The craze among the people of Sylhet surrounding the first semifinal of the Bangabandhu Gold Cup has dropped significantly as only 20 percent of the tickets of today’s last-four clash between Malaysia and Singapore have been sold till yesterday afternoon.
One of the key reasons is the absence of hosts Bangladesh in the first semifinal as the home side will face Thailand in the second semifinal in Dhaka tomorrow. The organisers, however, blamed the ongoing strike and blockade across the country for the lack of interest among the locals. Sylhet District Football Association president Mohiuddin Ahmed Selim requested the 20-party alliance to keep the northeastern district free from strike during the matchday.
“Ticket selling for the first semifinal started from last Monday but since then, nonstop hartal has been enforced. We are facing problems selling the tickets. I am requesting to keep Sylhet free from hartal at least for tomorrow (today),” said Selim yesterday.
“Only 20 percent of the tickets have been sold so far but I am hopeful that the rest will be sold out by tomorrow (today),” he added.
The Sylhet District Stadium and its crowd have been praised by both the Malaysia and Singapore camps. The inaugural encounter between the hosts and Malaysia saw a fully-packed gallery and in the next two matches, 75 percent of the tickets were sold even though Bangladesh were not involved.
It remains to be seen how many people throng the stadium today to witness the first semifinal before the curtains are drawn on the Sylhet-leg of the Bangabandhu Gold Cup.
