The 2010 FIFA World Cup Thread

[Garson007]

Another bad day of last minute sales, but that's to be expected so late. I do think that MATCH have messed up, but I do think that people should have bought tickets earlier. Also, from what I have read, each ticketing centre had posters up explaining exactly which tickets were available and at what prices.

Nonesense. I and my friends booked tickets right at the start, never got any - this was after the random draw phase. Biggest amount of bull**** ticketing management in history. It really was and is a mess.

[cr@zydude]

Nonesense. I and my friends booked tickets right at the start, never got any - this was after the random draw phase. Biggest amount of bull**** ticketing management in history. It really was and is a mess.

Look, I hate MATCH as much as anyone else, but ticketing for an event like this will always be difficult. Demand far exceeds demand for most matches.

I will ask though, did you apply in every phase, there were 4 between February 2009 and April 2010, before the over the counter sales started. Also, some people only applied for final and semi tickets at cat 4 prices, these were massively oversubscribed. I don't know your exact situation, but some people seem to be unreasonable when it comes to ticketing. I do think that MATCH could have done a better job though.

[pArkEr]

Have been trying to get England vs Algeria tickets tonight, no luck so fat. The FIFA site just keeps on ****ing us over.

[cr@zydude]

Have been trying to get England vs Algeria tickets tonight, no luck so fat. The FIFA site just keeps on ****ing us over.

The site wasn't open this morning, only the ticketing centres, ad was announced. Good luck, but I'm not sure if you can get anything at this late stage in Cape Town. Your best bet may be to try for tickets in PE and drive down for the game.

[TiNRiB]

I have 4 for the England Algeria game

Have been trying to find some more, no luck though

If you want to buy at this late stage, you only have yourself to blame!

[MrDeVil_909]

If you want to buy at this late stage, you only have yourself to blame!

No, you have FIFA and Match, who are only now releasing tickets to blame. If they just sold the tickets from day one in a logical way they would have been sold out last year.

Hayibo

Mastermind Blatter happy with final preparations for Operation Rob The Darkies

JOHANNESBURG. ‘Fingers’ Blatter, the shadowy head of an international money-making syndicate known as ‘Feefa’, says he is pleased with the final preparations ahead of the start of his latest caper, codenamed Operation Rob The Gullible Darkies Blind While Convincing Them This Was Their Idea, also known as the World Cup. “Eeeexcellent,” murmured Blatter stroking his pet iguana.

Forensic investigators suggest that once the month-long heist is complete, Blatter and his international gang will have made off with around $2-billion in profit, while its victims – the South African taxpayer – will be around $1-billion poorer.

“It’s a brilliant scheme,” explained lead investigator Papertrail Nyanda.

“South Africa spends about $4-billion, of which it will recoup about $2.7-billion. Either way, Fingers and his gang walk away with their two billion.

“In other words, the South African government is suckered into burning $1.3 billion it doesn’t have to create a massive smokescreen behind which Fingers and the lads make their getaway.

“It’s money for nothing and the chicks for free.”

Meanwhile Blatter confirmed that Operation Rob The Gullible Darkies Blind While Convincing Them This Was Their Idea was on track for a smooth execution later this week.

“The amazing thing is that they still don’t suspect,” he chortled, tossing chocolate raisins to his iguana, Danny Jordaan.

“They still think it’s about football, the poor bumpkins!”

He said none of the expected hitches had occurred.

“We weren’t sure how we were going to get the loot out of the country undetected,” he said. “But then they changed the laws of the Republic and made my guys exempt from tax laws and exchange controls.

“Short of actually being accomplices they couldn’t have been nicer.”

Meanwhile the government is adamant that hosting the World Cup was the right thing to do, despite half the country being unemployed and a third living in abject poverty.

“Yes, we could have used that R40-billion to build 700,000 RDP houses,” said spokesman Circus Maximus Magubane.

“But if we had done that then Wayne Rooney would never have come here and actually touched us.

“I am never washing my hand again, ever.”

Meanwhile five million South Africans have also confirmed that they will not be washing their hands again, ever, largely because they do not have access to clean running water. 

