Scramble for 2010 Tickets
The 2010 Fifa World Cup final match scheduled for Soccer City on July 14 has generated so much interest that its ticket sales are already 3 000% over-subscribed. This emerged as MATCH, the company in charge of ticketing and hospitality, conducted a random selection draw for the first phase of ticket sales at their London offices this week.
According to a Fifa statement, the random selection draw that lasted about two hours was conducted in the presence of Public Notary, Ms Valerie Howard.
Some interesting figures that emerged from the draw indicated that:
- A total of 1 862 319 tickets were requested;
- Applications came from 205 countries;
- A whopping 555 871 tickets were drawn successfully;
- South African residents were allocated 245 948 tickets out of those drawn which means that 44% tickets from the first phase will go to local soccer fans;
- The highest number of tickets drawn to fans outside the host country were to residents of the United States which received 69 208 tickets;
- The United Kingdom was next with 39 421 tickets followed by Germany with 29 330 tickets;
- England topped the team specific ticket applications with a total of 228 822 team-specific tickets;
- Category 4 tickets which were designed specifically for South African residents, proved to be the most popular.
Fifa honorary vice-president David Will, who chairs the ticketing sub-committee, said: “The whole draw procedure worked smoothly. Of course, we would have liked to please even more football fans at this stage, but there will be other ticket sales phases, the next one starting on May 4.
“By implementing an electronic random selection draw, we are able to guarantee that the whole procedure remains fair and all applicants have an equal chance. This is very important to us.
” SA 2010 Fifa World Cup Local Organising Committee chief executive Danny Jordaan added: “We are obviously happy to see the huge number of South Africans that have successfully secured tickets for next year’s Fifa World Cup. MATCH started this week contacting applicants on the status of their applications.
African World Cup
In May 2004, FIFA awarded the hosting of the FIFA World Cup to an African country for the first time in the 101 years of FIFA’s existence. As the host, South Africa stands not as a country alone – but rather as a representative of Africa and as part of an African family of nations. The African Union (AU) has committed its support to the 2010 World Cup. In a declaration of the eighth Assembly of the AU heads of state and government, the AU reaffirmed its pledge to make 2010 a truly African tournament, committing its countries to “full and substantive involvement in the preparations leading to the 2010 World Cup”.
Moses Mabhida Stadium, Durban on Track
Named after a hero of the working class; the Durban Kwazulu Natal Moses Mabhida Stadium located adjacent the ABSA Stadium in the Kings Park Sporting Precinct - a site located in Stamford Hill, is yet to be another world class multi-purpose stadium set to make possible successful history in the making of the 2010 Fifa World Cup.
To make way for this prestigious contribution Kings Park Stadium was demolished in the late 2006 to develop a new a stadium complex set to comprise of an adjoining indoor arena, sporting museum, sport institute and a new transmodal transportation station in preparations ahead of the world showpiece.
- 70 000 spectator seats
- Demountable seating will be removed to reduce the capacity to 54 000 post 2010 in legacy mode.
- 50 percent of the seats will be accessible from the main entrance while a 150 suites with housing ability totaling 7 500 set to cover a range of hospitality options.
- There are plans and allocations to increase the capacity of the stadium to 84 000 seats in the future to further accommodate major events such as Olympics.
For the provision and successful accomplishment of this development, the allocated budget amounts to R1, 83-billion.
- Planning of the development started:
- Internally in January 2006
- The demolition of Kings Park started June/July 2006
- Piling in November 2006
- Principal Building Constructor started with the site in January 2007
The date for completion is end of October 2009 and is very well on schedule.
The stadium is owned by the South African Football Association and put to house and cater for a variety of sporting activities such as rugby, cricket and athletics; the stadium is not only planned not be a white elephant, but is also set to be a flexibly operating facility since it will operate seven days a week and 365 days a year unlike other stadiums post 2010 Fifa World Cup.
