KUALA LUMPUR – The match tickets for the epic clash between Selangor and Singapore are selling fast, as 94% of tickets have been sold for the 20th edition of the Sultan of Selangor’s Cup (TSSC) on August 17.
Inaugurated by the Sultan of Selangor, Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah, in 2001, TSSC has been an annual event, except for 2015 due to the haze and the past three years due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The organising committee hopes to revive the feverish atmosphere of Malaysian football from the 1970s for this match, which will take place at the iconic Merdeka Stadium, with a capacity of 20,000.
The stadium, once the venue where the national football team qualified for the 1980 Moscow Olympics, was the ground where legendary players such as the late Datuk Mokhtar Dahari, the late Datuk R. Arumugam, Datuk Santokh Singh, and Datuk Soh Chin Ann, who contributed to the national team’s qualification for the Olympic Games, played.
As Merdeka Stadium hosts a football match for the first time in many years, there will be a variety of fun-filled events, including a fireworks display, a parachuting demonstration by the Royal Malaysia Police, a Honda City lucky draw contest sponsored by Tanjung Balai Group, and performances by Malaysian icon Datuk Jamal Abdillah and others.
TSSC committee chairman Tan Sri Abd Karim Munisar said ticket sales are soaring due to fans’ eagerness to see their favourite players and legends in action after years of waiting.
“The long wait after the pandemic is one of the main factors for the high sales of this year’s TSSC, and it’s evident as we reached 94% ticket sales in just two weeks after sales started on June 24.
“Not only the normal seats, but even the grandstand tickets, which we have been selling for RM20, have also sold out.
“We hope to reach 100% ticket sales in the weeks to come. We also found that the other factor in the high ticket sales is that we will be playing at the historic Merdeka Stadium, which has just been renovated.
“This year’s TSSC tournament will be a great opportunity for fans to rekindle the great Selangor-Singapore clash and witness the actions of legendary veterans from both sides,” said Karim during the TSSC Promotion Tour Series in Seri Kembangan today.
The tournament will see both teams competing for the prestigious trophy and RM80,000 in cash. Additionally, a veterans’ match between former Selangor and Singapore players will take place as the opening event.
In the veterans’ category, Selangor has dominated Singapore, winning eight out of 17 meetings.
For the record, Selangor clinched the TSSC title nine times in 2001, 2003, 2005, 2008, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2018 and 2019, while Singapore secured the title seven times in 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2016 and 2017.
Both teams shared the championship in 2015 when the match was cancelled due to haze.
The previous edition of TSSC saw Selangor defeat Singapore 1-0. – July 13, 2024