Americans  already have bought 93,300 tickets for next year's tournament in South Africa, Danny Jordaan, the the head of the local organising committee, revealed during a visit to New York.

 

Jordaan said: "The interest from United States soccer fans in the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa is simply phenomenal.

 

"It's really heartwarming to see the support here for South Africa and the positive outlook and excitement people have for the first FIFA World Cup in Africa.

 

"There's clearly a great deal of goodwill and we will continue to strengthen and build on our good relationships with the United States."

 

The US, which hosted the World Cup in 1994, is one of 11 countries bidding to host the 2018 or 2022 event and is backed by President Barack Obama.

 

Sunil Gulati, the President of the United States Soccer Federation (USSF), who is heading the country's World Cup bid, said: "It's great to see that United States soccer fans are number one in ticket sales anywhere in the world outside of South Africa.

 

"There have been more United States media applying to cover the 2010 FIFA World Cup than before and more spectators than ever before will be going to the World Cup.

 

"It's great to see the phenomenal interest for what's sure to be a great tournament."

 

Jordaan (pictured) gave a presentation on preparations at the South African Consulate General, and said the 32-nation tournament - the first to be held in Africa - already is proving doubters wrong.

 

He said: "The argument has essentially been twofold.

 

"One, that from a commercial point of view, the African continent will not realise a profitable World Cup or a profitable Olympics, and secondly that from an infrastructure point of view, that no African country will have the infrastructure or the resources and the capacity, the human capacity, to deliver these events."

Jordaan claimed that FIFA has already generated $3.2 billion (£1.9 billion) from its broadcasting and commercial partners, $400 million (£247 million) more than the 2006 World Cup in Germany.

 

Construction is nearing completion at the 10 stadiums in nine cities that will be used for the 64 games.

 

Airports have been upgraded in Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban.
 

Gulati said he could sympathise with South Africa because the US had faced similar problems before the 1994 World Cup.

 

He said: "It was a different convincing in the case of the US.

 

"We had to convince them that people would care, that people would come to games, that the distances weren't too big, that it wasn't going to be too warm in Orlando - we didn't convince them on the last part, by the way."

Fifteen years later, he said the US is not only number one in ticket sales, it is tops in broadcast rights fees.

 

Major League Soccer commissioner Don Garber said last month ABC/ESPN and Univision will be paying FIFA a combined $325 million (£200 million) for English and Spanish US television rights to the 2010 and 2014 tournaments.

 

The US is one of nine bidders for the 2018 World Cup, which England are the favourites to be awarded.

 

Other bidders are Australia, India, Japan, Mexico, Russia and joint bids from Belgium and Holland and Spain and Portugal.

 

Qatar and South Korea are bidding just for the 2022 World Cup.

 

FIFA is due to choose the venue for both tournaments at a meeting in December 2010.