2010 World Cup Ticketing

[spottedeagle]

Just how does someone go about purchasing a ticket for a world cup match. I've looked it up online, but Ill I seem to find is confusing information. Plus, If its a lottery system, how do I know I have a ticket for the team I want to watch? For instance suppose I purchased a ticket before the final groupings and match fixtures are known, and I want to watch the USA play, but when fifa organizes the match schedule, they assign some other team... How can I be garanteed a ticket to the team I want to watch?

[comme]

Just how does someone go about purchasing a ticket for a world cup match. I've looked it up online, but Ill I seem to find is confusing information. Plus, If its a lottery system, how do I know I have a ticket for the team I want to watch? For instance suppose I purchased a ticket before the final groupings and match fixtures are known, and I want to watch the USA play, but when fifa organizes the match schedule, they assign some other team... How can I be garanteed a ticket to the team I want to watch?

You need to buy a follow my team ticket for multiple games. At the first stage of ticketing it is not possible to buy a single ticket to watch a specific team.

[BocaFan]

Just how does someone go about purchasing a ticket for a world cup match. I've looked it up online, but Ill I seem to find is confusing information. Plus, If its a lottery system, how do I know I have a ticket for the team I want to watch? For instance suppose I purchased a ticket before the final groupings and match fixtures are known, and I want to watch the USA play, but when fifa organizes the match schedule, they assign some other team... How can I be garanteed a ticket to the team I want to watch?

To guarantee entry to the lottery for single-match tickets, I believe you have to apply in Feb. of 2009 (as ridiculous as that may sound)!

But yeah, you're going into the lottery partially blind. Either you apply for a "follow-my-team" ticket, but won't know what cities you'll be going to until December and so you may have to travel all over a huge country. OR you can pick the city and date now but then you won't know what teams you'll see.

I guess it has to be like this though otherwise too many people will apply for Argentina v France in Cape Town. :p

[IASocFan]

Check out the fifa website - Ticket categories and prices. (http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/organisation/ticketing/index.html)

Tickets will go on sale in several phases, starting around the beginning of February 2009. As in the past, tickets that are not be bought by various stakeholders such as FIFA member associations will subsequently be put on sale to the general public.

I suggest monitoring the fifa site - particularly close to Feb. 1, 2009.

[almango]

Just how does someone go about purchasing a ticket for a world cup match. I've looked it up online, but Ill I seem to find is confusing information. Plus, If its a lottery system, how do I know I have a ticket for the team I want to watch? For instance suppose I purchased a ticket before the final groupings and match fixtures are known, and I want to watch the USA play, but when fifa organizes the match schedule, they assign some other team... How can I be garanteed a ticket to the team I want to watch?

If its the same as last time then you can purchase team specific tickets, but if the team you pick doesn't qualify then you miss out. You will also not know which cities you will be visiting until the draw. If you purchase tickets for a venue or date you will not know who you will be watching, but you will be able to start planning transport and accomodation. If you wait until the draw you will know who you are watching, but tickets are much harder to get from FIFA then as the demand is very high. You could also buy tickets from the Association in your country (this is how I got mine for Germany) but demand is usually very high and in some countries you've got no chance unless you know someone. If you want a guarantee to getting a ticket to the team you want to watch, there isn't one.

[Rig1964]

... How can I be garanteed a ticket to the team I want to watch?

If you buy single match tickets you can't.

Then Italy fans end up with Holland tickets, Holland fans end up with Brazil tickets, Brazil fans end up with USA tickets, USA fans end up with England tickets, England fans end up with Australia tickets, Australia fans end up with etc, etc.

Then the organasers will get upset when people start swapping tickets or selling and buying them on ebay.

[spottedeagle]

How do I aquire one of these "follow-my-team" tickets and is it a separate process from that of individual match tickets through the lottery system? What stage are the "follow-my-team" tickets given out?

[comme]

How do I aquire one of these "follow-my-team" tickets and is it a separate process from that of individual match tickets through the lottery system? What stage are the "follow-my-team" tickets given out?

They are available (or at least have been in the past) at the initial stage (so Feb 2009).

You can apply for either a number of match tickets or a follow my team ticket in the lottery, not both.

[cubby03]

Thanks for the information. Me and my girlfriend are planning a WC 10 trip, and I was wondering how I could get tickets to see Italy and the US. New to the forums, lots of good discussion here.

[samfairweather]

thanks for the great info guys. really helped. does anyone know if there is a restriction to the number of tickets purchased.

[comme]

thanks for the great info guys. really helped. does anyone know if there is a restriction to the number of tickets purchased.

Almost certainly yes. In 2006 the maximum was 4 tickets per game, and a total of 7 games that you could attend.

[hard_to_beat]

If you buy single match tickets you can't.

