Over-the-Counter Sales kick-off tomorrow for Fifa 2010

Opening of Ticketing Centres at 09h00, 500,000 tickets available for all 64 Matches – including the Final

The Opening of the 11 FIFA Ticketing Centres in all Host Cities will coincide with the start of the over-the-counter sales in the fifth and final Ticketing Sales Phase, of the 2010 FIFA World Cup that will kick-off tomorrow at 09h00. A total of 500,000 tickets will be made available at the start of this sales phase. The latest news is that, 300 category three tickets will now be made available to the public for the Final at SoccerCity on 11 July. Therefore, football fans will be able to purchase tickets for ALL 64 matches (see the attached chart). Upon payment at the Ticketing Centre, fans will be issued with the actual match ticket immediately.

Chairman of the FIFA Ticketing Sub-Committee, Horst R. Schmidt said: “We know that people have been waiting for the over-the-counter sales to start and now it’s finally happening.”

There will be five different sales channels operating during this Sales Phase which will run up to11 July:

· 11 Ticketing Centres covering all Host cities (exact addresses can be found attached and on FIFA.com), starting tomorrow, 09h00 (SA Time), open 7 days a week from 09h00 to 18h00. At the Sandton Ticketing Centre, OC CEO, Danny Jordaan, 2010 FIFA World Cup Ambassador Phil Masinga and FIFA Acting Director of Communications and Public Affairs, Nicolas Maingot will be available for interviews

· About 600 FNB Branches nationwide, open 5 days a week, also starting tomorrow, 09h00. The process is new: fans can now order tickets, make payment and get ticket confirmation immediately; the actual tickets need to be collected at the FIFA Ticketing Centres or certain Checker/Shoprite Sales Points;

· The official tournament website www.FIFA.com, starting tomorrow, 18h00;

· Call Centre Hotline (SA number: +27(0)83 123 2010, International number: +41 44 583 2010, starting tomorrow, 18h00, operating 7 days a week, from 08h00 until 22h00;

· 18 Shoprite/ Checkers Sales Points (addresses on FIFA.com), starting on 19 April, 09h00, open 7 days a week;

Fans will need to bring an ID and a credit card or cash when applying at the Ticketing Centres. A maximum of 10 tickets per person per match can be purchased at this stage. People who had purchased tickets during the previous four sales phases can now collect their match tickets at the Ticketing Centres.

In recognition of Visa’s valued sponsorship, http://www.FIFA.com prefers Visa for all transactions online.

For further information, please contact:
FIFA Media Department Zurich – tel.: +41-43/222 7272 – fax: +41-43/222 7373 or e-mail: media@fifa.org;

FIFA Media SA Office – e-mail: media-sa@fifa.org; mobile: Wolfgang Eichler +27832010471 or Delia Fischer +27832010470 ;

www.FIFA.com; FIFA Communications & Public Affairs Division / Johannesburg, 14 April 2010

.