The Japanese organizing committee for the 2002 World Cup (JAWOC) is struggling to raise donations, having received less than 20 percent of what was projected in its revenue plan.
JAWOC general secretary Yasuhiko Endo told reporters Friday that the committee has received donations worth 710 million yen, compared with the goal of raising 4.1 billion yen for the May 31-June 30 tournament Japan will host jointly with South Korea.
"It's uncertain whether we can attain that goal. I've heard our bureau chiefs have headaches raising the money in the current economic situa btion but we'll have to step up our efforts," Endo said.
JAWOC aims to raise 100 million yen in donations at each of its regional branches located in the 10 municipalities which will host World Cup matches this summer.
Endo also revealed that soccer's world governing body FIFA recently notified JAWOC that World Cup tickets allocated to official sponsors through overseas sales are still available.
Endo expressed hope that tickets that remain unsold outside Japan will be re-distributed to the Japanese market, a move that would boost JAWOC's revenues.
JAWOC had earlier expected that about 10 percent of the tickets put on sale overseas would be left unsold, causing a decrease in revenue by about 1.1 billion yen.