FIFA released the results of the first-phase lottery for World Cup 2010 tickets, and more tickets were issued to residents of the United States than any other country besides host South Africa. A total of 1,862,319 tickets were requested from 205 countries, and 555,871 tickets were drawn. Americans were issued 69,208 tickets. British fans received 39,421 tickets, and 29,330 tickets went to German residents. Almost half the tickets — 245,948 tickets — were drawn to South African residents.
The random selection draw, completed by a computer program, took place on Wednesday over a period of two hours at the UK offices of Match Services, the company involved in World Cup ticketing and conducted in the presence of a notary public. Each applicant could apply for a maximum of four tickets per match and for a maximum of seven matches. Applicants will be notified by email or text message whether or not they were successful.
A second ticket phase will begin on May 4 and remain open until Nov. 16.