Tickets for the 2010 Fifa World Cup in South Africa are due to go on sale at 1100 GMT as Africa prepares to host the contest for the first time.

Around 3m tickets will be available for the 64 matches, which start next June.

In the first sales phase, applications for tickets will be followed by a random selection draw in April.

Some 450,000 cheaper tickets are being reserved for South African residents of which 120,000 will be issued free to stadium construction workers.

'Worth it'

Overall prices will range from $20 (£14) for a category four ticket reserved for South Africans to $900 for a category one ticket for the final.

"I'm really going to watch, It's a little bit expensive but, you know, I think it's worth it," one man in Johannesburg told the BBC's Network Africa programme.

Although the tournament does not begin for 475 days, there is already huge excitement about the competition in Africa, says BBC southern Africa correspondent Peter Biles in Johannesburg.

Ever since South Africa was awarded the football World Cup, questions have been asked about whether the country is capable of staging a successful tournament, says our correspondent.

This week, about 400 builders working on the construction of Mbombela stadium in Nelspruit were dismissed for going on strike.

Similar disputes have previously broken out at stadiums in Durban and Cape Town, but World Cup organisers say they are confident those projects will be completed by on time.

Ten stadiums in nine cities will play host to the tournament.

Airports are also being upgraded, policing will be improved and a media campaign is encouraging South Africans to think positively about the tournament.

At least 400,000 visitors are expected in South Africa next year.

Fifa has said it hopes every single match will be sold out.

The draw for the 32 teams that qualify for the World Cup will be held in Cape Town in December 2009.



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Are you planning to buy a ticket for the World Cup? Are you having to make sacrifices because of the economic downturn? Do you live in South Africa? Will you take advantage of the cheaper tickets?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7900836.stm

a def excuse to go explore what SA has to offer. SA here i come