Ticket sales poor for AFF Cup opener

Yawn: Tickets are sold for the ASEAN Football Championship at Ha Noi's Hang Day Stadium. — VNA/VNS Photo Ngoc Truong

HA NOI — Vietnamese fans have been slow to buy tickets for the opening match of the ASEAN Football Federation AFF-Suzuki Cup tomorrow between Viet Nam and Myanmar.

Outlets at Ha Noi's My Dinh and Hang Day stadia sold just 2,500 tickets in three hours on Monday for Group B matches, with demand failing to reach the heights of two years ago when Viet Nam hosted the semi-finals and final.

Most fans asked tickets for the match between Viet Nam and Singapore on December 8, the most anticipated game in the group.

However, most Vietnamese football lovers are waiting for the result of the first game before paying for tickets for the following matches.

"As usual, fans are leaving it late, just one day before the opening match begins. However, what they really want are tickets to the last match in the group between Viet Nam and Singapore," said a ticket buyer, Ngoc Cuong.

"If Viet Nam beat Myanmar, people will rush for tickets," Cuong speculated.

In front of Hang Day Stadium, on Trinh Hoai Duc Street, dozens of touts are offering tickets from VND100,000-VND200,000, just VND20,000 higher than face value.

The AFF has also released ticket prices for the matches between Viet Nam and Singapore and Myanmar and the Philippines from VND50,000-VND150,000 (US$2.5-$7.5) because the two games will take place at the same time at Ha Noi's My Dinh Stadium and Nam Dinh's Thien Truong Stadium on December 8.

"I'll buy my ticket on Wednesday a few hours before the opening match kicks off. It's easy to buy tickets at the moment. Myanmar are not actually as tough as Singapore," said Do Son, a buyer at Hang Day Stadium.

He also said when Thailand play in the same group as Viet Nam, tickets sold like hot cakes because Vietnamese fans loved watching games between the two arch-rivals.

According to Viet Nam Football Development JSC, a ticket distributor, 40,000 tickets have been allocated for each match in Group B that fans can easily pick up from five distributors in Ha Noi. My Dinh and Hang Day are the most popular stadiums among Vietnamese fans, accounting for 40 per cent of the total tickets sold.

Only 25 per cent of tickets have been bought via the internet or message system.

Tickets can be purchased at www.aleale.com.vn.

For the final match between Viet Nam and Thailand two years ago, Vietnamese fans had to fork over up to VND3 million (US$150) to ticket touts – a significant increase on the face value of VND80,000 ($4). — VNS

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Fans hesitate to buy AFF Cup tickets

HA NOI - Vietnamese fans have been slow to buy tickets for the opening match of the ASEAN Football Federation AFF-Suzuki Cup on Thursday between Viet Nam and Myanmar.

Outlets at Ha Noi's My Dinh and Hang Day stadiums sold just 2,500 tickets in three hours on Monday for Group B matches, with demand failing to reach the heights of two years ago when Viet Nam hosted the semi-finals and final.

Most fans were after tickets for the match between Viet Nam and Singapore on December 8, the most anticipated game in the group.

However, most Vietnamese football lovers are waiting for the result of the first game before paying for tickets for the following matches.

"As usual, fans are leaving it late, just one day before the opening match begins. However, what they really want are tickets to the last match in the group between Viet Nam and Singapore," said a ticket buyer, Ngoc Cuong.

"If Viet Nam beat Myanmar, people will rush for tickets," Cuong speculated.

In front of Hang Day Stadium, on Trinh Hoai Duc street, dozens of touts are offering tickets from VND100,000-VND200,000, just VND20,000 higher than face value.

The AFF has also released reduced ticket prices for the matches between Viet Nam and Singapore and Myanmar and the Philippines from VND50,000-VND150,000 because the two games will take place at the same time at Ha Noi's My Dinh Stadium and Nam Dinh's Thien Truong Stadium on December 8.

"I'll buy my ticket on Wednesday a few hours before the opening match kicks off. It's easy to buy tickets at the moment. Myanmar are not actually as tough as Singapore," said Do Son, a buyer at Hang Day Stadium.

He also said when Thailand play in the same group as Viet Nam, tickets sold like hot cakes because Vietnamese fans loved watching games between the two arch-rivals.

According to Viet Nam Football Development JSC, a ticket distributor, 40,000 tickets have been allocated for each match in Group B that fans can easily pick up from five distributors in Ha Noi. My Dinh and Hang Day are the most popular stadiums among Vietnamese fans, accounting for 40 per cent of the total tickets sold.

Only 25 per cent of tickets have been bought via the internet or message system.

Tickets can be purchased at www.aleale.com.vn.

For the final match between Viet Nam and Thailand two years ago, Vietnamese fans had to fork out up to VND3 million (US$150) to ticket touts – a significant increase on the face value of VND80,000 ($4). - VNS

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Hosts Vietnam thrash Myanmar at int’l U21 contest

Hosts Vietnam beat Myanmar 5-1 in their opening match at the fourth edition of the Thanh Nien-sponsored International U21 Football Tournament at HCMC’s Thong Nhat Stadium on Saturday.

