The hot ticket in Kuwait

The hot ticket in Kuwait

by rick olivares

KUWAIT CITY -- The Qadsia Stadium in Kuwait City seats about 22,000 people. For the second leg of the Asian Qualifiers of the 2014 World Cup, the Kuwait Football Association has printed an additional 3,000 tickets as they are expecting a capacity crowd to cheer on Al-Azraq as they take on the Philippine Men’s Football National Team in the first match of a home-and-away series second leg of the Asian Qualifiers for the 2014 World Cup.

Of the 20 thousand-plus tickets, only 4,000 are being allocated to the Filipino community in Kuwait. The tickets were released last Thursday at 4pm at the Qadsia Stadium and the Kuwait Football Association (KFA) offices at jabriya and were immediately snapped up by the long queues of fans. “A ticket to the game is like gold here,” underscored one KFA official.

Prices for the tickets to the games fetch for KD2 (Php310), KD3 (Php465), and KD5 (Php776).

“They (the Kuwaitis),” said one Filipino overseas worker who refused to be identified, “want every advantage they can get. Siguro we will have to make our voices of support even louder for our national team.”

Shulan Primavera, Ambassador of the Embassy of the Philippines to the State of Kuwait, said that there are some 180,000 Filipinos in Kuwait, the fourth largest number in the Middle East. “That is why it is important to show our support in every aspect and in everywhere they go.”

The Philippine Embassy hosted a luncheon for the nationals last Thursday at the Jabriya district of Kuwait. “The Azkals single-handedly raised the awareness of football and made it the fastest growing sport in our country,” lauded the bespectacled diplomat. “We have not seen this outpouring of support from overseas Philippine communities outside the People’s Champion, Manny Pacquiao. I think that it is good that we have embraced the world’s game.”

A grateful National Team manager Dan Palami thanked the diplomatic mission as well as the Filipinos who welcomed the team at the airport when they arrived Tuesday evening from Bahrain as well as those who attended the team’s practice at Salmiya. “We are trying to make a difference for our country in football but if we can make a difference in the lives of our kababayans overseas and at home then that’s a bigger victory for us,” said Palami.

Dr. Chie Umandap, the chairman of the Filipino Badminton Committee in Kuwait and who has lived in the gulf coast country for over seven years, related how Azkals merchandise sold out almost as soon as news broke that the team was to play Al-Azraq. “People here stay up to watch their games on television or the internet. We devour all the information we possibly can over the internet and media.”

When the team went to the Avenues Mall along Fifth Ring Road, Filipinos working in boutiques and department stores went up to the team with digital cameras at the ready. “I think it’s always fun to give back to the fans,” smiled the nationals’ right-winger James Younghusband as several Filipinos posed for a photo with him. “They help keep us going and make the sacrifices worth it.”

With Ambassador Shulan Primavera