Then Italy fans end up with Holland tickets, Holland fans end up with Brazil tickets, Brazil fans end up with USA tickets, USA fans end up with England tickets, England fans end up with Australia tickets, Australia fans end up with etc, etc.

Then the organasers will get upset when people start swapping tickets or selling and buying them on ebay.

Welcome to the crazy world that is FIFA. Be sure to say hello to Jack Warner... they'll kick you out if not.

[RichardL]

I really think tickets for individual games will be much easier to get hold of than for world cups such as the one in Germany. You will not have 100,000+ fans going over from many countries on the off-chance. You quite probably won't have 90% of ticket applications from the host country either.

South Africa is not going to be a cheap country to get to, and that will also put a lot of people off. I don't expect every game to sell out. They didn't even quite manage that in 2006 (touts with spares for Iran v Angola really earned their money that day) but I expect a lot more similar crowds for some of the group matches.

Of course FIFA know such games have a limited appeal, which is one reason why tickets go on sale prior to the draw. H3 v H4 in Munich, with that element of mystery, somehow seemed a little more exotic and appealing than Tunisia v Saudi Arabia, as it turned out to be. It allows them to capture both the fan who'd be put off a fixture knowing the draw as well as the fan who wants to follow those teams.

You also need to look into the logistics of it all, as getting around could be something of a problem, with travel being the most difficult since USA '94, probably more so in fact.

http://www.fifa.com/mm/document/tournament/preliminarydraw/64/42/24/2010fwc_matchschedule_1103.pdf

The fixture guide could help. I've actually been able to pencil in something of an itinery. There are three cities which are hosting 3 games in 6 days over the first phase, which could be useful if you don't want to spend all your time travelling.

[Beazley17]

About the lottery, I could get tickets to all 3 USA matches, just not know where they are playing until the draw, correct?

[RichardL]

About the lottery, I could get tickets to all 3 USA matches, just not know where they are playing until the draw, correct?
It really depends how the lottery works.

Last time out you could go for specific games, but without knowing who was playing (e.g. A1 v A4 in Berlin etc) or go for a team specific ticket, where you'd apply for 3/4/5/6 or 7 games following your specified team. You could do one or the other, but not both, as I recall.

Obviously, if you applied for a team ticket, you wouldn't know where they'd be playing as the draw hadn't been made.


I would guess it will be similar this year. If you can start applying in February 2009 then clearly there'll be a pre-draw phase.

[BocaFan]

http://www.fifa.com/mm/document/tournament/preliminarydraw/64/42/24/2010fwc_matchschedule_1103.pdf

The fixture guide could help. I've actually been able to pencil in something of an itinery. There are three cities which are hosting 3 games in 6 days over the first phase, which could be useful if you don't want to spend all your time travelling.

And who would want to spend a whole week in Johannesburg? Not too many. I have a feeling the matches in Cape Town, Durban and Port Elizabeth will have high demand, but the other venues might be easier to get tickets for.

The good news is that if you do get stuck with tickets to games in Johannesburg its fairly easy to go from there to Kruger Park (if you don't mind being out in the wild during the World Cup). Note most of the parks in South Africa are just glorified zoos, but Kruger Park is the actual wild (the animals are not contained in any way) and definitely worth visiting.

[RichardL]

And who would want to spend a whole week in Johannesburg? Not too many. I have a feeling the matches in Cape Town, Durban and Port Elizabeth will have high demand, but the other venues might be easier to get tickets for.
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The advantage in being based around Johannesburg would be that there would be a lot of venues within reasonable travelling distance that could be done as day trips. Unless you enjoy flying, and even then assuming you can get flights, that's not an option for those coastal cities.

I can't find a decent link to train services in the country, but buses do look a pretty cheap option.

[Beazley17]

And who would want to spend a whole week in Johannesburg? Not too many. I have a feeling the matches in Cape Town, Durban and Port Elizabeth will have high demand, but the other venues might be easier to get tickets for.

The good news is that if you do get stuck with tickets to games in Johannesburg its fairly easy to go from there to Kruger Park (if you don't mind being out in the wild during the World Cup). Note most of the parks in South Africa are just glorified zoos, but Kruger Park is the actual wild (the animals are not contained in any way) and definitely worth visiting.


Thats where the huge scene happened, with the Buffalo, Lions, and Crocodiles that was caught on tape, and has like 40 million views, lol.

[paips]

Feb 1 is the opening day for ticket sales!
SLEEPER where are you ????

[RichardL]

Feb 1 is the opening day for ticket sales!
SLEEPER where are you ????

Wasn't "SLEEPER" concerned with scripts that would allow you to apply for tickets without sitting pressing F5 until you finger lost half of its length?


That shouldn't be an issue with this first phase, as (I would imagine) it'll be a lottery rather than individual tickets popping up on a first-come first-served basis.