FIFA apologises to S.African fans for ticket delays

Technical problems delayed the sale of the final batch of World Cup tickets Friday, prompting FIFA to apologise to fans who camped out at ticket booths during a near-freezing night.

Thousands of South Africans queued for the last 160,000 tickets — including newly released seats for the opener and the final — which went on sale early Friday, FIFA said in a statement.

“Today I would like to sincerely apologise to all the fans that have been affected by the problems in the ticketing sales system,” said FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke.

“We have already demanded a detailed report from our service provider Match AG on the causes of these problems and are expecting that they solve the situation very soon,” he added.

First National Bank, which sells tournament tickets, said the system crashed due to overload, Sapa news agency reported.

“This is despite guarantees and promises given to FNB from FIFA’s ticketing agent Match, as well as from FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke… that there would be no further ticketing issues,” said the bank’s 2010 marketing head Vicki Trehaeven.

Last month, on the first day of direct ticket sales, police and security officials used pepper spray on fans who were reportedly pushing in the queue in Pretoria.

In Durban and Polokwane, police had to calm dozens of fans who were angered by the slow transaction process. And in Cape Town, a 64-year-old man died while waiting in line.

In February, FIFA upped the number of cheap tickets to get more South Africans into stadiums to boost local attendance and after international sales proved more sluggish than initially predicted.

The tournament kicks off on June 11, with the final on July 11.