Server Stutters But World Cup Sales Boom

Around 500,000 tickets for the 2006 World Cup finals in Germany were ordered in the first 16 hours after going on sale to the general public on Tuesday, the organizing committee said.

Seventy thousand people from 120 countries placed orders through the Internet after the site, www.FIFAworldcup.com, opened for business at midnight (2300 GMT). Around 812,000 tickets are available in the first phase.

The website experienced some initial technical difficulties but did not crash despite the heavy demand, organizers said. "The orders came flying in as soon as the starting whistle went," said Horst R. Schmidt, who is responsible for ticketing in his role as senior vice-president of the organizing committee. "Fortunately, our technical system withstood the initial stampede and proved its reliability."

In the Internet sale, fans were restricted to four tickets per person for any individual match in the lower price categories with a maximum of seven tickets per person for all matches in the same category. The tickets range in price from €35 euros ($45.5) to €600.

FIFA feared no technical collapse

FIFA officials seemed to be relishing the technical challenge of providing the world's soccer fan base with one portal to buy tickets for the most sought after tournament seats in the game after the success of a similar procedure at the 2004 European Championship in Portugal.

"We encourage people to buy over the internet," said Schmidt. "Those people who don't have internet access should seek out a friend because it's the easiest way."

The organizers stressed that the tickets 'bought' in the first phase of sale until March 31 were effectively only applications because if, as seems certain, demand exceeds supply then tickets will not be distributed on a first come, first served basis but rather via a lottery. In the second phase which runs from May 1 to November 15 this year, the first come, first served principle will apply.

Irate fans still have much to lament

Despite the apparent lack of teething problems on the first day of trading, German organizers are bracing themselves for a lot of angry people in the long run as demand is expected to massively outstrip the ticket supply.

By the time the 32-nation line-up for the World Cup is finalized there will be just 300,000 tickets, or 10 percent of the total, left for public sale. The result being that many of the fans buying on line on Tuesday night were 'buying blind' with no way of knowing who would be the teams involved in the games they hoped to attend or they were buying the Team Specific Ticket (TST) which allows them to follow their own side for several matches.

These tickets also carry the risk because, as yet, only the German team is guaranteed a place at the finals. The TSTs remain a gamble but fans will get their money back if their team fails to qualify or makes an early exit.

FIFA has made it clear that tickets returned at the last minute will not be resold. The plan is to give them out to some of the 190,000 accredited drivers, caterers and other auxiliary workers who would not normally get to see a game. Taken as a whole, the ticket allocation is a lottery with continually dwindling chances of success.

Ticket numbers in fans' best interests

However, FIFA and the tournament's German organizing committee have assured the public that the number of tickets available has been calculated to provide the best experience for the fans.

Both the world soccer governing body and the Germans are confident they have learned from the mistakes of South Korea and Japan four years ago, when there were banks of empty seats even at matches supposedly sold out. The number of tickets allocated for the World Cup 2006 is supposed to guarantee not just sold-out stadiums but full, sold-out stadiums.

The 12 stadiums that will host the games around Germany will have a gross capacity of 3.37 million for the 64 matches, but with 440,000 seats reserved for VIP guests and the media, a total of around 2.93 million tickets will go on sale globally. However this figure includes tickets allocated to the national federations for them to distribute.

Ticket ownership a precious thing

The security measures for the tickets are some of the most extensive for a sporting event. The tickets, which will look like flight coupons, will come printed with the name of each supporter and random checks will be carried out as fans enter stadiums.

Theoretically, that will boost security and cut down on ticket touting, but it will also be hugely annoying to fans, particularly those who have bought tickets at random.

"In principle, the tickets are not transferable," said Schmidt. "The tickets don't just look like plane tickets, they're similar in terms of the way they can be transferred and that can only be with a change of name."

The message being if you are lucky enough to get a World Cup ticket, guard it with your life.