WITH just under six months to the start of Trinidad and Tobago’s opening match in the World Cup against Sweden in Dortmund (known as the Beer Capital of Germany), already there is a lot of tension and anxiety in this country.
FFA is selling about 8,500 tickets for Soccers’ three pool matches in Germany next year through its website. Tens of thousands of people have downloaded the application form and are expected to apply for the tickets. FFA spokesman Stuart Hodge said many football supporters would miss out on tickets due to the limited allocation. “We expect that demand will far exceed supply, so we urge people to get in early,” he said. “We are expecting that we will receive a huge amount of applications.” Hodge said many travel operators were selling World Cup packages without guaranteeing tickets to matches. This though is very similar to what we are being told in this country, with only one travel agent authorised to deal with the matter..
The last tranche of World Cup tickets to go on sale to the general public are already more than four times over-subscribed, FIFA’s organising committee has said. There are 250,000 tickets on offer in the third and final major sales period, that closes on January 15. Following is the ticket phasing according to FIFA; First Phase: February 1, 2005— March 31; Second Phase: May 1, 2005— November 15, 2005; Third Phase: December 1, 2005 — January 15, 2006 (If tickets remain available after the first and second phases); Fourth Phase: February 1, 2006 — April 15 2006; Fifth Phase: (Final sales period): May 1, 2006 — 9 July 2006. The Second Sales Period runs from December 1, 2005 to January 15, 2006 again on a lottery basis. A tiny microchip on the ticket containing access information, but not personal data, will guard against forgeries.
Ticket Prices and Categories All prices are in euros. Altogether there will be 3.2 million tickets available for the 64 matches (minus seats for VIP guests and the media), four categories (rather than the three ticket categories for World Cup 2002) and prices ranging from Ç35 to Ç600 available from the organisers at fifaworldcup.com. Category 1 seats are in general located along the sides of the pitch. Category 2 seats are in general located next to Category 1. Category 3 seats are in general located behind the goals or on the corners. Category 4 seats are in general located behind the goals or on the corners. You can also join your country’s official supporters’ association in the hope of getting tickets through that channel but priority is usually given to long-term members who have followed their national team at home and/or overseas.