Sporting News and Events

With the 2010 World Cup being less than 90 days away, excitement surrounding the tournament is reaching fever pitch. With England having a favourable draw, this may finally be the time the 44-year drought gets broken, with fans worldwide rushing in at the last minute to snap up the remaining tickets.

Fifa’s official ticketing procedure

From Fifa’s official ticketing site, 2010 World Cup tickets have been sold in phases. The first three phases are now complete, with the fourth phase, having been started on 9 February, currently in progress. Tickets in this phase are available on a first come first serve basis, with this phase closing on 7 April, and the final phase starting on 15 April until the end of the tournament.

Ticket prices

The 2010 World Cup tickets are available in a range of pricing, depending on where you’re seated in the stadium, and which stage in the tournament games are being attended in. Tickets for the opening match are in the £120-£270 range. Group stage matches will cost between £48 and£97. The second rounds tickets are priced at £60-£120. Quarter-finals tickets start at £90 and top off at £181. And, finally, tickets for the semis are in the £151-£362 range with the finals, the most expensive match, costing between £241 and £543.

Football mania

While the lucky few who can go abroad snap up the remaining 2010 World Cup tickets, homebound fans have many options for viewing the football with unprecedented clarity. Freeview HD has been rolled out into many homes across the United Kingdom, with a large part of the marketing campaign to sell the necessary set-top boxes and HD TVs being centered around football. London is set to be the location of one of Fifa’s many global fan parks, and pubs nationwide are expecting fans to pack themselves in to make the experience as sociable as possible.