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The first tickets for next summer's World Cup in Germany go on sale on Tuesday, but there are big concerns over payment methods and the strategy adopted by Fifa, which many believe will create a thriving black market. Eighteen months before the tournament starts and nearly a year before the qualifiers are known, fans are being encouraged to buy tickets for matches whose teams and venues are yet to be decided, making it difficult to plan travel and accommodation.
Supporters who want to follow their team would then be forced to buy from ticket touts or, in the cases where they have bought Team Specific Tickets (TSTs) to follow their country through the tournament, are faced with a non-refundable charge of up to €50 (about £35) if their team do not qualify. 'This happened in Japan [at the 2002 World Cup] and at France 98. They are not learning from their mistakes,' said Kevin Miles, international co-ordinator of the Football Supporters' Federation. 'It inevitably means people are buying blind. It's presumably because Fifa wish to sell tickets for matches that are less popular. 'They are selling tickets on false pretence, putting their own financial and organisational needs ahead of the fans, who ultimately make the tournament what it is. The least Fifa can do is set up a system where fans can exchange tickets at face value so they can watch their team. At Euro 2004, it was a criminal offence to do that.'
Once the allocations for VIP, media, security and restricted views have been deducted from the 3.37million overall capacity, there will be 2.93m tickets available. In the first of the five sale periods, which runs until 31 March, 812,000 tickets can be bought online, by fax or post. There are four categories, ranging in price from €35 to €600 for the final. However, unless fans have a German bank account or are willing to pay a surcharge of about £20 for a bank transfer plus €5-10 to the receiving bank in Germany, then only those with a Mastercard will be able to buy tickets. According to credit-card industry body Apecs, there are 24m Mastercards in the United Kingdom and 42.5m Visa cards. 'It's outrageous, and an extraordinarily bad marketing decision,' said Mark Perryman, head of the London England Fans group. 'For anyone who's got one of the other cards, this will create antipathy towards Mastercard.' But Chris Monteiro, of Mastercard, disagrees. 'Because of the other payment options, we don't really see this as creating opposition,' he says. 'This has been done to further establish the link between our brand and the Fifa World Cup.'
If England qualify, the FA will receive eight per cent of the total ticket allocation for each stadium the team play in - all of which will be available solely to members of the England Supporters Club once the draw for the tournament has been made.
'At the France-England game at Euro 2004, there were 40,000 England fans,' said Miles. 'Only 10,000 of those bought tickets through the FA. So for the World Cup, most will have to go to Fifa.' World football's governing body have also introduced a new rule limiting the number of matches that can be attended to seven. Fifa argue that this allows more fans to attend the tournament and, through the TST scheme, they could follow their team all the way to the final. But that would mean seven matches spread out over four weeks. If they wish to see more games in Germany, their only option will, again, be ticket touts.
TOURNAMENT DATES
9 June - 9 July 2006
SALE PERIODS
1 Feb 2005 - 31 March 2005
1 Dec 2005 - 15 Jan 2006
1 Feb 2006 - 15 Apr 2006
1 May 2006 - 9 July 2006
If a period is over subscribed, a ballot will decide ticket allocation. Within the time period it does not matter when applications are received.
PRICES AND CATEGORY
1: 300-600 euros
2: 180-360
3. 115-220
4. 65-120
TEAM SPECIFIC TICKETS
3 games: 149-330 euros
4: 215-462
5: 308-660
6. 473-1100
7: 715-1760
VENUES
Hamburg, Hanover, Berlin, Gelsenkirchen, Dortmund, Leipzig, Cologne, Frankfurt, Nuremberg, Stuttgart, Munich
APPLY ONLINE
www.fifaworldcup.yahoo.com
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