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Hot tickets Chinese fans could get extra World Cup allocationPosted: Tuesday February 26, 2002 7:50 AMBEIJING (Reuters) -- South Korean World Cup organizers could farm out some 10,000 more tickets to China's soccer federation, nearly doubling the number of tickets available to Chinese fans, state media said Tuesday. But the possible move was unlikely to quell complaints among an estimated 100,000 fans keen to witness China's debut in the finals but upset over a state-run travel service's monopoly on mainland ticket packages. China will play Brazil, Costa Rica and Turkey in group C in the first round of the finals starting May 31. Group C matches will all take place in South Korea. A group representing fans across soccer-mad China was in South Korea this week to lobby local Cup officials for more tickets at cheaper, non-monopolized prices, state media said. State-run China International Sports Travel, which holds the exclusive rights to sell some 10,700 tickets allotted by world body FIFA, could not confirm the reports of additional tickets. "FIFA would have to approve it first," said spokesman Yuan Xiaoge. But Yuan would not rule out the possibility of more tickets for China's three opening round matches would become available through official mainland channels. "After all, Chinese demand for those tickets should far outstrip South Koreans," he told Reuters. Ticket prices for China's matches have already surged to as much as 15 times their face value among scalpers in South Korea, the Beijing Youth Daily said Saturday. The mainland's monopoly was aimed at ensuring price gouging does not occur in China, Yuan said. High demand The state-backed sports unit, which has gone into partnership with a mainland subsidiary of China Travel International Investment Hong Kong, has enjoyed high demand for travel packages ranging from 7,000 yuan to 27,000 yuan (US$845-US$3,260), including Cup tickets costing US$60, US$100 or US$150 apiece, said Yuan. He said the unpopularly hefty package prices were to be blamed on the inflated costs of hotels, air tickets and ground transportation during the World Cup -- not his company's monopoly. But China's predominately blue-collar soccer aficionados are not ready to lay the issue to rest. "Their prices clearly do not fall within the affordable range of ordinary, wage-earning fans," the paper quoted Wang Wenxi of the unofficial China Union of Soccer Fan Clubs, as saying.
Copyright 2003 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. |
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