World Cup Ticket Sales Slowed by Travel Costs and Security Fears
Germany’s ticket sales for the World Cup in South Africa has been going slow due to the high cost of tickets, travel and concerns over security. However, the DFB (German soccer federation) said on Tuesday that there isn’t any reason to worry over this.
Football (soccer) fans in Germany have only bought 579 tickets for matches against Australia, 655 for matches against Serbia and 682 against Ghana, according to the DFB. Aside from security fears, the high cost of travel and accommodation is a big factor in this, they added. Germans have ordered a total of just over 25,000 for all of the World Cup matches.
Wolfgang Niersbach, the DFB general secretary, says he doesn’t see any reason for people to worry, as these sales are very similar to the ones for the 2002 World Cup, which was hosted by Japan and South Korea. No one should be surprised there isn’t a huge wave of arrivals like there would be if the tournament was held in England, Spain or Italy, he continued. The comparison of this year’s World Cup ticket sales with the one held in 2002 is very legitimate, as they offer similar distance and costs for travel, Niersbach added, noting that the cost to go to South Africa from Germany is a whopping €3,000 just to see one game.
However, this doesn’t even include the cost of tickets, which German football legend Franz Beckenbauer has bashed, saying that most German fans can’t afford the price. The cheapest ticket for a group stage game is €56, while the cheapest for the final is €630.
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