Share

FIFA deceives hundreds of fans

Cape Town - FIFA's ticketing fiasco hit new lows on Monday morning when hundreds of Capetonians were turned away at the ticketing centre.

WIN: World Cup Havaianas

World football's governing body had announced via a press release that 15 000 partially obscured tickets would be made available across the country at R140 each, but fans who turned up as early as 24 hours before to secure their place in the queue were left disappointed once again to hear this was not the case.

In fact, only three matches were available to fans at the ticketing centre at The Spearhead in Cape Town. Paul Herman, who pitched up at 08:30 on Sunday morning with just a book and a chair to keep himself company, was first in the queue.

However, at the sales window he was told that only corporate hospitality tickets were available, and only for Portugal v Korea, Cameroon v Netherlands and the Quarter-Final, with prices ranging from R1 400 to R2 500.

Only 10 people were let into the building at a time, while hundreds more people who queued in the cold outside were not made aware of the situation until 09:30. Dozens had also slept overnight to secure their place in the line.

Unsurprisingly, tensions rose and a few heated skirmishes were witnessed at the entrance to The Spearhead, where several policemen were called into action to prevent all-out chaos.

FIFA's lack of communication and general neglect of the South African public can now not get any worse, with hundreds of Capetonians and thousands more across the country left bitter and resentful over what has been a downright catastrophe of a ticketing process from day one. 
We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Voting Booth
Should the Proteas pick Faf du Plessis for the T20 World Cup in West Indies and the United States in June?
Please select an option Oops! Something went wrong, please try again later.
Results
Yes! Faf still has a lot to give ...
67% - 843 votes
No! It's time to move on ...
33% - 415 votes
Vote
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE