By Duncan Mackay
January 20 – Security fears and the high cost of travel is putting German fans off travelling to support their team at the World Cup in South Africa later this year, Franz Beckenbauer has claimed.
For the group matches against Australia, Serbia and Ghana, German fans have only bought 579, 655 and 682 tickets respectively, the German Football Fedeartion (DFB) said.
In contrast, a total of 22,479 tickets have so far been sold to England fans for their team’s three matches,
Beckenbauer, who captained Germany to victory in the 1974 World Cup and coached them to their win in 1990, said: ”Not only are there doubts by those thinking of travelling there, because of security, but the tickets are too expensive.
“What normal person can afford €5,000 (£4,346) to €6,000 (£5,215) for one week?”
Theo Zwanziger, the President of the German Football Federation (DFB), backed Beckenbauer’s complaints.
He said: ”It is not only an issue of security, it is also the high cost for the trip and the accommodation.”
So far, in total over 25,000 Germans have ordered tickets for all 64 World Cup matches.
The most tickets have been sold to fans in the United States, who have brought 84,103, with 48,184 tickets sold in England making them the second highest.
But DFB general secretary Wolfgang Niersbach claimed he saw no cause for concern as the sales were very similar to those before the 2002 World Cup in South Korea and Japan.
Niersbach said: ”One should not be surprised if there is not the wave of arrivals that one would see if the tournament was held in Spain, Italy or England
“Sales are normal and similar to the 2002 World Cup, and the comparison with 2002 offers itself because of the similar distance and the resulting costs.
“There is great interest for the team locally.
“But we should not compare it with the 2006 World Cup when Germany were hosts.
“Even for the 2002 final in Yokohama [between Brazil and Germany] we only sold 2,144 tickets to German fans.”
But it is the comments about security from Beckenbauer (pictured), an influential member of the FIFA Executive Committee and organiser of the last World Cup tournament in Germany four years ago, that will concern South African officials the most.
While they are making every effort to ensure fans safety at the World Cup, the first to take place on the African continent, Beckenbauer says there are still safety issues.
He said: ”The organisers are doing everything to ensure the event has the best security.
“They are prepared for nearly every type of attack, they can’t do more.
“But no country in the world can now say they are 100 per cent safe
“People need to be watching out everywhere they go.
“It’s best to be over-cautious, stay in groups whenever possible.”
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