South Africa, host of the 2010 World Cup soccer finals, has promised to make the spectacular event low-cost and affordable for all Africans, according to the South African media.

National newspaper This Day said on Monday that South Africa's World Cup committee had proposed the establishment of a new category of tickets, which would mean that the cheapest tickets would cost a mere 120 rand (18 US dollars) for all Africans.

The price reduction translated into a 175 percent discount on the 2002 prices at South Korea and Japan and an almost 90 percent

cut on the cheapest price for Germany 2006,said the report.

Meanwhile, the event would cost between 2.3 billion rand and 2.

6 billion rand (between 348 million dollars and 394 million dollars), about half the cost of the 2002 game, it said.

The cheapest ticket for the 2002 World Cup was 50 dollars and the lowest price for 2006 World Cup would be about 35 dollars.

Danny Jordaan, head of the committee, said ticket prices charged in the 2002 World Cup and those to be charged in Germany were too expensive for African fans and therefore out of the question.

"If the World Cup is to become a world-class African event the key issue would be the affordability of tickets,"Jordaan said, adding that both South Africa and the international soccer governing body FIFA have recognized this.

He said the issue of knocking the prices lower has been put on the table, though formal agreement has yet been reached with FIFA.

"It would not be proper to label the 2010 World Cup an African eventif African spectators were alienated from the event because they would not afford tickets,"Jordaan said.

The official said the soccer spectacular would cost South Africa about half that of the 2002 finals, which was 5.2 billion rand (788 million dollars).

Germany would spend 530 million dollars to host the 2006 finals.

South Africa was granted the right to host the 2010 World Cup by FIFA in May, becoming the first African country to stage the world-class soccer event.