THE Local Organising Committee is confident that the remaining 500000 tickets for the 2010 Fifa World Cup will be sold out long before the June 11 kickoff.

THE Local Organising Committee is confident that the remaining 500000 tickets for the 2010 Fifa World Cup will be sold out long before the June 11 kickoff.

This is according to LOC chairperson Irvin Khoza ahead of next Thursday, when over-the-counter ticket sales will start for the first time in the history of the World Cup. South Africans are accustomed to over-the-counter sales.

"We have 500000 tickets remaining for the World Cup but we expect them to be purchased once we start with the over-the-counter sales," Khoza said. "We are slightly better than Germany at this stage in terms of the sale of tickets. Our main aim is to see all the matches played in front of capacity crowds.

"South Africans must show the world that we are passionate about the sport by buying tickets in large numbers as soon as the sales start on April 15. There will be many ticket sales points in most cities throughout the world."

The new sales phase will be launched at Maponya mall in Soweto this morning.