With anticipation growing ahead of the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™, the official Match Schedule has been released. To find out where the games will be played in Cape Town, Durban, Johannesburg, Mangaung/Bloemfontein, Nelson Mandela Bay/Port Elizabeth, Nelspruit, Polokwane, Rustenburg, Tshwane/Pretoria between 11 June and 11 July 2010
A lot of development and refurbishment is scheduled to take place to bring the stadia up to standard for the tournament. The opening match and final will be played at Soccer City in Johannesburg which will have a capacity of 94,700.
Come June 2010, the eyes of millions of visitors and billions of TV viewers will be focused on the southern tip of Africa for the FIFA World Cup.This is the first time that the word's premier sporting event will be held on African soil.
9 Cities (Joburg, Pretoria, Cape Town, Durban, Port Elizabeth, Bloemfontein, Rustenburg, Nelspruit & Polokwane) will host the game in world class stadiums. One of the stadiums - 'Soccer City' will be able to host 104 000 football fans! The opening matches and the final will happen in this magnificent stadium.
To touch the soul of the nation and inspire the world by creating and delivering an extraordinary Olympic and Paralympic experience – that is the mission of the Vancouver 2010 Games. Our mission is to give voice to that soul.
2010 Olympic Torch Relay-Presenting Partners
As Presenting Partners of the 2010 Olympic Torch Relay, Coca-Cola and RBC will work in collaboration with VANOC on the overall development of the Olympic Torch Relay. Coca-Cola and RBC embody the importance of partnerships to the success of the 2010 Winter Olympic Games. By joining forces with VANOC, they have made commitments to ensure that every Canadian has the opportunity to be inspired by the power of the Olympic Flame.
“The Torch Relay provides our company with an opportunity to extend the live Olympic spirit to communities across the country and to encourage Canadians to make a lifelong commitment to Olympic values,” said Vincent Timpano, President of Coca-Cola Canada.
“From town to town, the Olympic Torch Relay will connect all Canadians to Vancouver 2010 and what it stands for,” said Gordon M. Nixon, RBC President and Chief Executive Officer. “RBC is honoured to help give millions of Canadians and their communities a chance to participate in the celebration and excitement of the Games through the Olympic Torch Relay.”
World Cup Tickets
World Cup tickets, schedule, and location information are available for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Sixty-four soccer matches will be played in ten stadiums and nine host cities throughout South Africa including Bloemfontein, Cape Town, Durban, Johannesburg, Nelspruit, Polokwane, Port Elizabeth, Pretoria, and Rustenburg.
A total of three million tickets will be available for the 2010 World Cup. One third of the tickets will be allocated for South African local fans, one third for International fans, and one third for sponsors, teams and the FIFA family. As in previous years demand for tickets is expected to exceed supply leaving many World Cup fans unable to get tickets for the matches. Plan ahead, check back frequently for World Cup ticket availability.
FIFA World Cup History & Information
The FIFA World Cup, organized by Federation Internationale de Football Association, FIFA, the sport's governing body, is the most important competition in international football (soccer). The World Cup Final is the most widely televised and viewed major sporting event in the world.
The World Cup finals tournament is held every four years, but the World Cup competition itself actually takes place over a two-year period. Over one hundred sixty national teams compete in regional qualifying tournaments for a place in the finals. The World Cup finals tournament now involves thirty-two national teams from two hundred four FIFA countries competing over a four week period in a host nation nominated by the FIFA.
The World Cup tournaments so far have been held nine times in Europe, four times in Latin America, two times in Central America, once in North America and once in Asia (Korea & Japan). The 2006 World Cup was Germany's second time hosting the World Cup since 1974. The 2010 World Cup will be South Africa's first time hosting the FIFA World Cup.
South Africa 2010
Win in Africa with Africa is the slogan for South Africa 2010. The official 2010 FIFA World Cup emblem was unveiled on July 7, 2006 in Berlin, Germany.
The 2010 FIFA World Cup emblem is a symbol of hope depicting the energy and vigour of the Africa nation. The inspiration for the footballing figure on the high-tech emblem is said to be from Khoi-San rock paintings.
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