Brazil in the World Cup 2010

Not all Travel Operators are authorized to sell packages to South Africa which include tickets to matches. Only operators which have partnered with FIFA can guarantee the availability of tickets.

From the FIFA website:

1. http://www.fifa.com/ is the only online source for legitimate tickets sold outside of a package. Paper ticket applications are also available in South Africa at FNB branches nationwide. (read more about how to buy tickets online).
2. Participating Tour Operators are the only entities authorized by FIFA to sell ticket inclusive travel packages for the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa.

Actually, very few travel operators can offer packages.

In the United States, only three operators are authorized sellers: Great Atlantic Travels, Cartan Tours and My Africa Vacation.

In the United Kingdom, there are: Thomas Cook (which serves all European countries), Thomson, Keith Prowse and BAC Sport.

In Brazil, authorized sellers are Agaxtur, Ambiental, Stella Barros, Pallas, Marsans and TAM Viagens.

For a complete and updated list of authorized operators, visit this page.

FIFA announced that, as scheduled, the phase three of the ticket sales process started on December 5th, and will continue until January 22nd 2010 (see how FIFA is selling tickets for the World Cup 2010). A little more than a million tickets will be available during this phase, and FIFA informed that 220,000 applications were received within 48 hours.

This is no surprise: after the draw of groups on December 4th, the matches of the first stage are already defined (Brazil, for example, learned that we will play against North Korea, Cote d’Ivoire and Portugal); now, fans from all over the world know when and where their teams will play, and assess the chances of moving forward. It is natural that the demand for matches increase.

What is surprising is the information (same reference) that “the first phase of purchasing opened in February. Since then, Fifa says 674,403 tickets have been sold – 90% of those made available to date”.

During phase one of sales (which finished March 31 2009), very few countries had secured qualification to the finals. During the phase two (which finished November 20th), the groups had not been drawn yet.

Who would buy tickets not knowing which teams were going to play? The answer may be: black market sellers.

The image below was captured today, December 8th, from a site which sells tickets online:

The site is selling tickets for the match Brazil x North Korea (which, until December 3rd, was referred to as Match n. 14), for the prices of US$ 1,000, US$ 1,200 and US$ 1,500, approximately. Official ticket prices were US$ 80, US$ 120 and US$ 160.

England versus USA is going cheaper. English and Americans are the nationalities which purchased most tickets so far (read: there are more ticket brokers in USA and UK than anywhere else).

At ebay, someone is auctioning a pair of Category 1 tickets (the most expensive) for US$ 1,800:

So, there is already a secondary market, where tickets are costing ten times more than official prizes. And we are still six months away from the Cup.

FIFA is trying to create a fair system to sell tickets. For example, there is a draw system, there are limits for the number of tickets which a person may purchase, there is an obligation for the purchaser to collect the ticket, etc. However, FIFA can’t check at the stadium gates whether or not the ticket holder is the actual purchaser.

It seems very difficult to stop profit seeking brokers from buying tickets and reselling them in the black market. Let’s see what will happen in the World Cup 2014.

FIFA is making over three million paid tickets available for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. One million tickets have been allocated to FIFA commercial affiliates, hospitality providers, National Confederations and broadcast outlets, and the rest will be available to the general public.

The only official channel to buy tickets online for the World Cup 2010 is through the FIFA website; see prices of tickets.

Sale of tickets online is happening in five phases (actually, six phases, if we consider phase zero below):

Phase zero: FIFA published the schedule of matches of the World Cup 2010, with dates and places; each match is given a number; teams are still unknown (except for the opening match, which will have South Africa as one of the players).
People can buy tickets either individually for each match (identified by the respective number) or by sets of tickets for matches of a country (FIFA called these sets TSTS, Team Specific Ticket Series). So, for example, an English fan can buy a TSTS for all three matches of England in the first stage of the Cup, or a TSTS covering the three initial matches plus the next round, or even a TSTS for all seven matches.

Phase one: from 20 February 2009 to 31 March 2009 (closed). All people interested in tickets filled an application order (online or printed and sent through mail). Result of the applications was announced on April 15th 2009. For any given match or TSTS, if the number of applicants was lower than the number of tickets available, the purchase was confirmed; if there were more applicants than tickets, then a draw had to be conducted to determine the purchasers (the date of application is not relevant for the draw – submitting early or late makes no difference for the draw).

Phase two: from 4 May 2009 to 20 November 2009. Ticket applications submitted during this stage will be processed, subject to availability, on a first come first served basis; there is no draw involved. (Update, December 5th 2009: FIFA informed that during phases one and two 674,403 tickets were sold – 90% of tickets made available).

Phase three: from 5 December 2009 to 22 January 2010. This phase follows the same rules of phase one. The draw to select applicants will happen on February 10th 2010. The (big) difference between phase one and three is that the later will happen after the final draw of groups, and hence all matches will be known.

Phase four: 9 February 2010 to 7 April 2010. Same rules as phase two: tickets sold subject to availability on a first come first served basis.

Phase five: 15 April 2010 to 11 July 2010 (World Cup kick off is on June 11th, final match in on July 11 2010. Ticket applications will be processed on a first come first served basis, however Ticket transactions will be conducted immediately at the point of sale.

Besides these tickets for sale online, FIFA will distribute a number of tickets to all Federations which will play the finals of the World Cup, and yet more tickets to the official sponsors; Federations and sponsors will inform later how they will distribute those tickets.

FIFA has signed agreements with travel operators from around the world to sell packages to South Africa which include the tickets (the tickets are still sold by FIFA, not by the operator).

Tickets can be purchased for selected matches or by a set of  Team Specific matches (TSTS).Read how to buy tickets for the World Cup 2010.

Below, the official prices of tickets (sold by FIFA), in Rands and in US dollars, for matches of the World Cup 2010.

Notice that FIFA used a conversion rate of US$ 1 = R 7; this rate may change, so can the prices.

South Africans will pay the same price as international citizens. The privilege of South Africans is an exclusivity to buy tickets  of Category 4, considerably cheaper than the others.

Category of tickets refer to the position in the stadia. Category 1 have the best viewing point, and Category 4 have the worst.

Category 1 are generally located in the straight section between the two goal lines or the pitch.
Category 2 are generally located adjacent to Category 1.
Category 3 are generally located behind the goals or in one of the corners.
Category 4 are generally located behind the goals or in one of the corners.

Below, prices of the TSTS (Team Specific Ticket Prices), in Rands and in dollars (Category 4 are sold in Rands only).