International   

Free ride for the rich and famous

Steven Morris and Andrew Culf

London: It has become a familiar and depressing scene. As a World Cup game nears kick-off, desperate fans become ever more willing to shell out huge amounts of money for tickets from touts.

Meanwhile, not far away but separated carefully behind steel and glass, pop stars mingle with politicians and writers rub shoulders with media bigwigs in the hospitality areas.

As the newly penniless ordinary fan waits for the game to begin he or she can indulge in spotting the stars, almost always there thanks to the largesse of some sponsor or corporation.

The England stand-in cricket captain, Andrew Flintoff, and fast bowler Steve Harmison were at England's opening game as guests of the BBC.

The leader of the UK's Conservative party, David Cameron, enjoyed the game against Sweden courtesy of a TV station. British finance minister Gordon Brown was hobnobbing in the comfy seats at the same game as the guest of his German counterpart, Peer Steinbrueck.

Salman Rushdie watched the match (in the cup holder's colours) with a Brazilian publisher.

There is also a plethora of chief executives, star salesmen, marketing gurus and advertising whizzkids who have got hold of the laminated passes which allow access to hospitality suites.

Of the three million tickets for the World Cup, about a third ended up with sponsors and corporate hospitality. FIFA's 15 "partners" and six suppliers received almost half a million tickets while hospitality hoovered up another 350,000. Once the football associations and FIFA have taken a generous share, much of which goes to officials (the English FA fills three coaches) and to politicians, there is less than 10 per cent for England fans. —

© Guardian Newspapers Limited 2006

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

149 Taliban militants killed
Prachanda proposes merger of Maoist army with Nepal Army
U.S. warns of terror cells
Communist Party undergoes reforms
Al-Qaeda steps up propaganda war
Vietnamese Prime Minister to resign
Police "ignored'' 7/7 warning
Death toll soars after repeal of helmet law
Free ride for the rich and famous
Kanishka victims: memorial coming up
Manmohan's efforts lauded

Copyright © 2006, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu