Soccer: Fifa admits to tickets hitch

Fifa has admitted the cup faced a ticketing crisis three months before the finals and has blamed South Korean and Japanese organisers.

David Will, the head of Fifa's ticketing sub-committee, said he had to tell co-hosts Korea and Japan at the end of February that if they did not provide crucial information about the 20 stadiums there would be no tickets for the finals.

Without tickets the tournament could not have taken place, especially since security had to be particularly tight after the September 11 attacks.

International sales were particularly low in Korea in contrast to the domestic market which has been boosted by the national team's astonishing run to tonight's semifinal against Germany in Seoul. Brazil play Turkey in the other semifinal tomorrow.

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