Pretoria – Soccer fans will be offered sizeable discounts for the African Nations Championship (Chan) tournament if they buy their tickets early, Local Organising Committee (LOC) chief executive Mvuzo Mbebe said on Friday.
“Twenty percent discounts will be applicable for the first phase of sales,” Mbebe said.
“Up to 15 percent will then be applicable for the second phase. If we discount the prices, it is an incentive to buy early.”
Tickets for the first phase of release would go on sale from November 29, with the cheapest tickets selling for as little as R40.
The 20 percent discount was available until January 5 and Mbebe was confident supporters would embrace the initiative in order for them to qualify for cheaper tickets.
The tournament, which gets underway on January 11, with Cape Town, Mangaung, and Polokwane hosting the event.
South Africa successfully hosted the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) tournament earlier this year, and the LOC were determined to make next year's event as successful as the Afcon spectacle.
“The main thing for us, is to maintain the high standard that we set for Afcon,” Mbebe said.
“We'll ensure full stadiums and good attendances... which we achieved during Afcon.
“It will ensure the football brand in Africa is enhanced. It's critical that this tournament is sustainable on it's own and we hope the ticket system will aid in that.”
Mbebe said ticket prices were based on a number of factors, including the timing of the event, which followed shortly after the festive period.
“We looked at what worked and what didn't work at Afcon and we fixed those things.
“We had to look at the affordability of our ticket prices. We are very conscious of this tournament coming just after Christmas.
“People are in the process of paying off bills and paying for their children to go to school.”
South Africa were drawn to face Mozambique in the opening match of the tournament, with Nigeria and Mali completing a tough group A.
Three tiers of tickets were available, with 'category 1' tickets the most expensive, selling for R70 during the group stages and increasing to R200 for the opening ceremony and the final.
The Chan tournament, administered by the Confederation of African Football (Caf), was established in 2007 and first contested in 2009. It would be contested between the top 16 national teams in Africa.
Teams had to qualify for the event and could only comprise players active in their local leagues. Players who played outside of their own national leagues, regardless of where, did not qualify to take part in the competition. – Sapa