The onus for fair allocation and affordable prices will still rest with footballing

The onus for fair allocation and affordable prices will still rest with footballing bodies, he added.For France 98, the organising committee (CFO) reserved around 60 per of tickets for French citizens. The only way that third parties will officially be allowed to trade in tickets, a spokesman said, is if a national association sanctions a tour operator to market its allocation of tickets. “But there’s still this problem that every ticket going into corporate hands, which will be nearly 20 per cent, doesn’t go to a genuine fan.”According to the Euro 2000 organisers, security is a major priority and every ticket will be printed with the name of the buyer to deter black market trading. As hosts they have both already qualified.A further 32 per cent of tickets (twice the figure allocated for the World Cup) will be divided between fans of the two nations competing in each game. These will be distributed via national associations after the draw for the finals in December.

Nineteen per cent of tickets will go to corporate sponsors and the hospitality market, eight per cent to the media, and the remainder to the world and European governing bodies, Fifa and Uefa.”It’s very pleasing that tickets will be freely available to fans across Europe and that a third will be given to competing countries,” Alison Pilling, the chair of the Football Supporters’ Association, said. If there are more applicants than tickets, the seats – likely to range from around pounds 20 for the cheapest at group games to around pounds 90 for the best places at the final – will be allocated by drawing lots. The organisers expect demand to be high, especially among fans of the Netherlands and Belgium, the only teams whose first-round fixtures have been confirmed. Applications for these 37 per cent of tickets will be accepted for around a month and successful buyers will be notified by 25 June.

Fans will be able to apply for up to two tickets per game via application forms which will be available from national football associations and the organisers. “We are absolutely convinced there will be no repeat of the World Cup situation,” the spokesman said.
Of the 1.2m tickets available for Euro 2000’s 31 matches, 37 per cent will be sold on a Europe-wide basis from the end of March. Outlining how seats will be sold for the tournament – to be co-hosted by the Netherlands and Belgium between 10 June and 2 July next year – a Euro 2000 spokesman said there will be no preferential treatment for the host countries’ fans, that tickets for every game will be freely available across Europe, and that there will be no direct allocation of tickets to profiteering travel agents. AS THE organisers of the Euro 2000 finals yesterday provided details of how they hope to avoid the kind of ticketing fiasco that marred last year’s World Cup in France, their plans were given a cautious welcome by the Football Supporters’ Association. Arthur Gomes is likely to be the new full-back, while two more Stade Francais regulars, Franck Comba and Thomas Lombard, are also in the frame The pack, though, has a familiar look to it.

Only Sylvain Marconnet, the brilliant Stade Francais prop, is threatening to distrupt the status quo.
n Bob Dwyer will shortly sign an extension to his contract with Bristol, the Allied Dunbar Premiership Two leaders, that will see him remain as Director of Rugby until the end of the 2001-02 season.. Emile Ntamack, the Toulouse wing, and Richard Dourthe, the Stade Francais centre, win Five Nations recalls in a 22-man squad. Positively awash with back-line talent, the Tricolores feel able to go into the opening match of the forthcoming tournament in Dublin on 6 February without Jean-Luc Sadourny, Christophe Lamaison, Stephane Glas, Christophe Dominici and Xavier Garbajosa, all of whom were regularly finding their way on to the scoresheet this time last year. JEAN-CLAUDE SKRELA and his fellow French selectors are not resting on the laurels of their 18-try Grand Slam canter through last season’s Five Nations’ Championship.

Natal took a sixth-minute lead through their captain and flanker Craig McIntosh, but the home side fought back and sealed victory with a 70th-minute penalty try.. Two crucial penalty tries secured the win for Caerphilly.Aberavon claimed a deserved 20-14 victory over the Natal Wildebeests which kept alive their qualifying hopes. Bridgend, who beat Romania 44-10 in their opening Trophy match, face the Blue Bulls on Sunday and then Glasgow Caledonians next Wednesday.In Group A, Caerphilly survived a second half rally by Georgia to win 36-17 in front of a sparse crowd. Full-back Gareth Cull, who was replaced at half- time, converted. Falcons edged ahead with a penalty by Du Toit who also converted a 35th-minute try by the No 8 Naas Rossouw. Two Falcons were sent to the sin-bin in the second half, with substitute scrum-half Awie Nel and replacement flanker Rudi Rohrs off the field at the same time.Bridgend had been given a great start with a third-minute try by the right wing Sam Greenaway. The South Africans, still seeking their first success after three matches in the competition, might easily have come away with a draw.Three minutes into injury time the left wing Dawie Du Toit went over in the corner for the Falcons’ second try, but he then failed with his conversion from the touchline.