Bad News For Confederations Cup

I'm very disapointed at the low amount of press and promotions that are happening around the Fifa 2009 Confederations Cup. Infact publicity has been so bad that most South Africans I have spoken to are not even aware that the event is taking place in June less than three months away! I found this article published in Times, England:


Confed Cup gets poor response

Sapa
Published:Mar 11, 2009

As the June Confederations Cup ticket debacle continues to totter and stumble, a source close to the organising of the tournament, designed as a precursor to the 2010 World Cup, has disclosed that less than 1 000 direct ticket applications have been made for the game between Iraq and New Zealand at Ellis Park.
· 2010 ticket shock
· 2010 Special Report
And, of the modest 170 000 applications received for an overall number of 640 000 tickets available for the Confederations Cup, a number of eye-catching games like the one between Brazil and Italy at Loftus Stadium have actually been over-subscribed.

The majority of matches not featuring the glamour clubs or Bafana Bafana are poised to be watched by what is metaphorically described as a man and his dog.

Asked for a breakdown of the 170 000 ticket applications for each of the 16 games, Fifa media officer Delia Fischer, World Cup media manager Jermain Craig and Local Organising Committee Chief Communications Officer Rich Mkhondo’s joint response has been a deafening silence.
And no one directly involved in the ticketing sales or media communications was prepared to comment on the paucity of ticket sales generally - and the Iraq-New Zealand game in particular.
Asked by a Johannesburg newspaper to give the reasons for the meagre, lop-sided Confederations Cup ticket applications, Local Organising Committee CEO Danny Jordaan is quoted obscurely as saying that "people in South Africa get very happy very late."
Jordaan added that the LOC had to accept the criticism surrounding the marketing of the Confederations Cup and the sale of tickets from both the Government and Fifa - "and we have to jack things up."
"But over the next two weeks there will be changes," he promised.
Jordaan also said that LOC members would be meeting the Government shortly to discuss the issue.
The LOC CEO said the low number of Confederations Cup ticket applications was "absolutely, absolutely worrying - and we will have to do more."
He said an operation was planned to get companies to buy the bulk of Confederations Cup tickets.
And to avoid the embarrassment of empty stadiums for games like those between Iraq and New Zealand, Fifa have also introduced what is termed "specific venue tickets" - in which a bulk booking is made to watch all the games at a specific venue.
In this way, anyone buying a "specific venue" package for Ellis Park where the opening game, one of the semifinals and the final will be staged can also watch New Zealand play Iraq at no extra charge.
And as a final desperate measure, it is envisaged giving tickets away free of charge to scholars and others to boost attendance.
Confederations Cup ticket prices to the general public vary from R70 for group matches to R1 400 for top range seats at the final.
Jordaan said it was projected that 80 per cent of the overall attendance would be made up of South Africans - and 20 per cent from soccer fans outside the country.