Tickets for large events such as the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, always present an opportunity for scammers to go work and scam people looking to buy tickets.  If you are interested in buying tickets for the World Cup next year in South Africa, be aware of scams.  Lots of scams have already been reported and FIFA is trying to crack down on illegal World Cup ticket sales.

Here are some facts about the World Cup tickets

You cannot buy world cup tickets at any of the following sites
    EBAY – http://www.ebay.com
    Craigslist – http://www.craigslist.org
    StubHub – http://www.stubhub.com
    TicketMaster – http://www.ticketmaster.com

You cannot buy world cup tickets from an individual. If someone approaches you and tries to sell you world cup tickets, it is a scam.

You cannot buy world tickets from any business, travel agent, hotel, airlines, and website.

If you receive an email about world cup tickets, it is a scam. Don’t open it and delete it.

 If some hotels in South Africa try to lure you saying that they can get you tickets, it is a scam.

How to get tickets of the world cup?
For most of us, the only way to buy tickets for the world cup is by entering a drawing at http://fifa.com You submit your application to enter the drawing at http://fifa.com during one of the phases. Make sure you have your passport with you since you will be required to enter your passport number.

The world cup ticket sales are divided into 4 separate Ticket Sales Phases going from 20 February 2009 to 7 April 2010.
    First sales phase: 20 February 2009 to 31 March 2009
    Second sales phase: 4 May 2009 to 16 November 2009
    Third sales phase: 5 December 2009 to 22 January 2010
    Fourth sales phase: 9 February 2010 to 7 April 2010
    Final / Last Minute sales phase: 15 April 2010 to 11 July 2010

 There are two types of ticket products available for the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™:
    Match Tickets: These are individual match tickets and are available for all matches (1 – 64).
    Team Specific Ticket Series (TST): These are ticket strips to follow the national team of your choice.

Additional information about FIFA World Cup Tickets at the following links:

Sales Phases – When can I apply for Tickets?
How to Apply for Tickets?
FAQ – Frequently Asked Questions
Authorised Ticket Sales Channel
FIFA tickets information page
Match Schedule 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa

Who would have thought about it? To understand the dimension of this win for the Huskies, you need to look at their records for the past couple years.

 Coming to this game, Washington won only 1 game out of 13, did not win a single game in 2008 (0 – 12), and lost 56-0 at USC last year. On the other hand, Pete Carroll’s team was 13-1, finished 12–1 last season, won seventh straight Pac-10 Championship, beat Pen State in the Rose Ball last year, beat Ohio State last week, 10 BCS Championships   (1 for Washington),  and ranked #3 in the AP poll.

 How did they do? Well, this victory started at the end of the 2008 season. After going 5-7 in the 2007 season, 4-9 in 2007, and 0-12 in 2008, the Huskies fired their head coach Tyrone Willingham and hired the young USC’s offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian. But Steve did not leave USC alone; he brought with him USC’s defensive coordinator Nick Holt.

 The hiring of Holt was not easy, Holt initially turned down the job in early December 2008. When Holt finally agreed to join Steve Sarkisian in Washington, he became one of the highest-paid coordinator and assistant coach in NCAA football.  Holt deal is worth $2.1 million over three-year; $600,000 in the first year and $650,000 in the second and third years. And that is not all, Holt also will receive a $200,000 retention bonus, payable to him up front, but would have to be returned all or in part, on a sliding scale, if he were to leave before the end of the contract. Not a bad deal.

Washington won this game on defense by not letting USC’s offense take off. By bringing together 2 of the architects of USC’s success the last couple years, the Huskies are on their way to turn around their program. However, the Huskies are not a BCS ball team this year because of their roster, which lack depth. With the current roster, the Huskies will probably finish the season at 8-4.

 As for USC, this is not a new territory for them. They lost to unranked teams each of the last 4 seasons and always managed to play in a BCS ball in January. So, I expect them to play in another BCS ball in January again this season.