Jerome Valcke

At least one unauthorised website is touting tickets to next year's football World Cup in South Africa, Australia's consumer watchdog said as it warned of potential fraud in online ticketing. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) said an international review of thousands of websites, including some 1,400 ostensibly based in Australia, underscored the need for consumer vigilance. "Results indicate that online ticketing has emerged as an area of concern," commission deputy chairman Peter Kell said. "In this year's sweep, the ACCC identified an unauthorised site offering tickets for the FIFA World Cup in South Africa at www.worldcupticketing.com." The website, written in poorly worded ... Read Full Story

New stadiums could be considered as late as 2017 for a possible World Cup in the United States in 2022, according to soccer's No. 2 official. U.S bidders narrowed their list to 32 stadiums last month as they prepared to submit their plan to FIFA next May ahead of the December 2010 vote on hosts for the tournament in 2018 and 2022. FIFA asked that 12-18 stadiums of 40,000 capacity or higher be submitted with each bid. FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke said Thursday in an interview with The Associated Press that would not preclude new venues from being added. Possible new stadiums have ... Read Full Story

At least one unauthorised website is touting tickets to next year’s football World Cup in South Africa, Australia’s consumer watchdog said as it warned of potential fraud in online ticketing. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) said an international review of thousands of websites, including some 1,400 ostensibly based in Australia, underscored the need for consumer vigilance. “Results indicate that online ticketing has emerged as an area of concern,” commission deputy chairman Peter Kell said. “In this year’s sweep, the ACCC identified an unauthorised site offering tickets for the FIFA World Cup in South Africa at www.worldcupticketing.com.” The website, written in poorly worded ... Read Full Story

FIFA president Sepp Blatter gave Confederations Cup organizers an encouraging grade of 7.5 out of 10 on Monday while stressing work remains on transportation and housing for next year's World Cup. The Confederations Cup, in which Brazil rallied past the United States 3-2 in Sunday's final, was a dress rehearsal for the World Cup and was considered a major success on the field. But Blatter and FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke say the tournament revealed problems that must be resolved in 11 months when the World Cup makes its debut in Africa. By the time of the World Cup draw in Cape Town on ... Read Full Story

The FIFA U-17 World Cup tournament is well under way in Nigeria but not everything is going according to plan and officials from world football’s governing body have expressed concerns. The tournament has so far suffered from a lack of publicity, with low awareness of the event and over-priced tickets resulting in disappointing crowds. The Nigerian local organizing committee has also struggled with preparing adequate training facilities and administering the areas of ticketing and accreditation. In a late effort to bolster crowd numbers, tens of thousands of tickets were this week reportedly offered to fans by city officials in the capital Abuja, after embarrassing ... Read Full Story