KUALA LUMPUR: Interest in catching the Malaysian national football team roaring on home ground at the first-leg final of the AFF Suzuki Cup tomorrow reached feverish pitch as all 80,000 tickets were sold out.
Some rejoiced while others pondered if they should have queued earlier yesterday.
There were even those who fainted amid the large crowd that swamped the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil to snag the tickets to watch Harimau Malaya battle Vietnam for the trophy.
The 40,000 tickets which went on sale at the stadium and two shops of sporting goods company Al-Ikhsan in the Klang Valley were gone within hours.
The other 40,000 tickets available online on Friday were sold out by Saturday.
Thousands were seen at the stadium and the shops yesterday, with some gathering there as early as 6pm on Saturday to be the first in line before the ticket counters opened.
Accountant Kelvin Kumar, who was at Sunway Pyramid to purchase tickets from Football Republic at about 7am, rued that he was not among the early birds.
“They only gave out 600 ticket coupons (each coupon entitles the buyer to five tickets). When I arrived, the queue was already very long and we even saw people pitching tents.
“I should have been here earlier. But it’s nice to see the fans coming back to watch Malaysian football,” said the 28-year-old.
Hadi Shahrul Ehsan said he gladly queued since 4am.
“I have been following the team for a long time and I am optimistic about our chances in the final.
“If I get the tickets, it will be great for me and my family,” said the businessman.
Shamalah Suresh Kumar, 28, said the experience was new to her but was disappointed at not getting tickets.
“Looking at the crowd, I guess we just have to watch it on TV.
“I did not expect people to be so passionate about football. This team really unites people,” she said.
Nur Aiman Nurullail, 21, was overjoyed.
“Feeling happy ... like Malaysia has scored a goal,” said the youngster who “jostled” for tickets in front of his computer as early as 8am.
“I had to refresh the page numerous times on three or four computers and after almost an hour, I got the tickets!” he said after redeeming his tickets at the Bukit Jalil stadium.
Yesterday, Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) confirmed on its Facebook page that 80,000 tickets had been snapped up.
The counters were opened at 9.53am and all were gone in about three hours.
Malaysia drew 2-2 with Thailand at the semi-finals but qualified for the final via the away-goal rule.
Vietnam overcame the Philippines with a 4-2 aggregate win to qualify for the two-leg final.
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