It’s as if someone was throwing a party at your house, but you can’t attend — Fifa’s World Cup entourage has arrived in South Africa and is running the show.
The tickets for the 2010 World Cup go on sale on Friday although many football lovers are still waiting for their Confederations Cup tickets. This has sparked questions about the efficiency of the ticket system for the two tournaments.
A substantial number of eager football fans who applied for Confederations Cup tickets when they went on sale in November last year have not heard whether their applications have been successful. As things stand, they fear losing out on the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to watch a World Cup finals tournament.
Jaime Byrom, the co-chairperson of Fifa’s ticket agency Match, acknowledged this week that ”there is a backlog” and that Fifa has set up a mechanism to address the problem.
”We are trying very hard to find out what the issues are and we have established a service centre to look at the problem. You might find that people gave us the wrong details when they applied and we are unable to contact them. I just don’t know the total number of people who are experiencing problems but we have sold about 150Â 000 tickets so far,” said Byrom.
The successful applicants will also have to wait until April to get their tickets.
For those still hoping to hear from the football body, it may be some time before the problem is solved. Delia Fischer, Fifa’s media officer, refused to explain how the service centre would operate and assist fans.
Orlando Pirates fan Dejan Miladinovic said: ‘Last year I applied for my Confederations Cup tickets but I haven’t received any communication about my application. I inquired and was told it would be solved soon but it hasn’t been. We might miss the World Cup and it will be sad because it is not about money, but the system that they are using.”
The complicated ticket application process for both the Confederations Cup and the 2010 World Cup also runs the risk of excluding the majority of citizens. There has been little education around the process for ordinary South Africans.
Kaizer Chiefs supporter Machaka Masilo accused the 2010 local organising committee (LOC) of relying only on the media to get the message across to the supporters. ”I might be familiar with the system but imagine a person living in a rural area. There should be more education around this.”
People can apply for tickets only online on the Fifa website or collect a hard copy application form at any First National Bank (FNB) branch nationwide. Applying through an FNB branch entails filling out the form, taking it back to the branch, waiting for confirmation from your cellphone to notify you if your application was successful or not, and then heading back to the FNB branch to pay for the tickets.
After all this shuttling a prepaid card is issued that you will use in April 2010 to collect your tickets. If an application is not successful the prepaid card can be used for other transactions such as a credit card at retailers or the applicant will be refunded.
Danny Jordaan, the chief executive officer of the 2010 LOC, was unfazed by the criticism and said the system is user-friendly. ”Many people in the country have identity documents and if you have filled in an application form for an identity document — which is much more complicated — then this should be very easy. Those who can’t should ask for help.”
Echoing Jordaan’s sentiments, Horst Schmidt, Fifa’s 2010 consultant, said people will accept the system in time. ”This is a World Cup and not a match between Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs so people will eventually get accustomed to it.”
There will be five World Cup ticket sales phases, with the first taking place from February 20 to March 31. People applying for a ticket in the first of five ticket sale phases will be entered into a random draw that takes place on April 15. They will be notified within three days if they are picked.
‘All valid ticket applications received will have an equal chance of success regardless of whether they are received at the beginning or the end of the sales phase,†says Byrom.
Fans will have to wait until April 2010 to lay their hands on their tickets irrespective of how early they make their applications. The tickets will be available for collection at designated ticketing centres in the nine host cities and some airports.
Those who are unsuccessful will have several more opportunities to buy tickets right up until the day of the World Cup final on July 11 2010.
There will be no discounts for pensioners, minors and scholars.
”We are working on a budget to ensure that we host a successful World Cup and have 320Â 220 category four tickets for South African citizens only on a fixed the exchange rate. There are also 120Â 000 complimentary tickets with 40Â 000 going to the contractors who built the stadiums as well tickets for people in wheelchairs — plus a ticket for the person accompanying them,” said Jordaan.
However, it is our hope that Fifa sorts out the Confederations Cup tickets mess quickly and brings smiles to fans who are looking forward to the 2010 World Cup.