Recently, many Malaysian fans voiced their disappointment about the upcoming football match between the Harimau Malaya squad against Thailand next Tuesday (10 January).
Despite many excited fans wanting to purchase the tickets, some couldn’t get their hands on them as the stadium’s availability was reduced to 59 thousand spectators.
Why? A Taiwanese sensation, Jay Chou, will hold his concert, Jay Chou Carnival World Tour, in Nasional Stadium Bukit Jalil on 15 January.
The organizers are in the process of building the stage and getting everything ready for the concert. They ask why the concert is in the same venue as the awaited football match. 21 thousand seats aren’t available for purchase. And this fuels the fans even more.
But who’s to blame? Some question the Ministry of Youth and Sports Hannah Yeoh for prioritizing the concert more than the football match. Furthermore, others are dissatisfied with Jay Chou for picking the National Stadium Bukit Jalil as the venue.
The Harimau Malaya fans shouldn’t be enraged over Jay Chou
A Twitter user, JoFan Pang (@jofanpang) shared his insight about this controversial issue.
Understandably, many fans are angry about the issue. He said the stadium was overbooked with 100 thousand supporters during the match against Singapore in 2014. But the ambiance was great and gave the Harimau Malaya squad the energy they needed.
Malaysian fans demand the concert be held somewhere else. They want to go to the stadium to support the national team as much as they can.
However, we can’t blame Jay Chou as his team booked the stadium for his tour on 13 Mac 2019, while AFF 2022 was on 18 August 2022, explained by Minister of Youth and Sport, Hannah Yeoh.
There are many procedures if Jay Chou has to change the venue last minute. Also, it can ruin the reputation of Malaysia as many international artists potentially view our country not an ideal place to hold their concerts. Even though it looks unnecessary, these can actually help with Malaysia’s tourism, thus, benefitting the country’s economy. Yet, not everyone sees it that way.
Other countries also face the same concern
It’s not the first time this happened. Previously, Singapore couldn’t use it’s National Stadium (55k capacity) since Jay Chou booked the stadium ahead of time. They had to hold the game at Jalan Besar Stadium with six thousand capacity.
In Thailand, they had to use the Thammasat Stadium (25k capacity) instead of the Rajamangala Stadium (51k capacity).
It’s unjust to blame anyone because there many things to consider in this issue. Therefore, we hope Malaysian fans can make a better judgment by weighing every aspect in mind.
Sources: Twitter JoFan Pang, Twitter Hannah Yeoh