lamented the lack of excitement across the host country ahead of the biggest global football fiesta.

"The challenge is that not everybody has internalised the magnitude of this event," the chairman of the 2010 FIFA World Cup Organising Committee (LOC), Irvin Khosa, said on a radio interview to mark 500 days to go to the event.

"This World Cup should not be World Cup of Irvin Khosa, Danny Jordaan (chief executive of LOC), the LOC and the board. It is a World Cup for 45 million South Africans. It is important that we embrace this World Cup because it is our World Cup," he said.

The LOC believed that the anticipated economic boom the World Cup was expected to bring to South Africa would help the country cushion the effect of the current global financial crisis, Khosa said.

"In terms of taxes anticipated, selling of broadcast rights, tickets demand, we can only see a boom in this World Cup. It will help to mitigate what might have taken South Africa to a recession mode," he also said.

Jordaan told a radio programme that the board of the LOC will hold a key meeting later in the day with senior FIFA officials, including the body's secretary general Jerome Valcke.

The meeting will discuss a number of issues, including protocol matters relating to the 2010 World Cup and the Confederations Cup to be staged in June in South Africa.

Mayors and representatives of all the country's nine 2010 FIFA World Cup host cities will also converge later today in Mangaung (Bloemfontein), the capital of South Africa's central Free State Province, for the national unveiling of the host city posters, it said.

The 48,000-seat capacity Mangaung stadium, currently under construction, is one of the 10 venues to be used for the World Cup.

"All the 10 stadiums will be completed by the end of this year... for Africa's first World Cup after 104 years in world football," Jordaan said.

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