SEA Games 32: free tickets for opening football games run out

The Cambodia SEA Games Organizing Committee (CAMSOC) and the Football Federation of Cambodia (FFC) delivered 20,000 free tickets for the two matches this Saturday. Of which, 14,300 tickets were handed out to fans at the National Olympic Stadium, while the rest was available to pick up at three shopping malls and one cinema in the capital Phnom Penh.

The opening matches between Cambodia and Timor Leste, and Indonesia against the Philippines will be played at the National Olympic Stadium, which has a capacity of 50,000.

Keo Sarath, general secretary of the FFC, told the Khmer Times that the federation delivered more than 10,000 tickets and CAMSOC delivered around 5,000.

"There is a possibility that the remaining tickets will be delivered by ministries or football clubs working with CAMSOC," he said.

However, CAMSOC has faced criticism from disappointed fans for lack of information and how complicated it was to get the tickets, as the ticketing app is not working properly.

One post on the CAMSOC official Facebook page on April 24 wrote: "This is the digital era. How come we still doing this the traditional way? We can do better with technology and it saves a lot of time and effort."

Another post wrote: "If people still need to pick up tickets at the venues, then how will the elderly and fans from the provinces come and get tickets on time?"

Earlier this month, Cambodia announced free entrance for all events of SEA Games 32. This is the first time that Cambodia has hosted a SEA Games, so demand is expected to be high.

Prime Minister Hun Sen also asked authorities to install LED screens in public places for fans who could not get tickets to watch the football matches.