Fans set to suffer in 2002

The Yokohama stadium will host the World Cup Final

Now that the long World Cup qualification process is over, thoughts are turning to the tournament itself.

The last major international football event, Euro 2000, was an unbridled success, from both a fan's and football point of view.

And with the international game improving all the time, the 2002 World Cup promises to be even better.

Which bodes well for the fan....or maybe not.

Not because the football itself will not be good, or the stadia magnificent, or the organisation anything less than first-class.

The trophy they will all be fighting for

But because of the simple matter of time zones.

From the parochial point of view of a European fan, the eight-hour time difference could not be much worse.

A game that kicks off at 3.30pm in Japan or South Korea will be hitting UK screens at 7.30am - hardly the ideal time to be down the pub sinking pints with a bunch of mates.

An evening kick-off - say 8.30pm - clocks in at 12.30pm in the UK. Once again, far from ideal for any supporter trying to hold down a job for the duration of the month-long tournament.

Sick notes

This will also be the longest and biggest World Cup in history, beginning on 31 May and not reaching its conclusion until 30 June.

The Media Centre for the 2002 World Cup

Thus we could be faced with a scenario where supporters in Europe - nations who, on past form, could be expected to be involved for a large part of the competition - will have to spend a month dodging work and faking doctors' sick notes.

Although England's first group match against Sweden is on a Sunday morning, their other two first phase encounters against Argentina and Nigeria are both on week days, Friday 7 June and the following Wednesday 12 June.

The sheer distance of the host nations from Europe also means it will be difficult to get around the problem by watching the games in person.

Although tickets for first-round games start at around the £40 mark, making them accessible to most fans, the cost of getting to South Korea and Japan in the first place will deter many from the UK.

Around 800,000 tickets, out of a total of three million, have been made available to the general public outside of the co-host nations.

But with a return ticket from London to Tokyo, economy class, costing around the £1,400 mark with British Airways, it is an option that will be out of many fans' reach.