Travel from the U.S. is already being finalized, and for the first time corporate partners and their key clients have a one-stop shop for securing hospitality packages tied to the World Cup.

At the same, a trio of tour operators has been authorized by FIFA to offer a variety of World Cup packages to the everyday soccer fan.

For both types of travelers, it'll take big bucks to get to South Africa.

SportsMark Management Group, a San Francisco-based global sports marketing, corporate hospitality and event management company owned by Omnicom, is the exclusive sales agent in the U.S. for 2010 FIFA World Cup matches in South Africa.

In the past, a company that wished to experience the World Cup would have had to contact FIFA's offices in Zurich to put together a package. Following World Cup 2006 in Germany, FIFA allowed companies such as SportsMark to assist corporate sponsors across the globe in using the tournament as a business tool - and to make the process of securing game-day access easier.

That's good news for the corporate partners and sponsors tied to properties managed by Soccer United Marketing (SUM). On November 2, SUM entered into a strategic partnership with SportsMark, opening up World Cup hospitality packages to the executive teams behind the brands that sponsor the Mexican national soccer team, Major League Soccer and its clubs, first-division Mexican club Chivas de Guadalajara and Spanish League champion FC Barcelona.

Keith Bruce, president of SportsMark, believes hosting key clients on a global stage can present a company with big business opportunities. For instance, SUM clients that sponsor the Mexican national team in the U.S. - including Coca-Cola, The Home Depot, AT&T, NAPA Auto Parts and McDonald's - could use a trip to South Africa as an opportunity to develop and strengthen business relationships, he suggests.

As deep-pocketed corporations consider four-digit deals as a way to build client relationships, Joe Sportsfan may be in for some sticker shock when putting together a travel plan.

According to Travelocity, air travel from Los Angeles to Cape Town in June 2010 is already a whopping $3,800. Flights from LAX to Johannesburg are $3,300. Flights from Atlanta and New York, where one can fly to Johannesburg nonstop, aren't much cheaper.

Once in South Africa, it doesn't get much better. Cartan Tours, along with Great Atlantic Travel & Tour and Destination South Africa, are the three FIFA-sanctioned tour operators in the U.S. able to sell World Cup packages. Cartan has a package for fans of the Mexican national team that includes a game-day ticket, parking, food and beverage and pre- and post-game hospitality. The cost: $950.

Diana Imhoff, vice president of World Cup business for Cartan, says business is picking up and will only continue to increase - thanks to the qualification of both the Mexican and U.S. national teams.

Imhoff considers the price of the ticket package "very reasonable," considering what it includes. At the same time, she realizes that the recession has led many soccer fans to wait on their travel plans or book their travel with an unauthorized agent.

Imhoff strongly cautions against both. During the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, for which Cartan was an official tour operator, unscrupulous third-party vendors sold phony tickets to the opening ceremonies. Others were suckered into pre-paid lodging at fictitious hotels from fake travel agencies.

Booking through an official tour company guarantees a smooth travel experience, Imhoff says. With hotel rooms in South Africa growing scarce, she urges those truly interested in attending the World Cup to proceed now with their plans.

Cartan is getting calls from youth soccer clubs and individuals who wish to go to South Africa; interest from Hispanic travelers is increasing, Imhoff says. While pricing is offered on a per-person basis, there are group incentives. For instance, 20 people who wish to follow the Mexican national team can get one free package, Imhoff says.

Yet Imhoff predicts many travelers will wait until December 4 - the day FIFA announces who will play where - before booking their trip to South Africa. "People are more careful and there's just a lot of caution out there, because of the economic situation we're in," she says. "But with the World Cup draw announcement, people will exhale and say yes to a trip, since this only happens once every four years."

• FIFA made an exception to its own rules to accommodate Hispanic soccer fans who want to travel to South Africa. While the three FIFA-authorized tour operators in the U.S. are required to offer packages built around the U.S. national team, the agencies were granted the flexibility to offer a custom package to fans of any other national team. "FIFA recognizes that we are the melting pot of the world," Imhoff notes. "We are unique."
  
  

FIFA World Cup 2010 At A Glance

• While prices may seem ultra-extravagant, ticket demand from the U.S. has been high. According to FIFA, nearly 74,000 tickets were "awarded" to U.S. residents in a lottery giving them the right to purchase them. Only South Africans were given a greater opportunity to attend 2010 World Cup matches.
• FIFA World Cup 2010 matches will be held between June 11 and July 11, with opening day matches set for Johannesburg's Soccer City and Green Point in Cape Town. Other venues include Johannesburg's Ellis Park, Durban, Mangaung/Bloemfontein, Nelson Mandela Bay/Port Elizabeth, Nelspruit, Polokwane, Rustenburg and Tshwane/Pretoria.
• Univision holds the Spanish-language television rights in the U.S. for both the 2010 and 2014 FIFA World Cup tournaments. The company paid $325 million for the rights.
• Fútbol de Primera network is the exclusive Spanish-language radio broadcaster in the U.S. of World Cup 2010 games. FDP has not publicly revealed how much it paid for the broadcast rights. However, the network reportedly paid $18 million to lock up the 2002 and 2006 World Cup broadcast rights.