The Times January 17, 2006
German ticket organisers are not true to type
By Kaveh Solhekol
GERMANS are famed for their efficiency, but when it comes to the internet and World Cup tickets, it seems that they are far from perfect. The World Cup organising committee sent more than half a million e-mails from its headquarters in Frankfurt yesterday, telling supporters that their ticket applications would be entered into an electronic lottery and that they could check the status of their order at the online customer service centre.
All well and good, but it appears that someone in Frankfurt might have had a liquid lunch before composing the e-mail. Clicking on the link provided brings up a message that will be familiar to millions inside and outside Germany: page not found.
There was more bad news for England supporters planning on travelling to Bavaria to watch their team give Sven-Göran Eriksson the perfect send-off by winning the World Cup, when the organising committee announced that it had received 24 times as many applications as there are tickets in the last significant sales period, which closed on Sunday. Eager supporters placed about 678,000 orders for six million tickets in the month-long sale and an electronic ballot will be held on January 31 to allocate 250,000 tickets.
The most oversubscribed matches include the final in Berlin on July 9 and the group games between Sweden and England in Cologne on June 20 and Holland and Argentina in Frankfurt on June 21.
According to the organising committee, all applicants will have an equal chance of success and the winners of the ballot will receive an e-mail or letter on February 3.
A further two sales phases were scheduled to be held, in February and May, but the organising committee appears to have had a change of heart and only one final sale to distribute remaining tickets will be held. A decision on when this will be and on how many tickets will be made available is yet to be made.
Supporters who want to shun the limelight and soak up the atmosphere may want to concentrate their efforts next time around on the less glamorous fixtures, such as Tunisia versus Saudi Arabia or Paraguay versus Trinidad and Tobago, which are undersubscribed. However, if you have deep pockets, there are still official Fifa hospitality packages available for England games at
www.isehospitality.com
