Posted at 7:31 a.m., Saturday, November 24, 2007
Soccer: 2010 World Cup opener, final in Johannesburg
Associated Press
DURBAN, South Africa — The June 11 opening game and July 11 final of the 2010 World Cup will be in Johannesburg's Soccer City stadium.FIFA said today the semifinals will be July 6 in Cape Town and July 7 in Durban, site of Sunday's qualifying draw. Cape Town will be the site of the final draw in late 2009.
Quarterfinals will be July 2 in Johannesburg's Soccer Stadium and Port Elizabeth, and July 3 at Johannesburg's Ellis Park Stadium and Cape Town.
FIFA also said starting times for the 64 games will be 1 p.m., 4 p.m. and 8 p.m., meaning games will start at 7 a.m., 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. EDT.
A ticket fund will be set up for 120,000 complimentary seats in the lowest ticket category. Most of the complimentary tickets will be for first-round games.
FIFA said ticket prices for the 2010 tournament will be about the same as for the 2006 event in Germany, with the average at $139, up from $136, taking into account the rise of the euro against the dollar. The lowest-priced ticket is $20 in the first round and the highest $900 for the final.
Also, FIFA ordered the qualifier between New Zealand and Fiji that was originally scheduled for Oct. 13 be played at a neutral site. The game was called off by FIFA after New Zealand's government refused to grant a visa to Fiji goalkeeper Simione Taimanisau, citing sanctions imposed after Fiji's military coup last December. The father of Taimanisau's fiance is a military police officer.
