Malaysian Supporters Flock To Shah Alam Stadium

SHAH ALAM, Aug 28 (Bernama) -- Malaysian football supporters have flocked to ticket counters at the Melawati Stadium, here as early as 10 pm on Sunday night to avoid disappointment in getting tickets to the men’s football final between Malaysia and Thailand on Tuesday night. Thousands of supporters had formed long queues at the ticket counters which were only opened at 11 am to ensure that they did not miss the chance to witness the match for the mother of all medals at the 2017 Kuala Lumpur SEA Games (KL2017). According to a statement from the KL2017 Secretariat, tickets will not be sold online at the 2017 website. Tickets for supporters of the home team are being sold at the Shah Alam Stadium while tickets for the Thailand supporters are sold at the Melawati Stadium. A check by Bernama here found that there were supporters who were prepared to bring their sleeping bags and even mats to sleep at the stadium grounds on Sunday night. A supporter, Hasani Hassan, 28, said he and nine other friends had arrived at the stadium at 2 am on Monday morning. “It’s quite normal for us to sleep at the stadium grounds. Whether it rains or not, I still want to get the ticket to watch the Malaysian match in the final. “As a Malaysian national, I will certainly give strong support (to Malaysia) even if I have to endure long queues,” he told Bernama. Another supporter, Badrul Hisham Abdullah, 25, said he would not miss the opportunity to watch the final match between Malaysia and Thailand. "I was willing to drive from Kuala Lumpur since early this morning merely to buy the ticket for the Malaysian final match as I was made to understand that the tickets would not be sold online. "Yet it would not prevent me from witnessing the final match between Malaysia and Thailand which is a strong opponent for us,” he said. The match begins at 8.45 pm. Earlier, the venue for the men’s football final was scheduled to be held at the Bukit Jalil National Stadium if it involved the Malaysian team. On Sunday, the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) announced in a statement that the Shah Alam Stadium was chosen as the venue for the men’s football final match. Malaysia confirmed its place in the final after edging Indonesia 1-0 in the semifinals on Saturday night while Thailand also advanced after beating Myanmar 1-0 in the other semifinal match. Meanwhile, the deciding match for the bronze medal between Indonesia and Myanmar will be held at the Selayang Municipal Council Stadium at 4.30pm on the same day. -- BERNAMA