AFF Cup 2010 Indonesia Vs Philippines Football Frenzy Grips Jakarta. Jakarta. With the popularity of the national football team skyrocketing in recent weeks, tickets for its two semifinal matches against the Philippines have been selling like hot cakes.
A mad rush for football match tickets is not unusual at the Gelora Bung Karno stadium in Senayan, South Jakarta. But on Tuesday, instead of the usual scrambling, buyers patiently queued for hundreds of meters from early in the morning to be able to see the national team play in the semifinal matches to be held on Thursday and Sunday.
To prevent the mad rush, organizers opened ticket sales on Monday and implemented a new ticketing system where only receipts are provided.
The actual tickets could only be redeemed six hours before the match.
The tickets are also barcoded.
VVIP and VIP tickets for Thursday's match sold out almost instantly on Monday despite their higher-than-usual prices.
Organizers said they needed funds to help pay for having to host both legs of the semifinal series of the Asean Football Federation’s Suzuki Cup.
The popularity of the national team has soared after it brought an end to years of frustration, scoring three successive convincing wins over its opponents during the group stage.
Adit, 20, who also came with a friend, queued for two and a half hours but could only get tribune seats for Thursday. The pair queued again to get better seats for the Sunday match.
“The counter for Sunday's tickets is supposed to open at 2 p.m., but people were already here since 10 a.m. so they opened it earlier,” Adit said.
For Ari,who came with his two children from Condet, East Jakarta, queuing for Thursday’s match was no longer an option.
“The lines for the Thursday match was crazy. That’s why I’m queueing here. My kids are nagging me all the time,” said Ari, who opted to buy tickets for the Sunday match.
He said he had to seek permission to skip work to be able to buy tickets.
Dani, 27, his face beaming with satisfaction, showed the receipts for 12 tickets and several VIP seats he managed to buy for Sunday.
“My son and his friends who are in elementary school won a football tournament, and this is their prize,” he smiled.
Dani opted to go straight for Sunday’s match as, “It's a holiday and the kids don't have to go to school.”
He said he was told VIP tickets for Sunday were limited as organizers were reserving seats for security reasons.
President Bambang Yudhoyono may arrive and watch the match live.
Wahyu, 30, had to skip work for days to be able to watch the match on Thursday. He came all the way from Lombok.
“But it doesn't matter. Football is about togetherness, even if you have strangers on your left and right,” he said.
Peter, 32, was queueing to buy 20 tickets for his friends at the Bayern Munich fan club.
“We're buying the third-class seats because it’s where the party is. People go wild back there with cheering, jumping and hugging, unlike those sitting at the VIP,” he said.
About 72,000 tickets were printed for each match. Tickets cost Rp 50,000 to Rp 500,000 ($55).Tickets for previous games were sold at Rp 25,000 to Rp 250,000.
In addition to booths at Gelora Bung Karno, tickets can also be purchased from private ticket office Raja Karcis in Manggarai, East Jakarta, and a limited number are sold online at www.ticketsas.com.
AFF Cup 2010, Indonesia Vs Philippines, Football Cup, Ticket Prices, Aff 2010 Match Schedule, Semifinal AFF Suzuki Cup 2010
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