August 06, 2006

The FIFA Get-Rich Scheme

Free World Cup tickets for the poor: Fifa's plan to fill seats in South Africa



What FIFA hope will happen:
Poor people in South Africa will receive free or very cheap tickets to World Cup matches when the tournament is held there in 2010. Fifa, football's world governing body, is drawing up plans to ensure that ordinary people can experience at first hand an event that many could otherwise not afford to attend.

'We are talking about either giving away some tickets to the local population, which could come from our sponsors' allocation of seats, or having very, very cheap prices for South Africans. Something along these lines will definitely happen,' said a Fifa official. 'We are determined to find ways of ensuring that the host population are not excluded from this huge event on their doorsteps.'


What will actually happen:
A sudden increase in black market tickets will see a flood of rich Africans and Europeans fill the seats of the stadium, while the poor South Africans, now flush with cash, will buy themselves a pretty good TV set to watch the matches with friends and family.

Everybody wins?

No comments: