For my Exclusive Benefit…

Incoming email:

Dear Mr 6000

Your unique ticket request reference is 6000****7

Further to your application for 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™ Tickets, your Ticket request has been entered into the Random Selection Draw and processed by the 2010 FIFA World Cup™ Ticketing Centre (the “FWCTC”).

 

We are delighted to inform you that the Tickets shown below (and also as reflected within your FIFA.com customer account) have now been reserved by the FWCTC for your exclusive benefit.

That’s right – for my exclusive benefit. Not anyone else’s.

 

I managed to secure tickets for six of the games at the stunningly beautiful Green Point Stadium in Cape Town.
Well, thank you very much Uncle Sepp. I can hardly wait – especially for the much-anticipated Match 30 G4 v G2 on the 21st June at 1330. That should be a blast, since I’ve always had a bit of a soft spot for G4.

 

Trouble is, I can already see one of two things happening. Either the whole thing is going to be cancelled because of travel restrictions due to swine flu (Sepp Blatter and his cronies being especially vulnerable) or, in a more likely scenario, we’re all going to be completely dead anyway – leaving us more than slightly out of pocket unless we work  for FIFA.

 

How are Mexico doing in their qualifying group, anyway?

 

  

 

Ticket time!

To those who said it would never happen. It is happening.
To those who were always so desperate for Plan B. Plan A is doing just fine.
To those who think the ball is the wrong shape. Open your minds.

And don’t forget to apply for your tickets, will you?

Around 3m tickets are available for the 64 matches, which start in June 2010. In the first sales phase, applications for tickets will be followed by a random selection draw in April. Some 450,000 cheaper tickets are being reserved for South African residents of which 120,000 will be issued free to stadium construction workers.

Although the tournament does not begin for 475 days, there is already huge excitement about the competition in Africa, says BBC southern Africa correspondent Peter Biles in Johannesburg.

With trembling fingers (fear, nervous excitement, lack of alcohol), I somehow managed to get past the repulsive image of Sepp Blatter on the fifa.com homepage and applied for mine. It’s not as easy as it looks, but it can be done. Sadly, this being a combination of Africa and FIFA, you will need to pay two bribes rather than one. Have your credit card ready.