FA says everyone who wants World Cup tickets should get them

Every member of England's official fan club who has applied for a ticket to see Fabio Capello's team at this summer's World Cup should be catered for, the Football Association has said. The FA has been able to accommodate every fan who applied for a ticket for the group matches against the United States, Algeria and Slovenia, as well as any potential quarter-final, semi-final or final involving England. Only the round-of-16 match – against Germany, Australia, Serbia or Ghana – presents a potential problem, with the FA 150 tickets short of satisfying all applicants. "Conversations are ongoing to try and secure these outstanding tickets," said a spokesman. "England fans who have applied for tickets for all other knockout games beyond this stage will be allocated those tickets." Of the total allocation of 29,000 tickets reserved by Fifa for England fans, the FA has allocated 23,000 tickets. Supporters' groups have said high prices and gloom over the economy, combined with uncertainty over safety and logistics, had contributed to a "relatively low take-up" of tickets among England fans. At previous World Cups the FA has had to impose conditions requiring fans to have attended a certain number of qualifying matches; or it has held a ballot for tickets. Unusually a large proportion of fans have gambled on applying for tickets for the knockout phases in the hope that England progress, calculating that their trip will offer better value than the group stages where there are long gaps between games. Amid concern about the fees being charged by Fifa and the sales procedure, the FA said it had negotiated a better deal for members of its official supporters' club, Englandfans. "The FA has taken additional steps to try and provide an opportunity for supporters to receive as many tickets as possible in the lower price categories," said a spokesman. "We are also delighted to advise England fans that we have reached agreement with Fifa and Match that we are the only participating nation in which our members are paying a lower 5% commission on each ticket, as opposed to 10% in the case of all other participating nations." Despite not taking up the full allocation of tickets, Capello's team will still be one of the best supported in South Africa. The German football federation has sold just 6,700 of its allocation of 21,000 and the Dutch FA 7,000 of its 22,000 for Holland's three group matches. The FA receives an allocation of 12% of the capacity for group matches and 8% for the knockout phase. The latest open-sales phase for tickets closed yesterday, with approximately one million of the three million tickets offered for sale. Fifa will deliver its latest update on ticket sales on Wednesday, amid concern that South Africans are not buying them in sufficient numbers due to high prices and low internet and credit card penetration.