World Cup ticket design unveiled

(FIFA)

The final design of the official 2010 FIFA World Cup ticket was unveiled on April 9 at a press conference in Soweto, South Africa, along with the news that a further 500,000 split between the 63 World Cup matches were to be made available for the last sales phase, running from Thursday, April 15 to the day of the final match, Sunday, July 11.

Organizing Committee CEO Danny Jordaan and FIFA's Secretary General Jerome Valcke were present in Soweto, home to one of the new World Cup Ticketing Centres in Maponya Mall, to show off the goods.

Those World Cup Ticketing Centres, located in each of the nine host cities, are the only authorized pick-up points for match tickets bought in advance or on the day, as passes are not being sent out by post.

The brightly colored tickets will contain information about each match's location, kick-off time, and participating teams, as well as entrance and seat numbers and the name of the successful applicant to whom the ticket belongs.

The seating information goes so far as to indicate which section of the stadium each ticket corresponds to, as well as the most appropriate stadium entrance to use.

A barcode at the top identifies the origin of the ticket, and corresponds to another barcode strip on the stub. The stub also includes a square 2D barcode, and a security hologram depicting the 2010 World Cup logo.

That hologram extends past the stub's perforated line onto the main body of the ticket, seguing into an image of the World Cup trophy, in a further effort to confound counterfeiters.