Date Published: 04/15/10

500,000 World Cup tickest still unsold ...High cost of ticket, ($25 is cheapest), Insecurity, ETC to blame

WORLD CUP bosses have half a million tickets unsold - with the tournament two months away.

Not even the final has sold out - and neither has any other game.

Now desperate FIFA chiefs hope to shift their ticket mountain by putting them on sale alongside cans of beans at shopping centres and supermarkets in South Africa.

Around 500,000 tickets - a quarter of the total - are still available.

FIFA had previously insisted the final on July 11 at Johannesburg's 95,000-capacity Soccer City stadium was sold out.

But yesterday organisers released a block of 300 unsold tickets for the biggest showpiece in football.

At this stage in Germany four years ago, virtually every ticket had been sold.

But the global recession, the high cost of flying to South Africa and safety fears have resulted in thousands of tickets and packages being returned by travel agents.

Organisers have also realised that the initial online process was not suited to local fans, who are generally poor, do not have credit cards and are not used to buying tickets on the internet.

Tickets have been pegged as low as £14 for South African residents - still expensive by their standards - but these are the biggest category still available.

FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke admitted: "The challenge we are working on is to make sure all the stadiums are full and that we are selling all these tickets."

South Africa 2010 chief Danny Jordan said: "If we have empty stadiums, it will reinforce the idea that football is not supported in the country and that would be tragic.

"The reality is that this is a football-mad country.

"We have always said that it is important that we make this World Cup more accessible to the people and, with the over-the-counter sales, we believe this measure is consistent with the needs of the fans."

FIFA claim 2.2million tickets had been bought ahead of this final push.

South Africa fans had bought the most - 925,437 - followed by 118,945 purchased in the United States, albeit to watch different nations.

England fans have bought 67,654 tickets, with the FA saying 23,000 have been bought through their official supporters' club.

This, though, is still a bigger number than any other participating nation.

Germans have splashed out on just 32,269 tickets.

Courtesy The Sun Of London