South African LOC Insists Opening African Cup Of Nations Match Will Sell Out

The South African Local Organising Committee insisted that the opening 2013 Africa Cup of Nations finals match between South Africa and Cape Verde will be sold out despite selling more than 45,000 tickets to date, according to Ramatsiyi Moholoa of SOWETAN LIVE. The match, which is "starting to generate huge interest," will be played at the National Stadium (Soccer City) on Jan. 19. LOC Chief Competitions Officer Sipho Sithole said that they were encouraged by the growing number of tickets sold for the tournament. Sithole said, "We have sold just over 300,000 tickets, the majority of which were purchased by the host cities. Just over 45,000 have been sold for the opening match. The sales are encouraging as many of the tickets were purchased in various parts of the country during the festive season holidays." He added: "We are confident the 500,000 tickets put aside for the tournament will be bought in the next few days" (SOWETAN LIVE, 1/8).