SWC fans (File)

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Cape Town - A pensioner died in the queue on Thursday as thousands of fans queued overnight to grab 500 000 Soccer World Cup tickets being sold for cash for the first time.

Police said the 64-year-old man suffered an apparent seizure as he waited in a queue in Cape Town. He was number 565 in the line.

Meanwhile, 11 FIFA Ticketing Centres around the country opened on Thursday at 09:00 in the fifth and final phase of ticket sales to the upcoming spectacle.

Some 500 000 tickets have been made available in over-the-counter sales for all 64 SWC matches – including the final. Some 300 Category 3 tickets will be made available to the public for the final at Soccer City on July 11.

Fans will need to bring their ID book and a credit card or cash when applying at the Ticketing Centres. A maximum of 10 tickets per person per match can be purchased at this stage.

"I'm going to kiss my ticket when I get it," said one man who did not want to give his name because he was skipping work to stand in line.

Chairperson of the FIFA Ticketing Sub-Committee, Horst R. Schmidt said: “We know that people have been waiting for the over-the-counter sales to start and now it’s finally happening.”

Several fanatical fans gathered from as early as 13:00 on Wednesday to take advantage of the first-come first-served rule.

Those fans who have already secured tickets, either online or at various FNB branches, can collect their tickets from 18 selected Shoprite Checkers stores around the country from Monday, April 19 onwards.

Those individuals who purchased Category 4 tickets, reserved exclusively for South African residents, will need to bring proof of residency at the time of collection.

Click HERE for the 11 FIFA Ticketing Centres and the 18 Shoprite Checkers stores