General

Number Of World Cup Games Sold Out: One

Apr 15, 2010, 8:10 PM UTC

â†µWorld Cup tickets are such a precious resource that when you applyâ†µthey askâ†µyou for your passport number and check them at the venue to preventâ†µscalpers from exploiting the wonders of the free market. Reports have itâ†µthat the strict policy against ticket transfers is less than strict onâ†µthe ground, even in places as fanatically devoted to order as Korea andâ†µJapan, but at least FIFA and South Africa are putting up the appearance that World Cupâ†µtickets are more valuable than gold. â†µ

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â†µâ†µThis trick will be considerably more difficult to pull off now thatâ†µtwo numbers have become widely known just a couple months before Southâ†µAfrica 2010: 1 and 500,000. “One” is the number of matchesâ†µthat are currently sold out. That match, unsurprisingly, is the final.â†µ“A half million” is theâ†µnumber of tickets that are still unbought. â†µ

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â†µFIFA may just be catching on to the idea that a massive internationalâ†µsoccer tournament located in a country with a perâ†µcapita GDP approximately equivalent to Botswana, Azerbaijan, andâ†µIran might not be the best idea. In their panic they've decided to takeâ†µsomething called "money" in exchange for the half-millionâ†µunsold tickets: â†µ

â†µâ†µâ‡¥â†µâ‡¥The final phase of sales will involve ticket selling points being setâ†µâ‡¥up in shopping malls in the nine host cities plus a network of popularâ†µâ‡¥supermarkets. ... â†µâ‡¥
â†µâ‡¥â†µâ‡¥It will be the first time fans can buy tickets over the counter inâ†µâ‡¥cash - the preferred method of purchasing for South African footballâ†µâ‡¥fans, many of who are on low incomes. FIFA had previously insisted onâ†µâ‡¥selling tickets only through its website or in a complicated ballotâ†µâ‡¥procedure at a local bank branch, prompting local criticism.â†µâ‡¥

â†µâ†µâ†µAnd what would a rash FIFA decision that leads to panicked damageâ†µcontrol be without a veiled threat? â†µ

â†µâ†µâ‡¥â†µâ‡¥FIFA’s Danny Jordaan said it would be “tragic” for the hostâ†µâ‡¥country if stadiums were empty and urged fans to “go buyâ†µâ‡¥now.”â†µâ‡¥

â†µâ†µâ†µJust buy the tickets, South Africa, and nothing happens to the rugbyâ†µteam, see? We wouldn’t want any of your pâ†µreciousâ†µMatt Damon-looking guys to come down with a bad case of explodedâ†µkneecap, would we? Just hand over the money and no one gets hurt,â†µespecially not Morgan Freeman. â†µ

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This post originally appeared on the Sporting Blog. For more, see The Sporting Blog Archives.

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