The Hindu : Sport : Free ride for the rich and famous

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Jun 25, 2006

Sport

Sport

Free ride for the rich and famous

Steven Morris and Andrew Culf

London: It has become a familiar and depressing scene. As a World Cup game nears kick-off, desperate fans become ever more willing to shell out huge amounts of money for tickets from touts.

Meanwhile, separated carefully behind steel and glass, pop stars mingle with politicians and writers rub shoulders with media bigwigs in the hospitality areas. They savour fine wines and take their pick of hors d'oeuvres before being ushered to padded seats with perfect views.

As the newly penniless ordinary fan waits for the game to begin he or she can indulge in spotting the stars, almost always there thanks to the largesse of some sponsor or corporation.

The England stand-in cricket captain, Andrew Flintoff, and fast bowler Steve Harmison were at England's opening game as guests of the BBC.

The leader of the UK's Conservative party, David Cameron, enjoyed the game against Sweden courtesy of a TV station. British finance minister Gordon Brown was hobnobbing in the comfy seats at the same game as the guest of his German counterpart, Peer Steinbrueck.

And who was that erudite-looking chap at the Brazil-Croatia game? It was none other than Salman Rushdie, watching the match (in the cup holder's colours) with a Brazilian publisher.

There is also a plethora of chief executives, star salesmen, marketing gurus and advertising whizzkids who have got hold of the laminated passes which allow access to hospitality suites. The tournament's organiser, FIFA, hopes that World Cup 2006 will be remembered for its sparkling football. Some fans are seeing it as the tournament when corporate hospitality took over.

Kevin Miles, international coordinator of the Football Supporters' Federation, said: "Every real fan resents the idea that money, power or celebrity helps someone to jump the queue over ordinary people."

Out of the three million tickets for the World Cup, about a third ended up with sponsors and corporate hospitality. FIFA's 15 "partners" and six suppliers received almost half a million tickets while hospitality hoovered up another 350,000.

Once the football associations and FIFA have taken a generous share, much of which goes to officials (the English FA fills three coaches) and to politicians, there is less than 10 per cent for England fans. —

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