THE just-concluded Airmarine Cup turned out to be a disastrous affair in terms of tickets sales and the national team’s image.
Malaysian fans were outraged over the ticket prices and thus boycotted the tournament.
Tickets were sold at RM35 (normal seats) and RM45 (grandstand) each. The FA of Malaysia (FAM) made a plea to fans, especially those from the Ultras Malaya group, to support the national team via a press release on the eve of the tournament but it failed to convince them.
Malaysia’s 1-0 defeat to Singapore in the knockout tournament on Wednesday attracted only 3,741 fans while Saturday’s 2-1 win over Afghanistan in the third placing game was played in front of only 1,466 supporters in the 90,000-capacity venue.
The figures are embarrassing to FAM and ProEvents (the tournament organiser) as they had expected local fans to pack the stadium, especially for the game against Singapore.
However, it does not mean fans have lost interest. In last year’s AFF Cup, tickets sold out within hours.
FAM must n ow reassess whether to make the Airmarine Cup an annual affair or scrap the tournament.
Ultras Malaya boycotted because tickets were too expensive. This, we can safely say, was a clear sign of protest.
However, FAM did not listen to the fans and did not offer discounted rates.
It is a lesson FAM need to take into consideration when they organise tournaments in the future.
As for the national team, fans expected them to beat their Causeway rivals Singapore and reach the final of the Airmarine Cup.
It was embarrassing to lose to Singapore as their players only gathered for centralised training a day before the tournament while the Malaysians were together for eight days.
The tournament was organised to beef up Malaysia’s ranking ahead of the 2022 World Cup2023 Asian Cup qualifying draw, but instead, it backfired.
World No 167 Malaysia will now play in the qualifying playoff stage while 165th-ranked Singapore, being in the top-35 bracket in Asia, will start their campaign in the second round.
However, we cannot entirely blame coach Tan Cheng Hoe as some regulars were not available due to their commitments with the national youth side in the ongoing AFC Under-23 qualifiers, which is a priority tournament.
Despite the shortcoming, the tournament was indirectly a good thing for Cheng Hoe as he used it to test several fringe players.
Among those who shone were midfielder Faiz Nasir, who scored his first international goal on his debut on Saturday, along with Hadin Azman and Abdul Halim Saari.
“It was a good tournament for the team. It was used to test options and also to help players adapt to my playing style.
“The players, I believe, have gained from the tournament in terms of motivation. I want them to go into every match in the future with an aim to win,” said Cheng Hoe.
The coach, however, needs to weed out the seniors in the team who failed to perform well.
Captain Zaquan Adha and Norshahrul Idlan Talaha were among the seniors in his side.
Oman won the tournament by edging Singapore 5-4 on penalties after a 1-1 draw in regulation time.