FFA Urges Fans To Pre-purchase Tickets

Football Federation Australia today urged fans to buy their tickets early ahead of Saturday's Powerade Series match between the Socceroos and the Solomon Islands at Aussie Stadium.

Football Federation Australia today urged fans to buy their tickets early ahead of Saturday's Powerade Series match between the Socceroos and the Solomon Islands at Aussie Stadium.   With a massive walk-up of fans turning out at the same venue yesterday just prior to kick-off to see Sydney FC v Melbourne Victory, FFA CEO Mr. John O'Neill advised that fans should get their tickets from Ticketek as soon as possible to avoid lengthy delays.   With the chance to advance to the next round of FIFA World Cup 2006 qualifying up for grabs the FFA is hoping to avoid similar scenes to yesterday where over 10,000 fans arrived at the ground having not pre-purchased a ticket, forcing some supporters to miss the start of the match.   "The very clear message that we want to send to the fans is to get in and buy your tickets now," said Mr. O'Neill.   "Last year we played the Solomon Islands at the same venue and there was a big walk-up crowd which delayed people getting into the venue."   "Those that have their tickets in advance can walk straight up to the turnstiles and go in."   FFA also urged fans to plan their trip to Aussie Stadium in advance and to use public transport.   With the squad due to arrive over the next couple of days two changes have been made with injury ruling out Craig Moore (hamstring) and Harry Kewell (hernia).    It was hoped that Kewell would have recovered from injury in time to make his return to football with Australia but a discussion between Socceroos Head Coach Guus Hiddink and Liverpool Manager Rafael Benitez resulted in agreement that in the best interests of the player he remain in England.   Michael Thwaite who plays his club football in Romania has been added while Queensland Roar's Alex Brosque who scored a spectacular goal in their 2-0 win over New Zealand Knights yesterday has been added to the train-on squad.   Socceroos SQUAD FOR POWERADE SERIES MATCHES V SOLOMON ISLANDS   John Aloisi (Alaves, Spain), Marco Bresciano (Parma, Italy), Tim Cahill (Everton, England), Scott Chipperfield (Basel, Switzerland), Jason Culina (Twente Enschede, Holland), Ahmad Elrich (Fulham, England), Brett Emerton (Blackburn Rovers, England), Vince Grella (Parma, Italy), Zeljko Kalac (AC Milan, Italy), Stan Lazaridis (Birmingham, England), Jon McKain (Politechnica AEK Timisoara, Romania), Lucas Neill (Blackburn Rovers, England), Sasho Petrovski (Sydney FC, Australia), Tony Popovic (Crystal Palace, England), Mark Schwarzer (Middlesbrough, England), Josip Skoko (Wigan, England), Archie Thompson (Melbourne Victory, Australia), Michael Thwaite (FC National, Romania), Tony Vidmar (NAC Breda, Holland), Mark Viduka (Middlesbrough, England), Luke Wilkshire (Bristol City, England)   Plus: Train-on squad members - Michael Beauchamp (Central Coast Mariners, Australia), Clint Bolton (Sydney FC, Australia), Alex Brosque (Queensland Roar), Simon Colosimo (Perth Glory, Australia), Iain Fyfe (Sydney FC, Australia), Jade North (Newcastle Jets, Australia)    MATCH DETAILS Australia v Solomon Islands Powerade Series Match Saturday 3 September 2005 Aussie Stadium, Sydney

On sale now     Category Category A Category B Category C Adult $60.00 $45.00 $25.00 Pensioner * N/A $22.50 $12.50 Student ** N/A $22.50 $12.50 Child *** N/A $22.50 $12.50 Family **** N/A $90.00 $50.00   * Pensioner - Aged,TPI (valid ID cards) including seniors cards      ** Student - Full time secondary and tertiary students (valid ID required) *** Child - Children 4 - 16 years inclusive (children 3 years and under will be admitted free but no seat provided) **** Family - 2 Adults and 2 Children   Ticket prices include GST and booking fees.  A transaction fee of $7.95 will apply to all bookings including internet and call centres.   Wheelchair access bookings can be made by calling (02) 8736 2770 Monday to Friday between 10am - 4pm.   Ticket Sales Platforms   Platform   Details Website Internet- Ticketek www.ticketek.com.au Phone Ticketek Call Centre 132 849 Agencies Ticketek Agencies Locations detailed at www.ticketek.com.au Stadium Box Office Match Day Only   Public Transport Enquiries   Please direct any public transport enquiries to 131500 or www.131500.com.au