by Adriana Hamacher

OP/ED: From today, South African Trade and Industry Department regulations kick in making it a criminal offence to sell or offer World Cup tickets unless authorised to do so by FIFA. Individuals selling World Cup tickets without FIFA’s  permission face a fine of up to R200,000 (£18,382, €21,486) or a maximum jail term of five years.

The organization's policy states that ticket holders cannot sell, donate, or transfer tickets without FIFA's written approval. The only legitimate way to resell tickets is through FIFA's resale platform. Tickets purchased through illegitimate channels are invalid.    

But how FIFA intend to police this remains to be seen. The authorities are preparing methods to identify unauthorised tickets at the turnstiles. But if the ticket was bought from a FIFA outlet, how does that ticket become a fake when you resell it? What’s more, there is plethora of international websites selling tickets for the World Cup. Will that mean that individuals buying from these websites will have unauthorised tickets? Or will it simply mean that the authorities target the most obvious reseller, the poor Africans standing just outside the gate, hoping to make a quick buck?

Without a doubt, anyone buying World Cup tickets, needs to err on the side of caution, especially if travelling to the event from overseas, but with recent scandals which have afflicted FIFA, it would be judicious to have the same standards applying to all – and that means not just those with access to the internet.