Fifa admits World Cup ticket prices too high

[Swanny]

Fifa admits World Cup ticket prices too high

Thousands of extra World Cup tickets will be offered to South African residents to ensure all matches are sold out following disappointing sales to overseas supporters, said Fifa on Thursday.



By Paul Kelso, Chief Sports Reporter in Zurich
Published: 9:06PM GMT 18 Feb 2010



World Cup treat: South Africa fans will be offered cheaper tickets due to mistakes made by Fifa Photo: ACTION IMAGES


Acknowledging that Fifa has lost money and that mistakes in the ticketing process and opportunistic pricing by travel operators had deterred many supporters, Fifa general secretary Jerome Valcke also promised an overhaul of ticketing before the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
Ticket sales for the tournament have been far lower than expected, with just 2.1 million of a total 2.9 million tickets sold. Prohibitive travel, accommodation and ticket packages sold through Fifa's single licensed agency, Match, have deterred many fans.


Sales of hospitality packages are disappointing, with 60,000 of 308,000 packages still available, including some sky boxes for the final.
To ensure full stadiums, Valcke said category two and three tickets would now be regraded as category four seats, which can be sold only to South African residents for around $20 (£13). Fifa will suffer a financial loss as a result.
"We will increase the number of category four tickets because we cannot have a situation where the World Cup is in South Africa and people cannot see matches. But this will bring less income to Fifa, but we have already brought in the income we need to match the organising committee budget, which is $423 million."
Valcke criticised opportunist pricing by airlines and travel companies: "I think that we are facing a peak time where companies feel that they can put the highest level of pricing. We want to make sure that fans can afford to travel to South Africa.
"It is clear that people have decided that because it is the World Cup they ask the highest amount possible to maximise income, but it doesn't work today. They forget that it is a long distance to travel to South Africa, you need to stay for more than a few days, so they have to make offers that the fans can afford."
Valcke said Fifa had been in talks with airlines including Emirates to try to encourage them to put on more routes. He said the credit crunch had impacted on hospitality: "It was the worst period to sell hospitality programmes, and I am sure that it [the credit crunch] has impacted by at least 50 per cent on the potential of selling hospitality."
He also acknowledged that Fifa may have made mistakes in the way it had run ticketing and travel arrangements. Fifa granted agency Match exclusive rights to sell travel and ticket packages for the 2010 and 2014 tournaments, but its near-monopoly on hotel rooms has seen supporters asked to pay high prices. Valcke predicted that Match was unlikely to make a profit from South Africa.
"We have good lessons to learn from 2010 and they will help us in 2014. For the World Cup 2010 we will have to sell the tickets to fans direct, we will think about setting up Fifa ticketing centres around the world."
Overall Valcke said he was pleased with progress in South Africa. Fifa has taken control of nine out of 10 stadiums, with only Soccer City yet to be handed over. It is expected to be ready next month, and test events will be held shortly after.
Comparing the tournament to a car he said: "We have a reliable 4x4 with four wheels and enough petrol to last 40 days, but now we are just adding bits and pieces to make it the most comfortable car, and training the drivers.".


Fifa admits World Cup ticket prices too high - Telegraph

[weirddave]

Spurs should do the same lol.

[steelktm]

well for US fans it isn't the ticket prices that's the problem. its the plane ticket there and the hotels to stay in while there. so if you have no reasonable pricy way of getting there or a place to stay why would you spend money on the tickets?

[Javi]

Even some of the hotel plus ticket packages they sell are a bit pricey I wouldn't have been able to go anyways but would of been nice to have the option:P.

[steelktm]

just need to get that 5k the IRS owes ya and you got a flight there plus tickets and maybe 2 nights of hotel. lol.