Confederations Cup
FIFA mull empty seat issue
2009-06-15 14:25
Email | Print
Johannesburg - The organisers of the Confederations Cup in South Africa, the warm-up for the 2010 Soccer World Cup, on Monday said they were looking at ways to avoid repeat scenes of the world's top footballers playing in half-empty stadiums.
On Sunday night, European champions Spain defeated New Zealand 5-0 in the second game of the eight-nation Confederations Cup in Rustenburg but only around 21 000 supporters turned up to watch Fernando Torres score a hat-trick in a stadium that can seat 42 000.
The poor turnout at the Royal Bafokeng Stadium contrasted with the near-capacity crowd that packed Johannesburg's Coca-Cola Park stadium for the opening game between South Africa and Iraq, which ended in a goalless draw.
"You can take to the horse to the water but you can't force it to drink the water," Rich Mkondo, spokesperson for the World Cup local organising committee, told a press conference on Monday.
"We are discussing what we can do more to urge people to come and attend," he said.
FIFA spokesperson Nicolas Maingot also downplayed the attendance issue as "not a first in a FIFA competition."
Many commentators feel the ticket prices are too high for the average South African football supporter, particularly in a provincial mining town and particularly in times of recession.
The cheapest ticket for a group match in the Cup is R70 - over half a labourer's average daily earnings. After that, the prices climb threefold to a minimum of R210.
Asked whether FIFA would consider lowering prices for upcoming games, Mkondo said: "It was mentioned in some quarters. It is an issue that the organising committee and FIFA will look at."
Maingot however said he was not aware of any plans to drop prices and expressed broad satisfaction with the tournament so far.
"The atmosphere in the stadium (Coca-Cola Park) was excellent, the organisation was good, very good, We have the feeling the tournament started in a very positive way."
Mkondo also took aim at "those Doubting Thomases" who have persistently questioned South Africa's ability to host a successful World Cup, saying, "They're eating the humble pie as we speak," while acknowledging not everything was perfect.
Transport has emerged as a key area of concern in Johannesburg, with supporters complaining of chaos and long delays in the park-and-ride bus systems put in place for the games.
Mkondo said the city of Johannesburg was looking at how to iron out the kinks.
On the issue of South Africa's revered national anthem being severed on Sunday to fit a 90-second schedule, FIFA pointed the finger at Bafana Bafana, saying the team had provided the tape which did not include the English verses.