Philips ticket technology opens the doors of the FIFA World Cup

RFID ticketing enables the maximum football fan experience across Germany
 
The worlds greatest football tournament the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany is shaping up to be the best yet with 32 of the greatest national teams battling for the Fifa World Cup Trophy. To ensure football fans can concentrate on the game when attending one of the 12 official FIFA World Cup venues, Fifa has partnered with Philips to provide the latest in ticketing technology.
 
The World Cups opening ceremony and initial games have been great spectacles for fans the world over.  At the same time RFID is proving itself to be the ideal leading technology for stadium management at global events such as this. Supporters at stadia from the Allianz Arena in Munich to the Zentralstadion in Leipzig, have all used Philips technology in their tickets to ensure safe and easy entry to matches as they will do for the entire tournament. 
 
The chipped paper tickets get scanned on arrival at the venue gates providing secure and fast access to all World Cup stadia. They also provide a barrier to illegally traded and counterfeit tickets through new authentication techniques. All 3.2 million World Cup tickets use RFID technology to ensure only genuine ticket holders get access to the games
 
Philips MIFARE smart card technology is behind the developments in event management. One of the key security features of MIFARE enabled ticketing is that if valid tickets are lost, stolen or traded illegally, they have no commercial value. Each ticket can be identified and traced back to the rightful owner using ticketing gate technology; this means only approved ticket holders can gain access to World Cup matches.
 
 The use of Philips technology has eased the complexities linked to ticketing, such as counterfeiting, and the misallocation of tickets to individuals banned from the tournament. The technology ensures even if tickets are lost or stolen before the event, they can be cancelled and re-issued to the approved owner. Employing smart card technology is something that global sporting events should be considering to optimise fan services, which is the key objective in staging the FIFA World Cup said Horst R. Schmidt, Senior Vice-President OC 2006 FIFA World Cup.
 
Philips MIFARE technology is being used at the World Cup for ticketing to help ensure fans have the best possible experience, stated Marc de Jong, executive vice president and general manager, Philips Semiconductors. They can buy tickets, enter the venue, and then access various services via their RFID enabled ticket such as parking, lockers, public transport, refreshments and even merchandise. Its easy to use and makes the total experience more enjoyable for the consumer, which is what all truly advanced technologies should deliver.
 
The World Cup stadia in Germany equipped with the MIFARE contactless ticketing infrastructure will benefit from the reliability and robustness of the solution, which complies to ISO 14443 -the international standard for contactless smart cards and readers. The football clubs located at the 12 World Cup venues can, in the future, offer the convenience of contactless ticketing to their fans.
 
With over 600 million MIFARE -based cards issued and over five million readers installed, MIFARE is the industry standard for contactless interface technology.