Burton, who was capped 17 times by England, now runs one of Britain's most successful and high-profile hospitality companies and his clients include Wimbledon, the Rugby Football Union and Ryder Cup.

He has been appointed as the "Official Prestige  Ticketing Distributor" for London 2012 after linking up with Sodexo, a French catering company and which is one of the largest food services and facilities management companies in the world.

JetSet Sports, who are based in New Jersey and who have been involved with the Olympics since Los Angeles in 1984,  have been appointed to sell premium packages to overseas clients.

Mike Burton will receive 70,000 tickets to distribute while JetSet will have 60,000.

Both deals have attracted controversy because of fears that the deal means that corporate customers will gain an advantage over the general public in applying for tickets to the 26 sports that will make up London 2012.

But London 2012 claim that the number of tickets that the two companies will receive represent less than one per cent of the 9.2 million tickets that will be available.

They also reject suggestions that the companies will have preferential access to the most sought-after tickets, for events like the opening ceremony and the men's 100 metres final, and that many of the tickets they will have will be for less popular sports such as canoeing, handball and wrestling.

It is understood that the majority of packages that Burton will offer will be to the football tournament - which is due to be played at stadiums around Britain - and to events like basketball and gymnastics at the O2 Arena, where there are already top-class facilities for corporate hospitality.

London 2012 have also fiercely denied that JetSet have been able to stockpile tickets for the top events.

Part of the controversy surrounding JetSet is connected to the fact the company's founder and owner, Yugoslav-born multi-millionaire Sead Dizdarevic, was implicated in the Salt Lake City bribery scandal that split the Olympic Movement in 1999.

Dizdarevic has since built JetSet into the biggest hospitality company associated with the Olympics.

They are a sponsor of the United States Olympic Committee and also have close relationships with the National Olympic Committees in Australia, Austria, Bulgaria, Canada, and Sweden.

A spokeswoman for London 2012 told insidethegames: "Jet Set is the authorised international ticketing/travel distributor, and the Mike Burton/Sodexo consortium is the authorised prestige ticketing/hospitality distributor in the UK, following a competitive tender last year.

"No tickets will go on sale via Jet Set, Mike Burton, or anyone else, before 2011, when the London 2012 ticket sale commences."

Contact the writer of this story at [email protected]


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