The draw for the Confederations Cup took place at the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg on Saturday, giving Bafana Bafana a realistic chance of making the semi-finals and setting up a game between Italy and Brazil in Tshwane. Tickets for the Confederations Cup are now on sale.
The tournament is used as a precursor to the World Cup in 2010, and sees the champions of each of the FIFA regions (Africa, South America, North & Central America, Europe, Asia and Oceania), the holders of the World Cup and the hosts of the 2010 FIFA World Cup meeting to crown the 'champion of champions'.
Eight participants of the Miss World pageant, which is being staged in South Africa next month, assisted FIFA General Secretary Jerome Valke with the draw that decided the final grouping of teams that will battle it out for the Cup in June next year.
South Africa, Spain, Iraq and New Zealand were drawn in Group A and Brazil, Italy, United States and Egypt in Group B.
South Africa could not have asked for a better draw as they avoided the likes of Brazil, Italy and Egypt in the group stages. Despite being currently the lowest ranked of all the participating teams, Bafana Bafana have a realistic chance of beating New Zealand and Iraq and progressing through to the semi-finals, where their opponents would probably be either Italy or Brazil.
The tournament takes place from 14 - 28 June 2009 at Johannesburg's Ellis Park Stadium, Rustenburg's Royal Bafokeng Sports Complex, Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein/Mangaung and Loftus Versfeld Stadium in Tshwane/Pretoria.
Ellis Park will host the opening game between South Africa and Iraq and the Final.
Tshwane is to host two games featuring the world champion Italy, against Brazil on 21 June and also the United States on 15 June.
"For us it is really mouth-watering to have the FIFA World Cup champions Italy, as well as Brazil coming to our city. It will bring excitement to the city and will really help our promotion of the tournament," said the 2010 City of Tshwane Co-ordinator Godfrey Nkwane.
Fixtures:
| First Round |
|
| Sunday 14 June |
Johannesburg: South Africa v Iraq Rustenburg: New Zealand v Spain |
| Monday 15 June |
Mangaung/Bloemfontein: Brazil v Egypt Tshwane/Pretoria: USA v Italy |
| Wednesday 17 June |
Mangaung/Bloemfontein: Spain v Iraq Rustenburg: South Africa v New Zealand |
| Thursday 18 June |
Tshwane/Pretoria: USA v Brazil Johannesburg: Italy v Egypt |
| Saturday 20 June |
Johannesburg: Iraq v New Zealand Mangaung/Bloemfontein: South Africa v Spain |
| Sunday 21 June |
Tshwane/Pretoria: Italy v Brazil Rustenburg: USA v Egypt |
| Semi-Finals |
|
| Wednesday 24 June | Free State Stadium: Winner A v Runner up B |
| Thursday 25 June | Johannesburg: Winner B v Runner up A |
| Playoff for Third Place | |
| Sunday 28 June | Royal Bafokeng |
| Final | |
| Sunday 28 June | Johannesburg |
Ticket details:
A Ticket Application Form needs to be completed in order to apply for Confederation Cup tickets. Ticket Application Forms are available from all First National Bank (FNB) branches, or online at FIFA.com. Once you have completed your form, you can return it to an FNB branch. Alternatively, you can post or fax the Ticket Application Form directly to the 2010 FIFA World Cup Ticketing Centre.
Address:
2010 FIFA World Cup Ticketing Centre (FWCTC)
PO Box 4928
Cresta
2118
South Africa
Fax: +27 (0)11 567 2709.
For any additional information, visit Fifa.com
Ticket prices in SA Rand (ZAR):
| Tournament Stage |
Match No |
Category 1 | Category 2 |
Category 3 | Category 4 |
Wheelchair |
| Group Matches | 1-12 | 700 | 350 | 210 | 70 | 70 |
| Semi Finals |
13-14 | 840 | 525 | 350 | 140 | 140 |
| Third Place Match | 15 | 700 | 350 |
210 |
70 |
70 |
| Final | 16 |
1,400 |
700 |
420 |
210 |
210 |
