Man City friendly ticket fever yet to be seen in Vietnam

Ticket fever for the friendly match between the English Premier League club Manchester City and the Vietnamese national football team is not occurring as predicted, even though the game will take place in a week.

About 10,000 tickets for retail did not sell out yesterday. The sale did not attract fans to queue up in long lines as previous matches with other famous foreign teams had.

The retail sale was held from 7:00 am to 5:00 pm on Sunday, but few fans came to buy tickets after 10:00 am, according to witnesses.

The four sets of ticket prices are VND1.8 million (US$83), VND1.5 million ($69), VND1 million ($46) and VND600,000 ($27.6), which are the most expensive of any match with a famous foreign team in Vietnam.

This is quite different from the matches with Arsenal in 2013 and the Brazilian national team in 2008 in Hanoi, when tens of thousands of fans had to wait in line from midnight to buy tickets.

Prices for the match with Arsenal two years ago were VND1.5 million ($69), VND1 million ($46), VND700,000 ($32) and VND400,000 ($18).

Tran Van Nghia, an expert on sports business, said the unsuitable time is the main reason for fans’ ignorance of the match.

The English Premier League club will play the friendly with the Vietnamese national football team on Monday, July 27 in Hanoi.

Monday is not the favorite day for fans to go to a stadium, Nghia said.

In addition, the game will start at 8:00 pm, meaning that fans can only leave the stadium after 10:00 pm and arrive home at midnight.

But one hopeful point is that Vietnamese fans have a habit of buying tickets right before the beginning of a game.

It is hoped that things will change during the final days before the match, Nghia noted.

The match will be broadcast live on national channel VTV6, which is likely another factor discouraging fans from buying expensive tickets.

Before the retail sale yesterday, tickets were available for agencies to book wholesale, but there have not been many orders for them.

A source from the Vietnam Football Federation said it will review the ticket sale today and will not sell retail anymore.

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