Watching RI soccer team play is priceless

The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Wed, 07/18/2007 11:18 AM

Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Nearly a thousand soccer fans braved long lines and a scorching sun Tuesday to secure a prized ticket to Wednesday's showdown between Indonesia and South Korea in the Asian Cup.

""I woke up early this morning to travel from Bandung by motorcycle. I didn't even have breakfast,"" said Ricky.

Ricky was in line at Bung Karno Stadium in Senayan, Central Jakarta, to get a ticket for the decisive Group D match between favorite Korea and host Indonesia.

A victory for Indonesia would be historic, as it would send the squad through to its first-ever Asian Cup quarterfinals.

""I don't want to miss this decider. That's why I didn't want to wait until tomorrow to get the ticket,"" Ricky said.

Organizers announced the ticket booths would open on Tuesday and Wednesday at 11 a.m., but many people started lining up at 6 a.m. on Tuesday.

They were afraid the tickets would sell out before they had the chance to purchase one, with organizers saying fewer tickets would be made available to the public than for previous matches.

According to organizers, 74,000 tickets have been sold for Wednesday's clash, 6,000 fewer than for last Saturday's game between Indonesia and Saudi Arabia. Of the 74,000, some 59,000 were sold at the ticket booths, while the remaining 15,000 were sold online.

A few scalpers at the stadium have tried to take advantage of the situation, nearly tripling the official Rp 15,000 (US$1.70) ticket price to Rp 40,000. Angry fans beat up two scalpers, with stadium security guards having to come to their rescue.

Another hot item are team jerseys, with knockoff white home jerseys being snapped up for Rp 20,000 each.

On the other side, the South Korean Embassy says it has not made any special preparations for the game.

""We only encourage South Korean citizens in Jakarta to go to the stadium to support our national team. We announced the game schedule several days earlier and provided our citizens information on how to buy tickets and get to the stadium,"" the embassy's information councilor, Yoon Moon Han, told The Jakarta Post.

In Palembang, South Sumatra, which will host the other Group D match on Wednesday, between Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, organizers have sold only 50 tickets. A ticketing attendant said people would probably just buy tickets on match day.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Vice President Jusuf Kalla are expected to watch the match in Senayan.

For ticketless fans, organizers have promised to set up two giant screens in Menteng Park, Central Jakarta, where people will be able to watch the action.

""People say the situation inside the stadium is totally different than if we watch it on television. I want to hear the whole stadium chanting the national anthem, Indonesia Raya,"" said Maria, who has tickets for Wednesday's game and plans to be in the stadium with friends from her office.

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