Saturday, December 27, 2008
Vietnamese rush for final tickets
Fans face AFF Suzuki Cup final ticket crunch
Thousands of fans have run into difficulty trying to buy tickets for tomorrow’s Vietnam-Thailand clash in the second leg of the 2008 ASEAN Football Federation Suzuki Cup final in Hanoi.
The ticket prices have been increasing every hour and it is very likely they will be sold out before the match.
On Wednesday, Vietnam Football Development Joint Stock Company (VFD) sold 15,000 tickets at My Dinh Stadium to fans who had been queuing in Hanoi’s chilly weather. The next day, ticket scalpers were out in force at My Dinh and Hang Day stadiums as well as on websites and internet forums.
Friday, the ticket office at Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) headquarters at 18 Le Van Phuc Street in Hanoi – the last official ticket outlet – opened.
During the day, the VFF sold tickets to agencies and fans who had booked the tickets through www.aleale.com.vn.
Though there were barriers and security guards, fans fought their way to the fifth floor of VFF headquarters to buy tickets.
“When I was climbing up with the crowd, I felt the staircase shaking. I was afraid it would collapse, so I came back down,” said Phuc Thinh Company employee Tran Quoc Viet, who was still breathing hard.
“I think VFF should check and let those fans with letters come up to the office to buy tickets in an orderly fashion,” Viet said. “It would be safe and save a lot of time.”
However, few fans were able buy tickets when they reached the ticket office.
NCS Company software expert Pham Thi Anh Ngoc said she had a hard time accessing www.aleale.com.vn and was only able to book two tickets.
She said she could access the website at 6:30 a.m. and four minutes later it announced the tickets had sold out.
An estimated 30,000 tickets have been sold so far, with fans getting about half of the tickets.
The remaining tickets have been snapped up by scalpers.
At My Dinh Stadium, tickets were being offered at around VND2-3 million (US$115-172) for two tickets, depending on seating. The face value of the most expensive ticket is VND300,000 ($17.2).
A ticket tout said, “These tickets are complimentaries as well as tickets booked via agencies and over the internet. Today, I am selling them at a bargain because I need to get some cash.”
He said the tickets would be much more expensive today and tomorrow.
Some people who secured tickets are reselling them at cheaper rates than scalpers, but finding these people is difficult. Tickets are also available on websites such as webtretho.com, vatgia.com and muare.com.
Reported by Hong Minh-Le Tung-Phan Hau
Thousands of fans have run into difficulty trying to buy tickets for tomorrow’s Vietnam-Thailand clash in the second leg of the 2008 ASEAN Football Federation Suzuki Cup final in Hanoi.
The ticket prices have been increasing every hour and it is very likely they will be sold out before the match.
On Wednesday, Vietnam Football Development Joint Stock Company (VFD) sold 15,000 tickets at My Dinh Stadium to fans who had been queuing in Hanoi’s chilly weather. The next day, ticket scalpers were out in force at My Dinh and Hang Day stadiums as well as on websites and internet forums.
Friday, the ticket office at Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) headquarters at 18 Le Van Phuc Street in Hanoi – the last official ticket outlet – opened.
During the day, the VFF sold tickets to agencies and fans who had booked the tickets through www.aleale.com.vn.
Though there were barriers and security guards, fans fought their way to the fifth floor of VFF headquarters to buy tickets.
“When I was climbing up with the crowd, I felt the staircase shaking. I was afraid it would collapse, so I came back down,” said Phuc Thinh Company employee Tran Quoc Viet, who was still breathing hard.
“I think VFF should check and let those fans with letters come up to the office to buy tickets in an orderly fashion,” Viet said. “It would be safe and save a lot of time.”
However, few fans were able buy tickets when they reached the ticket office.
NCS Company software expert Pham Thi Anh Ngoc said she had a hard time accessing www.aleale.com.vn and was only able to book two tickets.
She said she could access the website at 6:30 a.m. and four minutes later it announced the tickets had sold out.
An estimated 30,000 tickets have been sold so far, with fans getting about half of the tickets.
The remaining tickets have been snapped up by scalpers.
At My Dinh Stadium, tickets were being offered at around VND2-3 million (US$115-172) for two tickets, depending on seating. The face value of the most expensive ticket is VND300,000 ($17.2).
A ticket tout said, “These tickets are complimentaries as well as tickets booked via agencies and over the internet. Today, I am selling them at a bargain because I need to get some cash.”
He said the tickets would be much more expensive today and tomorrow.
Some people who secured tickets are reselling them at cheaper rates than scalpers, but finding these people is difficult. Tickets are also available on websites such as webtretho.com, vatgia.com and muare.com.
Reported by Hong Minh-Le Tung-Phan Hau
# posted by Me @ 5:54 PM 
