Tickets for the 2010 World Cup will be sold in five phases
The first phase of the ticket sales process for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa began on Friday.
Prices range from �14 (US$20) for the lowest category first-round matches to over �600 (US$900) for the final at Johannesburg's Soccer City Stadium.
Nearly three million tickets will be available before the event kicks off on 11 June 2010, with 740,000 up for grabs in the first phase of sales.
Tickets will be sold in five phases through Fifa's website.
For the 2006 World Cup finals in Germany there were 20 million requests during the first sales phase for 750,000 available tickets, said former German Football Federation general secretary Horst Schmidt.
Two types of tickets are available for purchase; individual match tickets and a team-specific ticket series package, allowing fans to follow the national team of their choice.
The problem is we don't know just how big an impact (the global recession) will have on the World Cup
David Will, chairman of Fifa's World Cup ticketing committee
This package option could be valid for up to seven games during the tournament depending on how far a team progresses.
Supporters can choose from any nation that still has a chance of qualifying and will receive a refund if their side fails to progress to South Africa.
Individuals may apply for up to four tickets per match to a maximum of seven matches.
The first phase of sales runs from 20 February to 31 March and will see successful applicants chosen in a random ballot on 15 April.
The physical tickets will be issued in April next year through specially created automatic teller machines situated around the venues in South Africa.
Three further ticket sale phases will follow from 4 May to 16 November, 5 December to 22 January; with the final phase running from 9 February to 7 April 2010.
Fifa has said, however, that it is unsure whether tickets for the World Cup will sell out, given the current global recession.
"I'd be a very stupid person to say there will not be any effect on the World Cup from the global recession," David Will, chairman of Fifa's World Cup ticketing committee said.
"The problem is we don't know just how big an impact it will have on the World Cup.
"Early completion of stadiums will allow us to determine the exact number of tickets to be made available, for now we have approximately three million tickets available," he said.
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