January 18 – South Africans will be able to buy World Cup tickets over the counter, Danny Jordaan (pictured) promised today, following complaints that the existing sales system is too complicated for local fans.
Currently South Africans can apply for tickets on-line or at bank branches, drawing criticism because many fans have no internet access or have to travel long distances to banks.
Jordaan said: ”We acknowledge that the average fan has become frustrated with the current system, therefore we decided to use this method.
“We are definitely in the process of changing this and as a member of the ticketing committee, I am confident that FIFA will understand our position.”
He said fans could expect to buy their tickets over the counter from April, adding that FIFA would discuss the details of the new system at its next meeting.
Last week Jordaan voiced concern that few local fans were buying tickets for the national team Bafana Bafana, saying it would the first time in World Cup history that the host nation is not topping the ticket sales list.
Around 50 per cent of the three million tickets set aside for South African residents have been sold for the first World Cup on African soil.
But Jordaan warned that if fans waited for the new procedures to start then they ran the risk of being disappointed.
He said: ”If you wait for that time, there is danger there will be few or no tickets at all.”
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