[cr@zydude]

No, you have FIFA and Match, who are only now releasing tickets to blame. If they just sold the tickets from day one in a logical way they would have been sold out last year.

Hayibo

Did you apply in February 2009? That was the 1st phase, there was another pahse from May 2009 to November 2009, phase 3 was From December 2009 to January 2010, pahse 4 was February to Arpil 2010. Only after those 4 phases did over the counter sales start. If you did apply in all for phases and still didn't get anything, then you are either very unlucky, or only applying for games like the final, semis and openning.

[Die Jason]

I only applied in Jan / Feb this year (very late I know - If I didn't get tickets I would have had only myself to blame), but I did get the tickets I applied for, I applied for CAT3 tickets because I thought CAT4 would be sold out, but that was not the case.

And you could still order tickets online after the "over-the-counter" sales phases started, my friend got us CAT3 tickets for this Friday's France game very late on.

I do know a guy that applied in the first phase, and did not get his tickets, and he didn't try to buy any tickets after that until about a week ago, and obviously all the CAT4 tickets were sold out, so it's his own fault.

[Icenflame]

I think this is going to be an fantastic tournament I and I think that ZA has scored from all the infrastructural developments.

[MrDeVil_909]

Did you apply in February 2009? That was the 1st phase, there was another pahse from May 2009 to November 2009, phase 3 was From December 2009 to January 2010, pahse 4 was February to Arpil 2010. Only after those 4 phases did over the counter sales start. If you did apply in all for phases and still didn't get anything, then you are either very unlucky, or only applying for games like the final, semis and openning.

I didn't try buy tickets, don't have the time to go to any games. :'( But I know a few people who applied repeatedly, then gave up. And having to give an ID number for each ticket was an issue for a lot of corporates that would have bought blocks.

Instead Match reserved huge blocks of tickets (pretty sure without providing ID numbers for each one) to sell as packages with overpriced accommodation, airfares and car rentals. Then when that all tanked thanks to their larcenous pricing everything was dumped on the SA public.

Look, I'm still happy about the event and excited for it, but FIFA ****ed us, without lube.

[Antharias]

I am going to kill the f&%$ing ******* who decided that this Vuvuzela and hooter thing at 12 o'clock is a good idea. I have a constant headache in winter because of the weather in Pretoria, an idiot for a co-worker and now this ****. Thank you South Africa for being idiots once again.

[BattleMoose]

I am going to kill the f&%$ing ******* who decided that this Vuvuzela and hooter thing at 12 o'clock is a good idea. I have a constant headache in winter because of the weather in Pretoria, an idiot for a co-worker and now this ****. Thank you South Africa for being idiots once again.

QFT

[echo]

I am going to kill the f&%$ing ******* who decided that this Vuvuzela and hooter thing at 12 o'clock is a good idea. I have a constant headache in winter because of the weather in Pretoria, an idiot for a co-worker and now this ****. Thank you South Africa for being idiots once again.

I also blew my vuvuzela at 12. It was awesome.

Brillaint socceroos training add.

And:

Article from the Onion on the world cup

WILMINGTON, DE?As the 2010 World Cup approaches, friends, family, and coworkers of 32-year-old Brad Janovich are growing less tolerant of the exuberant behavior of the United States' lone soccer fan.

"Who's got World Cup fever?" Janovich asked his officemates at Credit Solutions Friday, failing to notice their silent stares as he reported for work clad in the sole Team USA jersey sold this year. "I do! I've got World Cup fever!"

"Check out this World Cup wall chart I just bought," added Janovich, who is the only American citizen currently aware that the World Cup begins June 11.

According to sources only peripherally aware of the World Cup, Janovich's infuriating behavior first became apparent during a Super Bowl viewing party last February when he repeatedly used the phrase "American football" to describe the action on the field. In recent weeks, Janovich has also begun referring to the supposed suspense involved in choosing the players for the U.S. "side," and has struck up several extended but one-sided conversations concerning figures such as "Kaka" and "Ronaldinho," generally mystifying and alienating everyone he has come into contact with.

Yesterday Janovich sent an office-wide e-mail about the controversy surrounding the new World Cup ball, and the message was instantly deleted by all of his coworkers.

