The Japanese World Cup Organizing Committee on Friday announced it will launch the third and final round of ticket sales for residents in Japan by phone on March 22.
But those wishing to purchase tickets have to go through a pre-registration draw before they can actually apply for a ticket. All application procedures will be done by phone.
Pre-registration can be done by calling 0570-09-9990 or #9990 (for mobile phones) between noon on March 22 and 11:59 p.m. on April 7. It's a round-the-clock voice message service available in both English and Japanese.
A draw by computer will be held to decide the applicants and the results will be posted on the numbers listed above from April 14 (noon) till April 18 (23:59).
At that time, the successful applicants will be invited to follow certain procedures in order to apply for tickets, which includes an advance payment. The draw to determine the successful purchasers will be held at the end of April. Those results will be sent out by post.
For details, call JAWOC Ticket Center at (03) 3287-1199 from Monday through Friday or 0180-993-531 (24-hour voice-message service).
Tickets to be sold this time around are those that are left over from domestic and overseas sales. FIFA will inform JAWOC of the number of available tickets by the end of April, though it is thought to be around 100,000 tickets.
If there are any tickets left over after the third round of sales, residents in Japan can purchase the remaining tickets for the games to be played in South Korea from May 1 -- and then for the games to be staged in Japan from May 15 -- through the Internet (www.FIFA-tickets.com).
More information on last-minute sales is expected to be announced by the end of April.