England Football fans have always had problems following their national team, not least being the ability to obtain tickets to major tournaments like the FIFA Football World Cup. With a regular hundred thousand travelling soccer fans and the global popularity of the English Premier League, tickets to all England's games in World Cup Final Tournaments are always grossly oversubscribed, with demand at the last 2006 games in Germany exceeding supply by a factor of 20 with over 20 million requests from around the world on the official FIFA website, for just 750,000 available tickets. The tournament in June 2010 in South Africa will be no different and the demand for tickets for England matches will be exaggerated by the large number of English ex-pats that live and work in the Republic.
So how do England fans get tickets to see their team in South Africa this summer? Fortunately for this World Cup there are various alternative methods and means of obtaining tickets, however most of these come at a premium.
If you wish to purchase England World Cup tickets at face value, then there are two official channels; FIFA the tournament organising body and the English Football Association, known as the FA.
The first port of call for fans should be the official world cup ticket website at FIFA.com. You need to register on the site and confirm your identity before being guided through the ticketing application process where you can submit your request for England tickets. You can apply for a maximum of four tickets, for all seven England matches, which assumes they will reach the finals. You will need to supply valid passport details and hold a credit card. You can apply for tickets in categories one, two or three, which once you have applied, your name will then be entered into a lottery and if successful, you will be informed by email at the end of each draw. The tickets will only be available for collection at FIFA offices in South Africa, from April 2010 onwards, to deter people from buying tickets, with no intentions of travelling. The last FIFA lottery sales phases begins on Feb 9 and this will be followed by a first come, first served basis sales in April.
The second method of obtaining England World Cup Tickets at face value is to apply through the English FA official England Football Supporters Club. You will need to register an England fan and pay the annual membership fee. The FA has a limited World Cup ticket allocation, has preferential ticketing arrangement for long term members and is usually way over-subscribed. However, it is worth joining because the supporters club provide valuable assistance to members when travelling abroad and is often the source of last minute returned tickets.
The third way of getting to see England in South Africa is to purchase a tour package through an official FIFA backed tour operator. There are four official England Travel Agents partners for the 2010 World Cup; Keith Prowse, Thompson Sports Holidays, Thomas Cook, and BAC Sport. All offer a variety of travel and ticket packages, from single England match trips against USA, Algeria and Slovenia at around three to four thousand pounds per trip; to a four day trip to the World Cup Final starting from around six thousand five hundred pounds for the experience. However despite the tour operators insistence that they do not make a profit on England tickets, it is often much cheaper to buy the equivalent travel and accommodation services and World Cup Tickets yourself.
Another source of England World Cup tickets, often the very best seats in the Stadia, is from Corporate Hospitality. FIFA have announced that the full allocation of 308,000 seats has been reserved for corporate hospitality. However expect to pay a hefty premium for these services with hospitality starting from approximately double the price of tour packages for England games.
The final method of obtaining England World Cup tickets is to purchase online through a reseller, where tickets will be exchanged at four or five times face value. Due to the distribution methods employed by the organisers, a majority of England tickets will eventually find their way to these Internet resale sites, especially from football authorities around the world, individual touts or hospitality ticket sellers who have a surplus. You can guarantee that if you see two thirds of the stadium at an England World Cup game filled with England fans, that the majority would have obtained their tickets through an Internet reseller. eBay should be avoided as many scammers operate there, as should websites that operate in the UK where it is illegal to resale World Cup tickets that you do not possess. If you apply through these you run a serious risk of not receiving your tickets.
The safest way to buy England Tickets online is to purchase them from an established reseller. Check out on the Internet how long the reseller has been in business and if they are experienced in selling Football World Cup Tickets [http://www.footballworldcuptickets.com]. Certain World Cup ticket companies such as the USA based Razorgator, operate offices at all the venues and source England tickets exclusively from FIFA official sources, guaranteeing delivery and authenticity.
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