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Fifa has strongly denied there is any problem with its online ticket sales system, despite sources within the organisation claiming they have been inundated with complaints.

With the Confederations Cup due to kick off next month and with just over a year to go before the start of the 2010 World Cup, insiders allege Fifa, as well as the Local Organising Committee, are receiving a large volume of calls from online users who are experiencing problems with the online system.

Complaints vary from being unable to log on to the Web site, to being unable to complete a booking and failure to obtain a proof of payment once a transaction has been completed. Complaints have also pertained to problems with the online payment system, which is alleged to be available sporadically.

“We get a lot of angry calls, especially with the Confederations Cup just around the corner. People often complain the system doesn't reflect that their transaction has been completed, yet money gets deducted from their accounts. These people are obviously concerned about whether their transaction has been processed correctly or not,” says a Fifa insider.

Online ticket sales are handled by Match Event Services, a local subsidiary of Zurich-based Match Services, which provides Fifa with ticketing, accommodation and event IT services.

However, Fifa spokesperson Delia Fischer denies there is a problem, saying that, in general, the online ticket sales process has been running smoothly.

Status check

“For example, we received yesterday, within the first two hours of the 2010 Fifa World Cup ticketing process, ticket orders online in excess of 11 000,” she notes.

Regarding proof of payment, Fischer says individuals who have purchased tickets online can check their status at www.FIFA.com by following the procedure they used to purchase their tickets. Alternatively, they can also call 083 123 2010 and use the interactive voice response service to check the status of their ticket application.

In relation to problems with the online payment system, Fischer explains that the payment could fail for many different reasons. “These reasons include the customer having insufficient funds on their card [or] the card not being enabled by their authorising banks to transact online.”

She adds that various payment card providers may block the transaction as it is deemed to be suspicious activity on a customer's account and thus block the payment to protect the customer.

“The online transaction system has been taking online payments in real-time on a daily basis and we are confident there are no technical faults with the online payment system.”

In terms of ticket sales, Fischer explains that each applicant is able to apply for a maximum of four tickets per match and for a maximum of seven matches only.

Out of the total of 1 862 319 tickets requested from 205 countries, 555 871 tickets were drawn successfully. Of those, 245 948 tickets were drawn to South African residents, which corresponds to 44% of all tickets successfully drawn during this first phase of ticket sales.

Outside the host country, the highest number of tickets drawn was to residents of the US (69 208 tickets), followed by the UK (39 421 tickets) and Germany (29 330 tickets).

(Source: itweb.co.za)