With England successfully qualified for the World Cup in South Africa, thousands of fans will already be looking forward to what's sure to be a feast of football. Conservative estimates predict that at least 20,000 England fans will descend on South Africa next June and the scramble for tickets has already begun. The first two phases of ticket sales have been completed, with the third and final phase scheduled to begin the day after the Final Draw on 5 December.

Even though all of the official tickets are yet to be released, travel agents are today advising England fans to begin making arrangements for their trip to South Africa.

Flights are expected to be in very high demand and prices will increase as the kick-off date approaches.

Besides flights, accommodation is another area that fans should be prompt in making arrangements for. The chief executive of the 2010 organising committee, Danny Jordaan, has reported that there could be a shortfall of tens of thousands of hotel rooms, even though a dozen new hotels have opened across the country in the last few years. One cost effective option is to stay in a private home with a family, as many will be opening their doors to fans of the World Cup.

UK Travel Agents recommend that fans register their interest with them before the draw on December 5. A spokesperson said:

'It's a very muddled picture right now. Brazilian travel companies have taken a punt that Brazil will be playing in Cape Town and they have booked virtually every hotel bed that's available. If they are allocated somewhere else there will be a huge amount of horse trading and we will be buying beds from them."

"The two or three days immediately following the draw are very important as some hotel beds will become available for a short time only. The football authorities are still sitting on 80% of the accommodation in all the playing centres. They obviously hope to sell these worldwide as packages and we doubt that any of the beds which remain unsold will be released until shortly before the football begins. That's something of a long shot if you really want to see the football."

None of this should deter anyone from following England to South Africa and as long as fans are sensible and book ahead there's no reason why people can't go and have the time of their lives supporting England.

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