The World Cup 2010, to be staged in several South African towns in five months time, threatens to be a fiasco for the host nation as much as FIFA. Billions of dollars have been wasted in stadia that will be of no practical use after the 3-week tournament. The pace of ticket sales is the worst since World War II, and thousands of criminal gangs prepare to pounce on the few tourists willing to face winter climate in June. The financial disaster that looms large now is paired by the public relation nightmare for South Africa.
After the harshest winter in the northern hemisphere in decades, only a few idiots and die-hard fans are willing to prolong the seasonal cold in SA. Even less people will be willing to expose themselves to the risk to health and life, with gangs roaming freely the streets of South African cities and frequent attacks on foreigners, routinely posing as initiations for new gang members following a plot known as "kill a tourist a day." Even war experienced Africans stay away from the World Cup, according to preliminary sales figures. Just 1.1mn of the 3.2mn available tickets have been allocated by now, with some 250,000 tickets given away for free. Most matches will have difficulties to attract 20,000 spectators into a stadium, and the matches of England have outsold even those of the home team!
FIFA is alarmed that the matches will take place in half-empty stadia. Sales of tickets should be near 100% of available tickets, based on the past 6 World Cup tournaments. For the first time in 50 years it is also expected that the home team "Bafana" will be ousted after the first round.
Financial ineptitude, inability to maintain public safety, incompetence with managing the infrastructure of transport, energy, water and housing, notoriety of corruption and a total failure as a team will render the 2010 World Cup as the worst ever.
Sales figures - on average running 90 per cent behind FIFA's projections - show the dismal interest in South Africa as a sports venue:
as of 14 January - 11 days before deadline:
Country Tickets allocated Tickets sold
----------------------------------------------
South Africa 535,000 276,300 (196,000 free or 1/2 price)
U K 48,000 3,770
Germany 38,000 2,420
France 39,000 2,670
Netherlands 40,000 6,220
Denmark 17,260 1,577
Italy 33,600 1,990
Switzerland 23,600 857
African nations 600,000 81,330
Organisers - barely deserving the label - already plan to have a fire sale of tickets days ahead of the June 11th start, reducing the price of half of the unsold tickets from £11.50 to £5.00, and give away the other half to impoverished South Africans. With such plans already announced, who can blame fans for waiting until then, rather than buying tickets now?
Current music: THE DUKE SPIRIT - Cuts Across the Land
No comments:
Post a Comment