With the 2010 World Cup set to start in South Africa in less than 500 days the Chairman of the Local Organising Committee (LOC), Irvin Khoza, is calling for more excitement throughout South Africa.

"The challenge is that not everybody has internalised the magnitude of this event," Khoza, said on a radio interview to mark 500 days to go to the event earlier this week.

"This World Cup should not be World Cup of Irvin Khoza, Danny Jordaan (CEO of the LOC), the LOC and the board. It is a World Cup for 45 million South Africans. It is important that we embrace this World Cup because it is our World Cup," he said.

500 days is not long and every day is a day closer. Next month will help as the category four tickets, the cheapest at the World Cup next year, will go on sale to South African residents.

“Next month the category four tickets — the cheapest for the man in the street costing R140 — go on sale. I know it is more than a year, in fact 16 months, before the event, but the old attitude of fans of rocking up two hours before kick-off and buying a ticket will not happen. All tickets will be sold well in advance, especially for Bafana matches.” said Danny Jordaan, CEO of the LOC this week.

Tickets going on sale now will help create that feeling the the LOC are looking for and if there was any advice we could give to South Africans wanting to go to any of the matches, it would be to buy the tickets as early as possible. You won't get them on match day.