The draw for the World Cup finals tomorrow is expected to result in a rush for flights, hotel rooms and tickets by those hoping to see John Terry lift the trophy in Johannesburg on Sunday, July 11.
As many as 20,000 England supporters are expected to want to travel, but South Africa 2010 presents more obstacles than previous tournaments.
For those who can afford it, a package bought from an official operator will guarantee the chance to see every minute of England’s campaign and the security of knowing that their transfers around the country are arranged. But independent travel will involve difficulties. South Africa is a vast country with poor to non-existent public transport.
All in one If you decide that you want someone else to make all the arrangements, Fifa has licensed four official tour operators in the UK: Thomas Cook Sport, Thomson Sport (UK), Keith Prowse and BAC Sport. Thomas Cook, for example, is offering a three-game package covering the group stage including tickets, flights, transfers and hotel starting at £5,749 for a single person and £8,300 for a couple. Other packages will be available after the draw.
Getting in The tour operators offer packages with and without tickets included. If you want to make your own ticketing arrangements, there are several options. The FA will announce its plans after the draw, but the official England supporters’ club, englandfans, will get priority for the FA’s allocation, which will only be about 10 per cent of stadium capacity per match.
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Tickets will also be on sale via the Fifa.com website from Saturday, with all applications going into a ballot. You can apply for individual match tickets or team-specific tickets to follow the national side of your choice — a series of three to cover the group games costs between £160 and £320 and a seven-match series that will take you all the way to the final £1,650 down to £750. But England fans’ chances of success in the ballot are likely to be slimmer than others’ — in the previous phase, England tickets sold out first, followed by Brazil, Argentina, Australia and Holland.
If that fails, there will be the agencies or touts, but forgeries will be more common than ever. If you can’t get in, the host cities are expected to have Fan Parks where spectators can watch the games on big screens.
Getting there The price is rising all the time. Today a direct flight to Johannesburg with South African Airlines on Thursday, June 10, the day before the first match, returning on Monday, July 12, costs £1,507. But in September direct flights could be had for £1,049 and the round trip would have cost only £811 with a change in Nairobi, Kenya. An airline industry insider denied that prices will be put up, but explained that the laws of supply and demand will apply as the cheapest deals are snapped up.
Getting around This could be the really tricky part. Moving from city to city in 2010 will probably involve a considerable trek, most likely by hire car. Venues are up to 1,736 kilometres (1,078 miles) apart, involving drives of more than 17 hours and flights of more than four hours — if available. Rail is an option between some cities, but the daily 10am train from Cape Town to Johannesburg takes more than 26 hours.
Where to stay The Fifa website has a list of hotels grouped by venue. At the moment, rooms are still available in four and five-star hotels in various host cities at a little more than £100 a night, but expect these rates to change after the draw, depending on the teams playing at various venues. Because agents know that England will have more followers, they will already have taken out options on rooms in various host cities in case England are drawn to play there. Expect to have to book for a minimum number of nights rather than just the day of the match.
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Match, a Swiss-British company, has been awarded the ticketing and accommodation contract by Fifa, and is busy hiring coaches, chartering planes and acquiring rooms in bed-and-breakfast facilities. The later you book, the more you risk being housed in other countries and flown in for matches.
Alternatively Buy the biggest TV you can afford and invite your mates round.