With demand for FIFA 2010 World Cup tickets reaching fever pitch in South Africa, where the decision was taken to sell tickets for cash over the counter as of last Thursday, a man has reportedly died while waiting in the queue in Cape Town.

The 64 year old man, who as yet has not been named, is reported to have suffered what appeared to be a seizure while standing in line to get his hands on match tickets. The pensioner, who was placed 565th in the line for tickets when he was taken ill, is suspected to have had a heart attack.

People had been queuing for many hours in the sun to purchase the tickets, which included tickets for the World Cup Final itself, which takes place on July 11th.

South Africans have welcomed the decision to make tickets available from outlets such as supermarkets and malls. Previously, it had only been possible to buy tickets over the internet or via a balloting system, which made it difficult or impossible for fans who did not have credit cards or online facilities to use. Generally, football supporters in South Africa are used to getting tickets for cash on the gate on match days, so this new more accessible policy has had the effect FIFA were hoping for of boosting ticket sales to a massive degree. Sales had been somewhat disappointing via the original channels.

Many fans queued overnight waiting for tickets to become available at each of the 11 ticket sales centres across the country. Those who wish to buy tickets are required to produce proof of their identity and also proof of address. South Africans are being given priority, with 120,000 out of 500,000 of the available tickets being in the special “Category Four”, which is reserved for local residents only and on sale at a reduced price. These tickets, which work out at around £13, are the cheapest that have been available for a World Cup Finals tournament in many years, the intention being to ensure local people buy in to the event.

The atmosphere in the ticket queues has not necessarily been as festive as organizers may have hoped, unfortunately. As well as the aforementioned incident, police have had to get involved where scuffles have broken out as fans become frustrated standing in the seemingly endless lines for hours on end. Computer problems in the ticket issuing offices at some sales centres exacerbated problems by slowing down the process, making people yet more agitated.

At one ticketing centre at the Brooklyn Mall in Pretoria, police had to resort to using pepper spray to bring the crowd back under control. Skirmishes kept breaking out in the line, and police felt this was a necessary measure to restore order.

Fans interviewed by the press have likened to queues to those for the 1994 elections, where South Africans queued to vote for Nelson Mandela.