The most pleasant aspect of EURO 2008 for me has been the sight of banks of fans in the stadia. The corporate hospitality is still there, with 80,000 packages sold, and while that is 80,000 too many for my liking, I have not noticed huge numbers of suits inside the grounds like I have at the last three World Cups. No, in the matches I have attended in Innsbruck, Geneva and Vienna, I have been struck by the swathes of the competing countries' fans, the people who surely must get priority for tickets above all others. This is how footbal l used to be and could be again, I thought. This is because, for EURO 2008, national associations received 38% of the tickets, as opposed to the 19% they get from FIFA for World Cups. In addition, FIFA sold 15.2% of World Cup tickets in 2006 to the German FA and FIFA 'family', whoever they are, while UEFA's 2008 allocation was only 3%. Worryingly, UEFA's allocation to corporate hospitality has doubled since 2004 to 8% of the total, but it still less than FIFA's 11.3%. When fan tickets start at only €45, it is no wonder they sell these pac kages, which begin at €1250 for first-round games and rise to €2,000 for quarter finals, €4,000 for semis and €8,000 for the final, per person! 14% of EURO 2008 tickets went to sponsors as opposed to 16% of World Cup tickets, while the percentages for sales to the general public were 33% to 36%, where of course many genuine fans got their tickets from. UEFA's allocation of 19% per country per game does leave a lot to be desired on paper, when the Champions League final allocation per team is 27% and England fans at Wembley enjoy about 90% of match tickets. Many corporate tickets are still ending up in the hands of touts, who in the Alps are asking €400 per ticket as they did in Germany in 2006. While supporters used to be split between those who went to games and 'armchair' fans, the upsurge in interest in football and the unpleasant arrival of corporate hospitality into the people's game has forced fans elsewhere. Far more fans are to be found outside than inside the stadia themselves in host cities, where the practice of travelling overseas to watch games on big screens in publically-organised viewing areas is now the standard of fan culture. When six of the eight stadia in EURO 2008 hold only the minimum required capacity of 30,000 seats, supporters were always going to look elsewhere to congregate. Following their success in Germany in 2006, the future of overseas match trips looks to be ticketless travel to vast fan zones. While nothing beats the stadium experience, the fan zones are the next best thing when done well. In fact the Vienna fan zone is much better than those I went to in Germany, with many more big screens and reasonably priced food and drink stands you don't waste time queueing for. The uncomfortable feeling persists that in the modern age of football, fans forking out to attend games in globally televised tournaments are far from the priority for the organizers, and are largely accommodated for the purposes of adding colour to the commercially marketable televised spectacle. Nevertheless, the stadium ticket allocation here has felt like a breath of fresh air after the farce of the World Cup. With South Africa only two years away and the torrent of opprobrium heaped on FIFA's rotten ticketing allocation last time still vivid, let us hope the sport’s world governing body learns something from the fun and football-loving stadia of EURO 2008. (c) Sean O'Conor & Soccerphile Bet with Bet 365 World Soccer News Soccer betting tips Soccer Books & DVDs Tags Soccer News soccer football J-League K-League