"Decorating his cubicle with World Cup stuff is fine, I guess," said coworker Greg Lafferty, who endured several elevator rides in which he politely listened to the lone American soccer fan evaluate international matchups before realizing that Janovich was discussing the outcomes of soccer games and not impending wars. "I myself have a Yankees pennant at my desk. But Brad has all these scarves draped all over everything. They hang into other people's areas, and when they ask him to move them, he responds by explaining what the scarf means. It's driving us nuts."

"Last week he was talking about how 'footy' was really heating up and asked me to come over for the 'friendly' against Turkey," said Janovich's friend Beth Gleason, who has known the only projected U.S. viewer of this year's World Cup broadcast since college. "I love Brad, I really do, but when he talks like that I want to punch him in the goddamn face. Especially because, when I asked him what he was talking about, he just said the same thing again, only slower. I was like, 'Brad, don't talk like that. People don't talk like that.'"

With only a week to go, Janovich's singular, almost unconscionable degree of soccer fanhood has only intensified. Credit Solutions employees reported that a crude "World Cup countdown calendar" appeared on the break room wall Friday, the same day that everyone in Janovich's division arrived to find him wearing Umbro soccer shorts and placing a World Cup bracket on every desk.

In addition, coworkers reported that it is not uncommon for Janovich to spontaneously start humming or singing repeated snatches of songs evidently composed exclusively of the sound "ol?" while seated at his desk.

"I had absolutely no idea what 'FIFA South Africa 2010' meant," said Lafferty, who made the mistake of asking Janovich to explain. "When he told me that's where the soccer games were and that the time difference meant he'd be getting up early to watch them, all I could think was that maybe he'd be too tired to talk about them afterward."

Janovich has also extended invitations to everyone he knows to accompany him to the Newgate, a pub in downtown Wilmington that will be showing the World Cup live and is favored by British expatriates.

"It'll be nice to finally be among other fans," Janovich said. "And speaking as a fan, it's really great to see Hotspur and Arsenal and Aston Villa supporters all come together for the Three Lions, though I'm hoping the Yanks can channel the spirit of the 1950 shock horror. But that's not as important as uniting in our love of the Beautiful Game, as any football [sic] fan will tell you."

Newgate regulars agreed that Janovich's enthusiasm was unique.

"That American fan? He's harmless, I guess," bartender and lifelong Tottenham supporter Martin West said. "Though he gets pretty tiresome with all his footy rubbish, and he can really get annoying when we're all just trying to watch in peace. Thank Christ he's the only one."

[pArkEr]

lol, great one by The Onion. Do any of these comedy writers realize that America bought more tickets that any other country?

[cr@zydude]

lol, great one by The Onion. Do any of these comedy writers realize that America bought more tickets that any other country?

I know that the British were trying to play that fact down. The thing is, I think that a lot of those 'Americans' buying tickets are expats from England and Mexico.

Anyway, 2 days to go! Plus, theres the kick off concert tomorrow night.

[MrDeVil_909]

I know a lot of Americans excited about the WC. Including the customers I had today who just landed.

Soccer is huge in the US, it's just that relative to grid iron and baseball it gets less press.

[Interfan]

The Super Sport soccer channel on DSTV is showing nothing but the world cup for its duration and if any games are played at the same time, one of the other Super Sport channels will show it.

4 dedicated channels for the world cup. Blitz (channel 200) will be focused on the wc, ss 3 and ss7 are dedicated to the world cup as is super sport hd.

Can't wait for friday. Have the opening game as one of the 7 games I am going to.

Just need to find myself some decent air plugs to survive the vuvuzela's.

[Domanskip]

Our otologist is actually making us ear-plugs that are moulded to the shape of our ears. If I was a betting man I'd say that vuvuzelas will be banned by the second round though.

[Graal]

These vuvuzelas are dtiving me up the wall, and as the hype increases, it's just going to get worse. I have no idea how I'm supposed to write exams on Saturday.

[MarcosCOB]

When exactly is the opening ceremony? Hopefully it's on free tv seeing as us students (or most of us) can't afford dstv.