FRANCE 98 – Communique Template

Two days after sales by telephone opened for individual tickets to residents of the 18 countries in the European Economic Space for first round and round of sixteen matches (except for the Opening match), the French Organising Committee has announced that takers had been found for 35,000 tickets.

7 million calls have been noted on the France Telecom network during this second day of reservations, of which 2 million were made on international lines. To date, two of the 55 matches are already sold out : the Netherlands-Belgium match (Group E), which will be played on 13 June at the Stade de France at Saint-Denis, and the round of sixteen match, which will be played on 27 June at the Parc des Princes in Paris (1A – 2B).

FRANCE 98’s telephone platform, which closed at 8 p.m. this evening, will open again tomorrow morning at 8 a.m. (French time), in order to sell the remaining 75,000 tickets. This platform, which mobilises no fewer than 90 operators, of which 60 handle international calls, will remain open every day until all tickets have been sold.

“We must above all keep an eye on the quality of information we give to our callers, and to the accuracy of all the details we register for each reservation, “ says Isabelle Delaye, Head of ticketing for FRANCE 98. ” For these reasons, the average call lasts approximately 15 minutes. But this is the only direct contact which we will have with our clients, and tickets will be sent out in a few weeks according to this registered information. “

The 60 operators who handle international calls all speak three languages, and have had a total of 2,000 hours of training.

Don’t forget that reservations can only be made by telephone on the numbers given, according to the principle of “first come first served,” with a limit of 4 tickets per person per match, and with an overall limit of of 16 tickets per person.

There are three special numbers to call if you want to make reservations:

Until all the tickets are sold, the telephone platform will be open every day from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. from Wednesday 22 April till Thursday 30 April. From Saturday 2 May, it will open from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., but will be closed on Sundays apart from Sunday 3 May.

Payment for tickets ordered can be made by bank card, or failing this, a certified banker’s cheque (made out in French francs and which must be received by the French Organising Committee no later than 7 days after the order is made). Use of a card (card number) or a bank account is limited to a single order.