The build-up for South Korea’s summer series of qualifiers for the 2010 World Cup started the minute Park Ji-sung arrived at Incheon International Airport last Saturday, dressed in the words of some reports, "like a model" in a white jacket and pink shirt. All attention had been centred on Park’s non-appearance in the UEFA Champions League final on May 21 when Manchester United defeated Chelsea. That is all in the past now as Park told reporters at the arrival gate: “Qualification for the World Cup is now my biggest goal.” South Korea continues its journey along the road to the 2010 World Cup on Saturday with a home match against Jordan at Seoul World Cup Stadium on Saturday. The Taeguk Warriors sit in top spot in Group Three with four points from the first two games. The top two from the four nations progress to the final round of qualification. It is a busy time as in the three weeks following the Seoul match, coach Huh Jung-moo will take his team to Jordan for a return match and then on to Turkmenistan before returning to Seoul to face North Korea on June 22. With failing to progress to the next round unthinkable, Huh has decided to trust in some familiar faces. The selection of Korea’s English Premier League players was no surprise but the recall of Ahn Jung-hwan for the first time in almost two years was a big story. Ahn was a hero of the 2002, and to a lesser extent, the 2006 World Cup. Since that time he has been back in the K-league but only scored his first goal in the competition last week for Busan I’Park. And that didn’t really count. Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma had taken the lead at Busan by breaking one of soccer’s unwritten rules which states that if a player kicks the ball out of play because of an injured team-mate, the resultant throw-in is thrown back to that team. Seongnam didn’t seem to think this was necessary, won possession from the throw-in and scored the opening goal. Seongnam coach Kim Hak-beom was none too impressed with his players and told them that they had to allow Busan to score. It came to pass that the Seongnam players stood around as Ahn dribbled up the pitch to put the ball into the net. The 32 year-old may not have scored many but he has been playing well for Busan, the team at the bottom of the league. “Although being overshadowed by his team's poor record, Ahn's play on the pitch proves that his stamina and skills are at a high level," Huh told reporters. “Ahn is in good form, and I think his veteran presence and wealth of experience in big tournaments will provide valuable leadership to the team." We could even see a frontline made up of 2002 stars including Park and Seol Ki-hyeon. Huh’s selections are conservative but given that failure to finish in the top two would cost him his job and reputation, it is perhaps not surprising that some of the K-League’s young prospects have not been considered. Suwon pair Seo Dong-hyun and Shin Young-rok are in better form than any of the strikers that Huh chose as are the Daegu duo of Jang Nam-seok and Lee Keun-ho. Jordan, who lost 2-0 in a warm-up game in China last weekend, should not be underestimated but should not pose too tough a threat in Seoul. The team has belied its reputation as strong at home but weak away so far in the qualification campaign. An opening day defeat in Amman at the hands of the North Koreans was followed by a win at the home of Turkmenistan. Avoiding defeat in Seoul would be a huge result for the team led by well-traveled Portuguese coach Nelo Vingada. It would also make huge trouble for Huh Jung-moo but the old boys should be able to ensure that South Korea take another step closer to South Africa. Copyright: John Duerden & Soccerphile.com Bet with Bet 365 World Soccer News Soccer betting tips Soccer Books & DVDs Tags Soccer News soccer football J-League K-League Betting

As a South African and a fan of football I was overjoyed when FIFA awarded my home country the rights to host the 2010 World Cup. As a football journalist with a thorough knowledge of the inner workings of FIFA and a curmudgeonly old pessimist to boot, I knew one thing for certain the moment [...]

In a move that’s sooooo 2006, FIFA has come out of its cave to threaten the villagers who contribute to it being the well-fed monster that it is. Two years ago almost to the day, World Cup Blog received a cease & desist notice regarding its use in its site logo of the part of [...]

It was the worst kept secret in football over the weekend, but Carlos Alberto Parreira officially quit as South Africa coach today. The official reason is that Parreira wants to spend more time with his wife, who’s seriously ill. There’s speculation that there’s more to it, and that tension between CAP and the South Africa [...]

Two conflicting stories emerged yesterday. On one hand, The Guardian were claiming that FIFA were struggling to find anyone to insure against World Cup 2010 collapsing. They quote a spokesman for insurers Munich Re as saying “The situation is quite difficult and fluid. The problem is they need 10 stadiums and some of these are [...]

First you think, “oh yeah, what a phenomenal goal, truly highlight reel material”, which it was. After that, though, it ventures off somewhere else entirely. Kuwait’s goalkeeper gets caught out in Nevernever Land, doing who knows what, allowing Iran to take a cool two goal lead on a goal from their own half. Then another [...]

South Africa released a report outlining their World Cup expenditure today, and the bottom line is $3.7 billion. Sounds like a hefty sum, and sounds like even more in South African currency, the total being 30 billion rand (which is the 20 rand note above multiplied many many many times.) Big big numbers. Sports Minister Mike Stofile [...]

When World Cup qualifying resumes in Asia on March 26th, there’s arguably only one game worth watching. North Korea vs South Korea. Especially if the drama and tension on the field can match what’s been happening off the field. The controversy so far: North Korea are the home team, but won’t allow South Korean to display [...]

Sepp Batter has been a busy boy. This week the President of FIFA (or King of Football, if you were to ask him his job title) has… 1. Re-iterated his support for playing World Cup 2010 games on artificial turf. I can see that being popular. 2. Let it be known that he genuinely believed the Premier [...]