Trouble delays Net sale of World Cup tickets

Shintaro Kano Daily Yomiuri Sportswriter

Problems to computer hardware halted Wednesday's start of Internet sales in Japan and South Korea of tickets to the 2002 World Cup.

Officials from the Japan World Cup Organizing Committee (JAWOC) said Thursday they were told by world soccer's governing body FIFA that computers servicing on-line sales in Japan and South Korea crashed, forcing FIFA to announce Wednesday's postponement.

"We regret to have to disappoint so many fans, and we do apologize," JAWOC General Secretary Yasuhiko Endo told reporters at committee headquarters in Tokyo.

Endo said he did not know when the service would be operable. He added, however, that despite the delay, Phase One of domestic sales would run as planned until March 14.

International ticket applications over the Internet started Thursday as planned.

FIFA called off domestic on-line sales in Japan and South Korea just one hour before they were to kick off at midnight Wednesday.

FIFA said in a statement: "The problems...are completely beyond the control of the respective local organizing committees."

Swiss-based ISMM interactive, a subsidiary of FIFA's World Cup marketing partner ISL, had contracted American firm PSInet to handle the hardware side of on-line sales in Japan and South Korea.

A pair of PSInet servers, located at their hosting sites in Amsterdam and Los Angeles, crashed.

JAWOC officials said ISMM interactive has already replaced PSInet with an unnamed service provider, which will conduct tests on its servers in London and Santa Clara, Calif., on Friday and Saturday.

http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/newse/20010216wo51.htm

-- Doris (nocents@bellsouth.net), February 16, 2001