Unlike Portugal, you could be heading to South Africa

*** COMPETITION NOW CLOSED ***

The Spoiler is in possession of a FIFA-branded Sony Ericsson W995 mobile, worth £500. We’re not showing off our fabulous taste in hand held telecommunications though, we’re giving to give it away to one lucky reader.

The lucky so and so who bags the phone will then be entered into a draw for the chance to win a ‘Golden Ticket’ to the FIFA World Cup 2010 in South Africa. That means a pair of tickets to see every single match of your chosen country, plus flights and accommodation.

Sounds good, right? For your chance to win, all you have to do is answer the following question:

Which squad number was Marco Materazzi wearing when Zinedine Zidane headbutted him in the 2006 final?

If you think you know the answer or you have the ability to use Wikipedia, send your name, address, a list of turn-ons and the answer to us here. Actually, keep the turn-ons to yourself.

Latics fans get their money’s worth

Dave Whelan might be a bit of an egomaniac and have an unhealthy obsession with Sir Alex, but he definitely knows how to give supporters value for money. Attention-seeking research by ING Direct has revealed Wigan fans have most reason to smile ‘in the current climate’ after paying out a relative pittance on season tickets to see their team triumph (well, they were fighting for 7th until a few weeks ago) in the Premiership.

Second in the value league are Blackburn, who charge just £200 for their cheaper annual passes. In contrast, some Spurs fans will have shelled out near to £2k for the privilege of watching their beloved team being given a shoeing by Hull, Stoke and West Brom at various points in the season.

Has your team’s performance been worth your hard earned coin this season? Thoughts below and see the list after the jump…

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Will you be helping to crash the FIFA website today?

At 11am GMT, tickets for South Africa’s first World Cup will go on sale. There’s no need to hurry though, as they will not be dished out on a first come, first served basis. Instead, fans must register their interest on the FIFA website, and then wait for the results of a random draw to take place on April 15.

There will be 3 million tickets available for 64 matches, although 120,000 subsidised tickets have been reserved for South African residents, and a further 40,000 will be given to stadium construction workers.

Three categories of tickets will be available, the least expensive of which is $80 USD.

There has been much hype about South Africa’s lack of preparation for the tournament (stadiums not being completed, security fears, infrastructure concerns etc), but we suspect this is media hype that should be taken with a pinch of salt. After all, the press told us how shitty the Beijing Olympics would be for months, and it turned out to be a an unbridled success.

Are you going to try and get tickets? Let us know below.

Gunners hit fans with extra costs

Earlier this week, Portsmouth, Sunderland and Manchester City helped fans struggling in the current economic crisis by announcing lower prices for forthcoming games. Today, Newcastle followed suit by announcing plans to slash season ticket prices, which should help bolster faltering attendances.

At a time when clubs are showing sensitivity to the financial plight of their fans, Arsenal - whose cheapest season ticket is £925 - have decided to lay some extra charges on their fans.

The north London side justify their high prices by including FA Cup and European Cup games on their season tickets, and next week’s match with Roma will be the seventh home cup game of 2008/09 (excluding the League Cup, which isn’t included in the deal). Those who assumed all non-League Cup home cup games were covered by their season tickets, however, are in for a wallet-bashing shock.

A Spoiler reader had forwarded us an email that was circulated to members today, saying they will be automatically charged for the forthcoming FA Cup match with Burnley, and for any other applicable cup matches this season.

The club have actioned a clause buried deep in the terms and conditions, which says only seven Champions League and FA Cup games are covered on the season ticket. Seeing as Arsenal have played exactly seven home FA Cup and European Cup games for the past five seasons, this hidden charge has been met with surprise.

Liverpool captain now charging friends and family for tickets

The current global economic meltdown appears to have had little effect on the wages and lifestyles of the Premier League’s finest, but it appears the wolf is banging a little too hard on the door of Steven Gerrard’s pre-fab mansion.

Liverpool players are entitled to offer matchday tickets to friends and family, but have the cost of them deducted from their weekly wages. Captain Stevie has now decided loved ones must pay for the privilege of watching him at work:

“Stevie has stopped the freebies. His accountant advised him he was forking out. He has now started taking money for match tickets, which in the past have always been on him.

“He was having around £2,000 a fortnight deducted.”

£1,000 a week does sound like an incredible sum to be shelling out for the exclusive benefit of others, but when you consider the fact that this represents 0.8 per cent of his weekly £120,000 cheque, it sounds ever-so-slightly miserly.

[The Sun]

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Enterprising Latics selling tickets at 1,000% mark-up

Wigan chairman Dave Whelan has done all that he can to make sure United have a super comfy stay in Greater Manchester this Sunday. Firstly, he cancelled a mid-week rugby game to make sure the surface was all lovely and smooth. Then, instead of sounding a war cry to his title-hungry opponents, he has told Sky Sports he would be ‘delighted’ to see Steve Bruce take over from Alex Ferguson this summer, should he retire.

Fergie and Whelan already have a solid relationship - the United gaffer was the guest of honour when the JJB opened in 1999, and according to various made up sources, the chairman sometimes lets the red-faced Scotsman tickle his belly like a cat.

Now, the Wigan supporters are doing their bit to bring Alex Ferguson his tenth title. According to The Guardian, Manchester Utd’s 4,928 allocation sold out last month, but Wigan expect as many as 20,000 extra Red Devils to be locked