The big win has brought the national U21 squad closer to a semifinal berth. There are only three teams in each group and the best two will advance to the semifinals.

However, things were not easy for the hosts as the score suggests. They took the lead after nine minutes, but the Myanmarese players fought back and scored an equalizer 20 minutes later, with Pyaye Phyo pouncing on an opportunity to get one past Vietnamese goalkeeper Thanh Diep.

Stung by the underdogs, the Vietnamese players began applying more pressure on their rival’s defense with fast attacks. These efforts only paid off about midway through the second half when Myanmar started making mistakes.

First, defenders tackled Trong Phi in the penalty area, and Huu Phat scored from the spot to make it 2-1 for Vietnam.

This opened the gate for more scoring chances, three of which were taken.

Speaking after the match, Myanmar’s U21 team coach Than Htike said, “The Vietnamese players were stronger. We tried our best but couldn’t avoid conceding the goals.

“We will try harder in our next game against Thailand to leave a good impression on Vietnamese football fans.”

Vietnam’s U21 team coach Dinh Van Dung praised his players for their performance. “After this win, we will play even better in the clash with Thailand,” Dung said.

At this year’s event, four U21 teams from Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia and Myanmar are competing against Vietnam’s U21 and U19 teams.

In the other group, Singapore and Malaysia fought to a 1-1 draw in their opening match on Saturday.

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Hosts Vietnam thrash Myanmar at int’l U21 contest

Hosts Vietnam beat Myanmar 5-1 in their opening match at the fourth edition of the Thanh Nien-sponsored International U21 Football Tournament at HCMC’s Thong Nhat Stadium on Saturday.

The big win has brought the national U21 squad closer to a semifinal berth. There are only three teams in each group and the best two will advance to the semifinals.

However, things were not easy for the hosts as the score suggests. They took the lead after nine minutes, but the Myanmarese players fought back and scored an equalizer 20 minutes later, with Pyaye Phyo pouncing on an opportunity to get one past Vietnamese goalkeeper Thanh Diep.

Stung by the underdogs, the Vietnamese players began applying more pressure on their rival’s defense with fast attacks. These efforts only paid off about midway through the second half when Myanmar started making mistakes.

First, defenders tackled Trong Phi in the penalty area, and Huu Phat scored from the spot to make it 2-1 for Vietnam.

This opened the gate for more scoring chances, three of which were taken.

Speaking after the match, Myanmar’s U21 team coach Than Htike said, “The Vietnamese players were stronger. We tried our best but couldn’t avoid conceding the goals.

“We will try harder in our next game against Thailand to leave a good impression on Vietnamese football fans.”

Vietnam’s U21 team coach Dinh Van Dung praised his players for their performance. “After this win, we will play even better in the clash with Thailand,” Dung said.

At this year’s event, four U21 teams from Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia and Myanmar are competing against Vietnam’s U21 and U19 teams.

In the other group, Singapore and Malaysia fought to a 1-1 draw in their opening match on Saturday.

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Hosts Vietnam thrash Myanmar at int’l U21 contest

Hosts Vietnam beat Myanmar 5-1 in their opening match at the fourth edition of the Thanh Nien-sponsored International U21 Football Tournament at HCMC’s Thong Nhat Stadium on Saturday.

The big win has brought the national U21 squad closer to a semifinal berth. There are only three teams in each group and the best two will advance to the semifinals.

However, things were not easy for the hosts as the score suggests. They took the lead after nine minutes, but the Myanmarese players fought back and scored an equalizer 20 minutes later, with Pyaye Phyo pouncing on an opportunity to get one past Vietnamese goalkeeper Thanh Diep.

Stung by the underdogs, the Vietnamese players began applying more pressure on their rival’s defense with fast attacks. These efforts only paid off about midway through the second half when Myanmar started making mistakes.

First, defenders tackled Trong Phi in the penalty area, and Huu Phat scored from the spot to make it 2-1 for Vietnam.

This opened the gate for more scoring chances, three of which were taken.

Speaking after the match, Myanmar’s U21 team coach Than Htike said, “The Vietnamese players were stronger. We tried our best but couldn’t avoid conceding the goals.

“We will try harder in our next game against Thailand to leave a good impression on Vietnamese football fans.”

Vietnam’s U21 team coach Dinh Van Dung praised his players for their performance. “After this win, we will play even better in the clash with Thailand,” Dung said.

At this year’s event, four U21 teams from Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia and Myanmar are competing against Vietnam’s U21 and U19 teams.

In the other group, Singapore and Malaysia fought to a 1-1 draw in their opening match on Saturday.

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• Hosts Vietnam thrash Myanmar at int’l U21 contest
• Vietnam Air accepts web check-in for int’l flights
• Ford rewards employee’s technician skills in contest
• Hanoi T&T win first V-League after scoreless draw
• Timeout with a good book