Online W. Cup ticketing glitch to be fixed by Korea, Japan
Online W. Cup ticketing glitch to be fixed by Korea, Japan
SEOUL (AP): Sometime this week, soccer fans in South Korea and Japan may finally be able to apply for 2002 World Cup tickets online, organizers and news reports said Tuesday.
The world's governing body for soccer, FIFA, began taking requests for tickets to soccer's showcase event over the Internet on Thursday. But it said online applications from fans in co- hosts South Korea and Japan would be delayed two or three days because of a computer glitch.
Though online ticket requests were still impossible in South Korea and Japan for a fifth day Tuesday, organizers and news reports suggested that the system could be up and running later this week.
"The problem is almost solved. We hope to begin taking Internet orders this week, possibly Thursday," said Lee Ji-yon, a spokeswoman for South Korea's World Cup Organizing Committee.
The Japan World Cup Organizing Committee said in a brief statement that it was still waiting to be informed by FIFA when online applications would begin.
Kyodo news agency reported that organizers expected the service to start as early as Thursday, citing unidentified JAWOC officials.
Despite the computer glitch, organizers of the two host countries have been accepting written applications from domestic fans since Thursday.
South Korean organizers said they received orders for 91,848 tickets so far.
"If the Internet had been available, we may have had more orders," said spokeswoman Lee. "However, we haven't had many complaints from fans about the delay."
In Japan, 34,250 application forms had been received as of Monday for an unspecified number of tickets, the JAWOC statement said.
Some 230,000 tickets will be sold to fans in South Korea and another 221,000 in Japan in the first round of applications, which will be accepted until March 14. If demand exceeds supply, the winners will be decided by a computer lottery on March 28.
A total of about 740,000 tickets, priced from US$60 to $500, have been set aside for South Korea. Japan has received 630,000. Another 300,000 tickets will be sold in the second round of applications from Sept. 1 to Oct. 31. The remaining tickets will be sold next year.
Applications are expected to exceed the number of tickets available, in which case ticket requests will be filled by lottery.
South Korea and Japan will host 32 matches each, for which 3 million tickets will be available.
A combined 1.3 million tickets will be sold domestically in host countries, and 1.5 million internationally. Another 200,000 will go to FIFA officials, media and observers.