US tickets sold out in presale

The overwhelming demand for tickets eliminated the need for a public ticket sale and guarantees the United States will have the team’s greatest fan support ever at a FIFA World Cup outside of the United States.

The initial ussoccerfan.com presale which is arranged to conduct sales before the US public has access to ticket sales ran from December 12 through January 4.

But incredible early demand for tickets in the first-come, first-served sale meant that US Soccer would be unable to provide all fans with tickets to the world’s most popular sporting event.

In total, US Soccer only receive eight percent of the seats in each of the team’s three World Cup venues, a total of fewer than 10,000 tickets for the Group "E" matches.

In the presale, US Soccer received requests for nearly 40,000 tickets for these matches. Ticket applications were received from all 50 states and from US citizens in 16 countries.

"We knew from the beginning that the demand would exceed the supply and that, unfortunately, some of our fans would be disappointed," said US Soccer Director of Communications Jim Moorhouse."

The overwhelming response was incredible and shows the true dedication of our fans."

US Soccer has requested an additional allotment of tickets from FIFA and is awaiting word on any potential availability for those tickets.

Fans who took part in the ussoccerfan.com presale but did not receive tickets are now on the organisation’s priority waiting list should additional tickets become available.

Another option is the Miami-based company Soccer Travel, travel agent for US Soccer.

World Cup packages for US matches against the Czech Republic, Italy and Ghana are being sold at www.soccertravel.com,and this is where the insurance check comes in.

The price for the Follow Team USA travel package ranges from US$3,225 to US$5,675 per person. This does not include airfare but rather match tickets, hotel accommodations for 12 nights in a three- or four-star hotel, and ground transportation, including a six-day German Rail Pass.

Round-trip air fare is optional because some fans have frequent-flier miles or other discounts. Should initial attempts to score tickets fail, there are always second chances because of cancellations.

For those who won’t take no for an answer, here’s another word of advice: Don’t buy from an online broker because the tickets could be bogus.

Book a flight to Germany instead, and if you can’t scalp a seat, watch the match in a pub. It’s almost as good as being in the stadium.