2010 World Cup CEO Says Economy Not Impacting Event Preparation

By Tripp Mickle, Staff Writer, SportsBusiness Journal 

COUNTRY READY FOR EVENT: Jordaan assured everyone that South Africa was prepared to host the 2010 World Cup and that any suggestions that it would be moved were inaccurate. He added that all of the stadium projects, which include refitting and building a total of 10 stadiums across the country, are progressing as planned, and that the ticketing process for the event will begin in three months. “The initial indication is that demand for tickets will exceed the number of tickets,” Jordaan said. Some 24% of tickets will be put on general sale. Other tickets will be distributed among sponsors and teams. The U.S. Soccer Federation will receive 12% of the inventory per game that the U.S. team plays, a 50% increase from what it received in ‘06. It will distribute those tickets based on a new system that uses a FIFA-created Web site to distribute four per game to fans who are registered with USSF.

NEARLY $4B SPENT ON PREPARATIONS: South Africa will spend some $3.96B on infrastructure in South Africa in preparation for the World Cup and an additional $400M on operation of the event. It will host its first major test run for the event next June when it hosts eight countries for the Confederations Cup. The 2010 organizing committee is working with USSF to try to bring some 10,000 fans to the ‘09 Confederations Cup in the country. It also is preparing an aggressive marketing push to drive ticket sales in South Africa, Jordaan said.

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