SIDELINES : Soccer World Cup a Hot Ticket

More than 2 million tickets have been sold for soccer’s World Cup, but their distribution is being delayed until May 28 to avoid counterfeiting and speculating.

Adriano Botta, a press officer for the World Cup who announced the figure, said the tickets sold represent 88% of the total number that will be available for the tournament starting June 8.

Botta said that ticket allocation has been controlled by a specially designed computer system to ensure that rival fan groups will be not be sitting together.

The system will be put to the test on June 16 when about 10,000 English and 8,000 Dutch fans, considered Europe’s most volatile, will converge on Sardinia for their teams’ match.