July 2, 2007
By Lucky Sindane
FOOTBALL fans who don't manage to score tickets to 2010 Fifa World Cup™ games will be able to watch all the live action at specially established fan parks.
During his recent visit to Johannesburg, the president of the world football governing body, Sepp Blatter, said only three million tickets would be available during the football spectacular.
"That three million includes [tickets for] 207 Fifa members, broadcasting teams, the 32 nations that will take part, Fifa guests, the Local Organising Committee and commercial partners," Blatter said.
"Not everyone will get tickets to the matches, but people from all over the world will be coming [here]. Therefore, we have to start now to familiarise people with public viewing."
The screen on Mary Fitzgerald Square
In Johannesburg, Mary Fitzgerald Square in Newtown has been identified as a possible fan park for the World Cup. The square will also be turned into a fan park for the Telkom Charity Cup matches taking place in July.
Speaking at the Soccerex seminar at the Sandton Convention Centre, Rogan Taylor, a football academic at Liverpool University, said, "Less than 10 years ago the host country would have advised people not to travel if they did not have tickets, but now everybody comes - ticket or no ticket."
A senior delegation from Soccerex in London attended the two-day Soccerex event to meet with their South African counterparts on Tuesday, 26 and Wednesday, 27 June.
Taylor said up to a million visitors were expected in South Africa during the World Cup, and many would stay in the country for longer.
"The focus will be on South Africa in the months both up to and after the World Cup and people will stay much longer in South Africa," he said.
Discussions between the Gauteng government and the Premier Soccer League are being held to identify other potential sites where the fan park concept can be piloted.
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