CHAN 2014 tickets to go on sale 29 November

Local Organising Committee (LOC) CEO Mvuzo Mbebe told a media briefing on Friday, 22 Novemerber, that the tickets will be available at Shoprite, Checkers and all Computicket outlets countrywide.

The tournament kicks off on 11 January 2014, with the final to be played on 1 February. Matches will be played in Cape Town, Mangaung and Polokwane.

"We have applied the principle of a multi-phased discount system for those early birds who are eager to secure themselves the front seat to what we believe will be a spectacular tournament where we celebrate Africa's Home Champions.

"We hope you will grab this opportunity and get those tickets as they go on sale on 29 November," Mbebe said in Pretoria.

Today marks the 50-day countdown to the kick-off of the tournament, which will see 16 countries vying for the trophy.

They are Burkina Faso, Burundi, Congo-Brazzaville, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Mozambique, Nigeria, Uganda, Zimbabwe and the host nation South Africa.

The CHAN 2014 is an official Confederation of African Football tournament. The playing format is similar to the Afcon 2013 structure with a 16-team format and a total of 32 matches to be played.

Presenting the ticketing structure, Mbebe explained that the tickets will be sold in three discount phases, varying from up 20% discount for the 1st Phase, and up 15% and 10% for 2nd and 3rd phases, respectively.

Category three tickets will not be discounted, except for the opening and closing ceremonies.

The ticket price, Mbebe said, will revert to the standard ticketing structure after the end of the 3rd phase of the discount period on 22 January 2014.

Phase two will kick off on 6 January to 18 January - which will be for those looking for quarter finals, semi-final and final tickets, without knowing which teams finish 1st and 2nd in each group and who is likely to proceed to the next round.

Phase three will run from 19 January to 22 January - which will be for those looking for tickets after knowing which team is in the top eight for the semi-final and final match, including the 3rd and 4th play-off.

Tournament preparations on track

Mbebe stressed the need for soccer fans to make use of the discounted ticket phases, especially because the tournament starts right after the festive season and at a time when learners go back to school. This will impact on the disposable income of those eager to be part of Africa's soccer spectacular.

He said the LOC had decided to lower the ticketing structure to make it more affordable to a larger number of soccer-loving fans, especially since the tournament is after the festive season and at start of the academic year.

They had partnered with Computicket as it provides a wider reach in the host cities and can be accessed by football fans from neighbouring countries such as Botswana, Lesotho and Namibia where there are outlets. Security features at Computicket have been beefed up to minimise fraud.

The LOC hoped that football-loving fans will buy tickets and fill the stadiums, said Mbebe.

With regards to preparations, he said they were on track. In July, they launched the volunteer programme and in September, they drew the 16 teams who will participate. In October, they raised the flags of the participating member associations.

This month they are focusing their efforts on marketing, raising awareness and generating excitement about the tournament.

Group A and B matches are set to be contested at the Cape Town and Athlone Stadiums respectively, while Group C and D will battle it out at the Free State Stadium and New Peter Mokaba Stadium respectively.

South Africa were drawn to face Mozambique in the opening match of the tournament, with Nigeria and Mali completing a tough group A.