World Cup organizers say 500,000 tickets are unsold, creating fear there will be "tragic" empty stadiums at soccer's showcase event, which opens June 11.

FIFA said April 9 the tickets would go on sale over the counter to the general public in South Africa starting April 15, giving organizers less than two months to sell nearly a quarter of the total match tickets to avoid empty seats.

Organizers conceded their initial online process was not suited to local fans, who are generally poor, do not have credit cards and are not used to buying tickets on the Internet.

FIFA said 2.2 million tickets had been sold ahead of the fifth and final sales phase. Fans in the host country had bought 925,437, but 120,000 category four tickets, the cheapest and reserved exclusively for South Africans, are still to be sold.

South Africans are being asked to pay $19 for a group game, not including the tournament opener. To watch South Africa play Mexico on June 11 a local supporter will have to pay $67.

Soccer fans in the country rarely pay more than $2 to watch a local game. The average monthly income in South Africa is estimated at just over $372.