21 Feb 2009

Ticket applications exceed expectations - FIFA

9:00 am on 21 February 2009

FIFA, the governing body of world football, received around 200 applications a minute in the first five hours when World Cup tickets went on sale on Friday.

There were 60,000 online ticket applications worldwide for the 2010 tournament within the first five hours, far exceeding expectations.

Organisers say the opening day of ticket sales dispelled any doubts about the tournament going ahead in South Africa, despite doubts about the readiness of South Africa's stadiums and infrastructure.

Some 700,000 tickets are available for purchase out of a total of just over three million for the 64 games between June 11-July 11 next year.

Fans have until the end of March to apply for tickets before going into a random lottery in April to determine the successful applicants.