Finally the long wait to buy your FIFA 2010 World cup tickets is at an end! On sale from 20 February 2009 (11:00 GMT), three million tickets will be available for the month long most watched sporting event in the world. The World Cup starts on the 11 June, ending with the final on the 11the July.   

To apply for tickets for FIFA 2010, you can visit FIFA’s website, visit a First National Bank branch in SA, or use paper applications processed at various outlets in South Africa and internationally through agents such as tour operators. You are allowed to purchase a maximum of four tickets per household per match, up to seven matches.

The cheapest of the four categories of tickets will be exclusively reserved for South African citizens to purchase.

The different Ticket categories and prices:

Prices for the different categories in South African Rand and inclusive of VAT*:

*At the prevailing rate in January 2009
WC = Wheelchair
The price of each Team Specific Ticket Series (TSTs) is the sum of the face price of the tickets contained in the TST Series, plus a 10% TST Service Fee. The table below shows the price of each TST Series, in South African Rand, and the number of matches in each TST Series.

*At the prevailing rate in January 2009
WC = Wheelchair

TST Series for South Africa and Team A2 will cost the following:

*At the prevailing rate in January 2009
WC = Wheelchair
You can apply for TSTs for any team for as long as it still has an opportunity to qualify to compete in the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™. If they do qualify, and your application was successful, you will receive the tickets to the matches identified in the description of the TST Series you ordered. If your team fails to qualify for the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™, the amount paid will be refunded less only the non-refundable portion of the TST Service Fee for each series, which is 10% of the price of the group matches included in the TST: 336 ZAR for Category 1 TST Series, 252 ZAR for Category 2 TST Series, 168 ZAR for Category 3 TST Series and 42 ZAR for Category 4 TST Series.
The Opening Match Premium for each Ticket Category is as follows:

Method of payment:
During Sales Phases 1, 2, 3 and 4 you can pay by:
By card on www.FIFA.com.
Using the pre-printed paper ticket application form process, you can pay by completing an application form and apply for tickets at First National Bank (FNB) branches within South Africa via:
 Cash or bank guaranteed cheque
 If you are an FNB account holder, you may transfer funds from your bank account
 Use your Visa payment card to obtain cash.
If you wish to pay by cash, bank guaranteed cheque or transfer please go to a FNB branch and follow the instructions reflected in the Official Ticket Application Form.
In order to reduce administrative costs and help the environment, we encourage applicants to submit their Ticket Application Forms online rather than to submit printed Ticket Application Forms.

When you will be charged:
If you have applied online and your Ticket Application is successful, your payment card will be charged immediately. Payment must be received by the FWCTC within the deadline given to you. If the FWCTC has not received full payment within this period of time your Ticket Application will be automatically cancelled and you will not be entitled to the previously allocated Tickets.
If you applied via the Official Ticket Application Form obtained from a FNB branch, and elect to pay by cash, bank guaranteed cheque or transfer; you will be required to pay the required amount immediately upon presenting your application. The FNB teller will load your payment onto a *FNB Visa Official Mascot Prepaid Card, which you will need to retain to collect the tickets.
*The FNB Visa Official Mascot Prepaid Card solution has been introduced to simplify the application process and ensure that successful Ticket Applications can be confirmed immediately to customers. Once a Ticket Application Form has been submitted, no ticket orders may be withdrawn, cancelled or changed. However, if your application is unsuccessful or only partially successful, the balance of the amount paid by you will be activated onto your FNB Visa Official Mascot Prepaid Card, and can be used for other transactions with other retailers that accept payment cards, or you can close the account with FNB and receive the balance value from your FNB Visa Official Mascot Prepaid Card in cash.

2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™ Tickets may only be collected in South Africa.
For those individuals who have selected a Category 4 ticket product, it is mandatory to bring proof of residency (e.g. telephone account or water/electricity utility account) at the time of collection. Tickets can be collected from official 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™ Ticket collection points in each of the 9 host cities from April 2010. The details of these collection points will be communicated closer to the time.

Successful application notification:
Depending on the sales phase, you will either be notified within approximately 10 working days of your ticket application (during first-come-first-served sales phases) or within approximately 3 days of the completion of the random selection draw process (15th April 2009 or 1st February 2010). If you applied online you will receive an email communication confirming the outcome of your application (successful, partially successful or unsuccessful).
If you applied via the paper Official Ticket Application Form, all successful Applicants who provide a mobile/cell phone number or e-mail address in their Official Ticket Application Form will receive a confirmation message by SMS or e-mail indicating the tickets that they have been allocated and the amount of money drawn from their FNB Visa Official Mascot Prepaid Card.
All unsuccessful Applicants who applied via the Official Ticket Application Form who provide a mobile/cell number or e-mail address will also receive an SMS or e-mail indicating that they have been unsuccessful in their ticket application.
If you need to amend/delete your Ticket Application you can do so only for Phase 1 and 3.

Good to remember when buying Tickets:
Fans applying for a ticket in the first of five ticket-sale phases (ending on 31 March 2009) will be entered into a draw taking place on April 15. They will be notified within three days, if they were successful.
To get tickets to watch your favourite team you will have to wait for the final draw in December 2009 to know when and where your team will be playing.

Final seating plans are not yet known due to stadiums still being under construction, but you can check on the FIFA site how much the best seats in the house will cost.

If you want to risk it, wait for the final draw. You’ll be able to purchase venue-specific or team-specific tickets from 20 February 2009, alternatively you could wait until the third phase of sales (5 December 2009-22 January 2010). By then you will know where and when your team will be playing, as the final draw takes place on 4 December 2009.

Find out what a vuvuzela is before it comes up behind you and surprises you! If you don’t know what “laduuuma!” means then your team might not be lucky in scoring.

As mentioned before, if you need more assistance with regard to purchasing tickets, please visit FIFA.