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2010 World Cup - now only 400 days away
by Stuart Alderson-Smith
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Today marks 400 days to go until the kick off of the 2010
FIFA World Cup here in sunny South Africa. That means you have just 400
days left to get your tickets to the matches. Not that you'd want to wait
too long, as demand is high.
Tickets:
FIFA have stated that the second ticketing phase, which started just two
days ago, and will make 100 000 tickets available, has already received
185 000 applications (100 000 for Individual Match Tickets, and 85 000
for Team Specific Ticket Series). These applications were made within
eight hours of the second ticketing phase starting.
Ticket sales for the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup have also received a
quick boost: within the first twenty-four hours of all four ticketing
centres being opened, as reported last week, approximately 18 000 tickets
were sold. As expected by FIFA, this 'over the counter' method of purchasing
tickets has proved to be the most popular way for fans. This brings the
total number of tickets sold for the event to roughly 340 000, leaving
300 000 still available.
Stadiums:
FIFA Communications Director Hans Klaus recently gave a glowing update
report about South Africa's progress regarding both the 2009 FIFA Confederations
Cup and the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
Speaking during the ongoing International Sports Press Association (AIPS)
congress, Klaus said he was confident that South Africa would deliver
to expectations. He emphasised that at this stage there should be no question
about the stadiums' readiness as South Africa was ahead of schedule.
Making these remarks after viewing a video clip of South Africa's preparations,
Klaus informed the journalists attending the congress that the stadiums
were really wonderful, adding that they were 'more beautiful than those
in Germany.'
Facts and statistics regarding our World Cup stadiums:
- Collectively the stadiums seat more than 570 000 people.
- The Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban has a steel arch 105 m above the
middle of the pitch, and will have a cable car which will take visitors
to a viewing platform.
- Soccer City in Johannesburg takes the form of a calabash, a traditional
African drinking vessel. The outer skin area spans 43 000 square metres,
and will be constructed from wholly natural energy-efficient material.
It is the biggest stadium in Africa, seating almost 95 000 people. No
mean feat, when one considers than the last Olympic Games in Beijing opening
ceremony seated only 91 000 people.
- The Mbombela Stadium in Nelspruit is situated in a region known for
its wild beauty and animals, close to the Kruger National Park. Its signature
feature is the 18 roof supports that resemble giraffes.
With just 400 days left until the 2010 World Cup kicks off, it appears
that there will be no problems regarding stadium readiness or capacity,
plus it's pretty safe to assume that all the venues are going to be packed
to capacity for each and every game.
Shine2010.co.za,
06 May 2009
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