Over 130 000 world cup tickets sold

The over the counter sales of tickets kicked off on Thursday (15 April 2010) at the 11 ticketing centres and 600 FNB branches countrywide.

"75 000 of those were sold at FNB branches, 25 000 at the ticketing centres and about 30 000 via FIFA.com and Call Centre," FIFA said on Saturday.

According to FIFA, things appeared to have moved smoother on Friday than they did on Thursday. The system's improved speed helped fast track Friday's transactions.

Due to high demand of over- the-counter sales, at both Ticketing Centres and FNB branches when they went on sale across the country on Thursday - chaos erupted at some centres.

There were scenes of excitement, anger, frustration and outright chaos at many ticketing centres when problems emerged with the online system.

FIFA has announced that tickets for the opening and closing matches were sold out.

The 11 Ticketing Centres include the Lifestyle Mall in Polokwane; in Cape Town at the Spearhead; in Durban at Sun Coast Casino and Gateway Shopping Centre; in Johannesburg at Maponya Mall in Soweto and Laico Isle in Sandton; Loch Logan Waterfront Mall in Bloemfontein; Moffet on Main Lifestyle Centre in Port Elizabeth; The Groove Shopping Centre in Nelspruit; Waterfall Mall in Rustenburg and Brooklyn Mall in Pretoria.

The process to obtain a ticket is simple - fans can just walk into a ticketing centre with cash, credit or debit cards and buy tickets over- the-counter or from vending machines.

The vending machines, which take only credit and ticket purchase cards, give customers step-by-step instructions on how to buy tickets, which will then be printed out.

The second method of purchasing tickets can be done at the 600 FNB branches nationwide which are open five days a week from 9am on 15 April. The process is new and fans can order tickets, make payment and get ticket confirmation immediately; the actual tickets need to be collected at the FIFA ticketing centres or Shoprite/Checkers sales points.

Tickets can also be purchased through FIFA's official website, FIFA.com, from 6pm as well as through the Call Centre Hotline on 083 123 2010 for South African residents or 0041445832010 for international residents.

Eighteen Shoprite/Checkers sales points will also be open seven days a week from 9am on April 19 - in Johannesburg at the Checkers Hyper - Sandton, Checkers Hyper - Westgate, Checkers Hyper - Eastgate and in Pretoria at Checkers Hyper - Menlyn.

In Durban at Checkers Hyper - Westville, Checkers - Hillcrest, Shoprite - Chatsworth; in Cape Town at Century City, Checkers - Plumstead; in Bloemfontein at Checkers - Langehovenpark and Shoprite - Heidedal.

In Port Elizabeth at the Shoprite - Redhouse, Shoprite - Newton Park; in Rustenburg at Shoprite - Mogwase, Shoprite - Brits; in Polokwane at Shoprite - Tzaneen; in Nelspruit at Shoprite - Nelspruit and Shoprite - White River.

Fans will need to bring an ID, a credit card or cash when applying at the ticketing centres.