KUALA LUMPUR: Even before KL City could play their AFC Cup match (inter zonal semi-final) against India's ATK Mohun Bagan today, they faced a 72-hour ordeal just to get to Kolkata.
Things started to go haywire for the City Boys due to visa issues.
It wasn't as simple as a five-hour flight from Kuala Lumpur to Kolkata, as thought by the KL team.
For the last three days, the Malaysia Cup champions had been frantically trying to get their travel documents approved. The team finally arrived in Kolkata yesterday afternoon.
The team flew to Kota Kinabalu a day before their Super League match against Sabah (2-2) last Thursday before returning to Kuala Lumpur on Friday. They cancelled thier recovery session in order to sort out their visas on Saturday.
They spent close to four hours at the Indian embassy in Kuala Lumpur on Saturday. Unfortunately, the KL team lost their direct flight booking to Kolkata due to a delay in the issuance of visas.
Consequently, they had to travel for 12 hours to India.
KL City chief executive officer Stanley Bernard said their travel could have been made easier with better communication among the parties involved.
"We've had a tough 72 hours, starting with the Sabah game. We were told arrangements for visas would be made in Sabah on match day, and it was arranged by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC)," said Stanley.
"Being that it's match day, we made other arrangements where we did our best. And now the team are there, but we've been really stretched due to the last-minute decision. But we still abided and respected the decisions made."
Last week, Timesport reported KL had sent a written request to AFC to host the competition in Malaysia as ATK Mohun Bagan's confirmation of participation came only after Fifa lifted the suspension on the All India Football Federation's (AIFF) on Aug 26. Due to time constraint and India's strict visa policies, it disrupted KL's plans.
"The players are tired. Everything was done at the last minute. They had to open the embassy for us on a Saturday," said Stanley.
"I think the club has a lot of resilience, always being put to the test. Our character has been applauded by many because we're a small club with a big heart," said Stanley.
"After all of this ordeal, we finally did arrive in India. We're not used to this, and this is our debut in the AFC Cup.
"We showed character especially after the decisions made were one-sided by the AFC. But we accepted it with due respect."
KL emerged as the AFC Cup Asean zone winners after beating Indonesia's PSM Makassar 5-2 on Aug 24 at KLFA Stadium.