Refund for unused Azkals tickets

SPORTING CHANCE By Joaquin Henson (The Philippine Star)

BACOLOD CITY, Philippines – Philippine Football Federation (PFF) president Mariano Araneta Jr. couldn’t estimate how many fans with paid tickets were turned away by police when the Panaad Stadium was filled to more than capacity for the national football team’s 2-0 win over Mongolia here Wednesday night.

But one thing is sure, there were irate fans who couldn’t get in despite paying P300 for their tickets. And Araneta promised to refund those who can show paid tickets with undetached stubs.

Araneta described the Azkals’ performance as “a spectacle” and said a lot of lessons were learned from managing the affair, particularly in relation to crowd control. “To many of us or maybe, all of us, this was our first experience of handling an event of this magnitude,” said Araneta. “We’ll learn a lot from this.”

There were 18,000 tickets distributed for the match but only 4,000 were for sale. The others were given away free of charge, including 2,200 for VIPs. When the game got going at 7 p.m., PFF officials said at least 20,000 fans surrounded the pitch in the roofed and open stands. It was free sitting all around – first come, first served – with no numbered seats. The roofed section overflowed with fans that some stationed themselves in front of the railings, obstructing the view of those sitting in the first few rows.

A huge screen was mounted outside Panaad to show the action live for fans unable to make their way into the stadium. The ABS-CBN telecast, complete with replays, was shown on the screen. No big screen was installed inside the venue. Under Asian Football Confederation (AFC) rules, a video screen may be mounted inside the stadium but it can only show live coverage – without replays. If a replay is shown and a mistake by any of the referees is projected on a big screen inside the stadium, all hell could break loose – a situation the AFC will want to avoid since a referee’s call is not reversible.

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The absence of a digital scoreboard and a clock or any kind of timing device was conspicuous during the match. An antiquated scoreboard was used with a person manually displaying large numbered placards to show each team’s score. Without a clock, fans were kept guessing as to how much time was left in the match. Even when injury time kicked in, fans were not informed.

Aisles were clogged by fans all over the stadium as there were no ushers to clear space for any eventuality or emergency. Despite the bedlam, everyone had fun at Panaad. The atmosphere was both electric and festive. The match was dramatic with both the Azkals’ goals coming in the closing minutes of the first and second halves.

Smart Sports director Patrick Gregorio, who is set to be appointed senior vice president for business development at Maynilad and executive vice president of the MVP Sports Foundation, cited three compelling reasons why football is such a thriller to watch in the stands. First, the physical nature of the game is more evident when the action unfolds before your eyes, in particular the banging of bodies. Second, the ambiance is electrifying – you won’t experience it unless you’re in the stadium. And third, every attempt to score is as exciting as scoring a goal, meaning it’s a thrill a minute.



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