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| June 22, 2006 | Thursday | Jumadi-ul-Awwal 25, 1427 |
Dream comes true for UK kids
LONDON, June 21: Hundreds of British schoolchildren whose dreams of going to a World Cup game were shattered by an international ticket scam will now get to see a match, the government said on Wednesday.
FIFA will supply quarter-final tickets to some 350 pupils who were left devastated at the weekend after travelling to Germany, only to find their match tickets did not exist.
The children, aged 11 to 16, and some of their parents paid about £400 ($736.6) each to a UK-based agency and an Internet site for their trip.
Police said the pupils had been stung by a £60,000 ticket fraud and that a woman was arrested on Wednesday.
Sports minister Richard Caborn personally lobbied Sepp Blatter, the president of world soccer's governing body FIFA, while English Premier League chairman Dave Richards also stepped in to ensure the pupils could see a game.
“We were all upset at how devastated the children were when they were turned away from matches after falling victim to a World Cup ticket scam through no fault of their own,” Caborn said on Wednesday.—Reuters
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