They came wearing decorated mining helmets and football jerseys and waited, some sitting on the ground SMSing friends as they queued to buy Soccer World Cup tickets over the counter on Thursday.
Politics and farm murders were forgotten as they discussed which matches they most wanted to see.
Those who had the coveted tickets in their hands left with slaps on the back and shouts of “Enjoy the game.”
At ticket sales at the First National Bank (FNB) in Northcliff, Johannesburg, staff were busy handing out folders that contained application forms that, for security reasons, also required an ID number.
“It has been good and it has been busy,” said one staffer, rushing past a large version of Zakumi, the World Cup mascot, carrying a box full of application forms in one hand, and a cellphone pressed to her ear.
She was trying to resolve an apparent glitch in the system that was delaying sales, but punters waited patiently, chatting amongst themselves.
Many people spent the night outdoors, camped outside the 11 World Cup ticketing centres and 600 countrywide FNB branches, as the fifth and last ticketing sales phase got under way.
Fifa said 1 610 tickets were sold to 310 customers nationally at the ticketing centres within the first hour of opening at 9am.
The previous slow take-up of tickets had been blamed on fans having to apply in advance, mainly using the internet, in a country where penetration of the technology is low.
“There was a massive demand for tickets this morning, which we are delighted with,” a midday statement from James Byrom, the South African project ticketing manager for Match, Fifa’s official ticketing service provider, said.
“We experienced some delays in issuing tickets at the outset, but we have been working on improving the response time of the system. With the improvements we have already made, the process is getting quicker and we are confident it will continue to improve throughout the day.”
‘Once-in-a-lifetime opportunity’
In Cape Town, internet marketing manager Mahesh Singh (23) was the first person to receive tickets at the fifth and final tickets sales phase.
Singh, like many around the country, had camped outside the ticket office since 4pm on Wednesday.
“I am over the moon, nothing can explain it,” he said. “This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I’m on top of the
world.”
He had managed to buy more than 20 tickets worth about R16 000.
Singh said he had spent about R25 000 to R30 000 already on tickets, including Thursday’s purchase.
He had been saving money since he had left school to buy tickets for 2010. He had tickets for every group game in Durban, the opening match at Soccer City, the quarterfinals and semifinals.
“I’ll be there for every match in Durban; they should make me a mascot,” he said.
Singh was upset about not managing to get a ticket for the final in his own name, but his brother, who was standing in the line behind him, had managed to get him one.
When asked who all the tickets were for, Singh said they were for himself and his family.
“These [the tickets] are going straight to the safe,” Singh said.
A 64-year-old Cape Town pensioner died of what is thought to have been a seizure while waiting as number 565 in the queue. — Sapa