MAD, MAD RUSH FOR TICKETS

Disregarding the weather here in Hanoi which is around 16 degrees Celcius during the day and around 10 degrees Celcius at night, several thousands have already started the queue in anticipation of the big game tomorrow night.

Vietnam will take on Thailand in the first leg, semi-finals of the Asean Football Championship at the My Dinh Stadium before the return tie in Bangkok in four days.

The presence of police officers in and around the stadium has ensured that the rush to buy tickets does not escalate into an unruly mob where they have ensured that things do not get out of hand.

Queues have been maintained in an orderly manner with police officers making sure that fans maintain their double-file lines and that there are no occasions for misbehaving.

Tickets at the 40,000 capacity My Dinh Stadium have been priced at VND100,000 (around USD 7) for the grandstand and VND 80,000 (USD 5) and VND 60,000 (USD 4) for the terraces.

However, due to the tremendous amount of interest shown for the Asean Football Championship and to witness the clash between Vietnam and Thailand, it is expected that ticket prices will increase several fold in the black market.

With ticket scalpers expected to get in on the action, the price of a single ticket may never be sold at its original price come match day.

At the Vietnam SEA Games in 2003 when the host was playing Thailand for the men’s gold, the price of a single ticket sky rocketed to USD 100.