Vietnamnet.vn
Podcast
 |
The final round of the Southeast Asian Football Championship - AFF Suzuki Cup 2012 will take place in Thailand and Malaysia from November 24 to December 22. The Vietnamese team is in Group A with the Philippines, Myanmar and Thailand.
Many Vietnamese football fans are planning to go to Bangkok to cheer the team. Mr. Nguyen Manh in Hanoi said his group planned to book air tickets, hotels and buy football tickets. However, he's still waiting for tours offered by travel companies to not have to take care of accommodations.
"Despite economic difficulty, we still try to not miss this year's AFF Cup because the cost to Thailand is not too high. This is the opportunity to enjoy the spirit of sports and to support the national football team. I hope the players to try their best for the country," said Manh.
Closely monitoring the schedule of the national team, Mr. Tran Song Hai, Vice Chairman of the Association of Vietnamese Football Fans said today, November 22, the association organized three trips from Ho Chi Minh City to Bangkok to cheer the Vietnamese team in the first match against Myanmar on November 24.
Commenting on the opportunity of the Vietnamese team in the AFF Cup 2012, Hai said the team is very united now under the leadership of coach Phan Thanh Hung. The team performed well at recent tournaments so fans have high hopes that it will play well at the AFF Cup.
"We call on Vietnamese football fans everywhere, including overseas Vietnamese and Vietnamese students in Thailand to go to the Rajamangala Stadium to encourage our beloved team," Hai expressed. He estimated that the match against Myanmar will have about 2,000 Vietnamese fans and the subsequent games will have around 3,000-4,000 fans.
The association also plans to establish a fund for the love of football, to urge fans to send messages, and donate money for the country's football. Revenues will be used to reward players in order to encourage their spirit even in losing battles, or to assist injured players.
"For faith and the encouragement of the fans that the players will see their responsibilities to not let the fans down," Hai said.
On this occasion, a number of travel companies have launched tours to Thailand to serve fans. Mr. Pham Tien Dung, Director of the Golden Tour & Convention said that his company had cooperated with the football fan clubs of various provinces to design a special tour to Thailand to support the national squad. Purchasing this 5-day tour, at about VND10 million ($500), fans will have tickets to the Vietnam - Philippines match on November 27 or Thailand - Vietnam on November 30.
Vietravel also offers many tours to Thailand during this time. Depending on the day of departure, visitors will have tickets to different games of the Vietnamese team. The price for a 5-day tour departing from Hanoi is VND8.3 million ($400) per person and from Ho Chi Minh City is VND7.6 million ($300).
Besides watching football, fans will explore many attractions in Thailand like the royal palace in Bangkok, Pattaya beach, Coral atolls, Nongnoch ethnic cultural village, Safari World, and go shopping at commercial centers such as Central World, Siam Paragon, Chatuchak weekend market and other destinations.
Thai Airways, Vietnam Airlines and Qatar Airways have committed to offer many cheap airline tickets through travel companies for Vietnamese football fans.
Compiled by S. Tung
.svg){kind=icon}
