FIFA Raise Concerns on Ticket Handling at the 2006 World Cup

As the 2006 World Cup to be held in Germany looms in the coming weeks, Sepp Blatter, FIFA's chairman said that the game organizers are currently working for solutions to a potential ticketing problem that could result to violence and injuries outside the soccer stadium. While the soccer game officials insisted that each of the 3M tickets issued for the 64 games should bear the name of the purchaser and that his identity must be confirmed before entering the stadium, FIFA still expressed its concerns that this situation could result to long lines of fans outside the world cup venue.

All tickets for the 64 games had already been sold out to. The 2006 World Cup, which is participated by 32 countries worldwide is scheduled to open on July 9 with Germany against Costa Rica. Meanwhile, the US is set to play against the Czech Republic on July 12. Blatter, who already spoke with the German organizers of the games, is planning to meet with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in order to discuss important security issues. Meanwhile, NATO asked AWACS to conduct surveillance via air patrols over Germany.