Haya warembo karibuni mjionee kiatu kipya toka u.s.a

On Target: Two Million World Cup Tickets Sold

Fears of poor attendances at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa have been allayed after Fifa announced two thirds of match tickets have already been sold.

Fifa said the latest sales show a surge of interest from South African residents

Two million tickets have now gone, with several matches already oversubscribed.

The sales, announced by Fifa after the third of five phases of ticketing, reflect a surge of interest from South African residents, easing concerns about apathy in the host nation.

Of the 1.2 million applications received in the third ticketing phase, 79% were from South Africans.

"All games of the South African team will be sold out," said Danny Jordaan, the head of the Local Organising Committee.

Of the other 191 nations to apply for tickets, the United States is in the lead with 50,217 applications, followed by England with 41,529.

By contrast there have been relatively low numbers of applications from other leading football nations, including Germany with just 14,647.