A mate of mine who is in Dubai for the second leg of the Iraq fixture posted this morning about the exorbitant prices being charged to the away fans, that’s us Australians. A ticket that would cost the Iraqi fans about $7 is “Officially” $100 to the Australian fans.
The Iraqi official who was selling tickets to iraqi fans said the Australian tickets were about to arrive. He was selling tickets to the Iraqi’s for 20 dirham ($7 ish) and 50 dirham ($18ish). Finally when the Australian tickets arrived he said, “$100 US”… they were official away supporter’s tickets with $100 (360 dirham) printed on the ticket!
We finally got a hold of one of the heads of the Iraqi FA and he first promised us 50 free tickets, but reneged after we asked for them. He then went on to say that Australian Iraqi’s had to pay $45 in Brisbane which we informed him was the price everyone paid, and his final comment was, “You are from Australia so you are rich”. Another Iraqi official told us that they were pricing the tickets for Australia so high, so the stadium can be full of Iraq supporters only.
Imagine this… Tickets in Brisbane for the World Cup Qualifier between Australia and Iraq… Australians pay $45, Iraqis pay $350!!! What would be the fall out of that??!!
Just as a footnote, the officials in the UAE and the Al Ahli club have been fantastic, and most of the Iraqi fans were sympathetic to our cause, it is only the Iraqi FA that we have a problem with.
Imagine if the FFA here in Australia tried this crap. The Australian supporters would be up in arms. It is hard enough getting around Australia to watch home matches. But when the travelling fans take off overseas to foreign counties they expect it to be a little hard but you eventually break down the language barriers etc and get around. This is a brick wall thrown up in front of them like in one of those obstacle courses.
I wrote about the FFA and their lack of enthusiasm in ticket information for the travelling fan. This is the result of such inaction. I say Shame FFA, Shame, also.
The match is over and the experts have cast their opinions, the coach and players have had their say. Now its my turn.
The Socceroos walked off Suncorp with 3 points. They achieved their objective. I do agree with the commentators and coach, in that the overall performance was below par. It was mostly in the back line with the Internationally inexperienced pairing of Beauchamp and North in the centre of defence. This is not their fault, Pim had to use the best players at his disposal and in my opinion he made the right choice. There is no doubt in my mind that the experience of Lucas Neil would have vastly improved the defence. But unless his wife has her child early we will be without him next week as well. I think that Emerton had a slow start to the match but eventually got into it. And Carney was solid without being outstanding.
The midfield also were good without being outstanding, I think Bresc was a little hard on himself in the media though. And Vinnie was rock solid as usual.
Scott MacDonald found it hard to get into the match as a lone striker, but i believe there are great things to come form him in the future. And Harry had a solid game to show us and prospective employers he still has much to give. The goal was from a magnificent cross by Emo and Harry’s head on the end of it was quality.
Man of the Match in my opinion had to be Schwartzer. He kept us in the game and made the crucial saves after a leaky defence.
Credit to the Iraqis who never gave up and had the better of the chances.
Our eyes turn to Dubai next Sunday for the return bout. Iraq are on the canvas but not knocked out just yet. They are very capable of beating us next week, so watch out boys.
Well if you have been under a rock tonight, Australia beat Iraq 1 – 0. In my expert opinion we were friggin awesome. The only sad point to the day was the abandoned Supporters match. The Toowong FC committee deemed that the ground was too wet to play yesterday and we were scuttled. Anyway, life goes on.
The up side was more drinking time at The Pig N Whistle in Brisbane with the Green and Gold Army. As usual we had a great time. Singing out of key and destroying many Aussie classic songs was just part of the afternoon. Catching up with friends was the highlight.
One mate i caught up with was Mat. I met Mat in Melbourne in February when we played against Qatar. Mat is a Queenslander and very passionate football supporter. I saw Mat running around the pub with a film crew in tow getting us supporters to sing and carry on as we do. Not a big ask. I saw Mat at the bar and asked what he was doing. Turns out he is doing a pilot for Fox Sports on Passionate Socceroos Supporters and asked if he could interview me. Being the bashful guy I am, I immediately said YES.
The other thing I noticed was he seemed to be hanging around Sally Shipard. Now Sally is a Matilda for those of you who do not know. She is one of the best up and coming talents Australian women’s Football has in this country, and one of the youngest to ever represent us at Senior Level.
I head out to the interview and end up being Interviewed by Mat and Sally. How cool is that. I was asked questions relating to Football in general in Australia. Second time this week I have been on TV. Does that make me a media tart? Anyway when I find out more about this show I will let you all know.
FOX Sports understands FIFA president Sepp Blatter has said the Socceroos’ World Cup qualifier against Iraq will go ahead, despite FFA’s reluctance to confirm the fixture.
If this is true then Sanity has Prevailed.
As a fan of the game and organiser of the Australia V Iraq Supporters match, this makes me very happy.
I still cannot believe how far this went. Surely FIFA should have just started dialogue with the Iraqi government and the IFA to get to the bottom of it. Wielding a big stick like they did, was nothing short of embarrassing for FIFA. After almost 50 years, it has not worked in the Israel and it does not work anywhere else.
Australia V Iraq Supporters Match
I get another marketing opportunity tomorrow morning, when I get a live interview on ABC Radio here on the Gold Coast.
A quick look at Ticketek tonight shows only restricted view and Single seat available for the match. For a stadium of 53,000 I would conservatively estimate 45,000 seats sold. For the NRL’s showcase Centenary Test last Friday night, a massive 35,000 showed up, and most of them walk ups. For the so called number 3 rated Football code in this country, we are out stripping numbers 1 and 2 at a National level.
I believe we will go close to selling out Suncorp on June 1st, and a crowd in excess of 60,000 will show up in Sydney for the China match.
I have not felt anything so exhilarating in Sport as watching the Socceroos in action. Get behind them Australia, and you will not be disappointed.
Australia plays Iraq on June 7 in Dubai and Qatar in Doha on June 14. This is only 7 weeks away. If you haven’t already booked or planned your trip then you must like living on the edge and leaving things till the last minute. Or you are just plain lazy.
This itinerary lends itself to a Middle East tour to take in some sights of the region as well as watch some Football. I have a mate and his wife who are going as are a number of Green and Gold Army members.
To help you with your planning I suggest you read some of the posts on the Green and Gold Army Forum as I don’t have the time to do any research for someone as lazy as you. Or does that make me the lazy one??
I have inadvertently overlooked this game so far. OK, so I forgot. But it is an important match in the lead up to our World Cup Qualifiers. The Socceroos will be playing 5 matches in 4 weeks.
May 23 v Ghana in Sydney – Friendly
June 1 v Iraq in Brisbane
June 7 v Iraq in Dubai
June 14 v Qatar in Qatar
June 22 v China in Sydney
We expect all our European stars to be available with the exception of Tim Cahill (Broken Foot) and Mark Viduka (Old and Weary body) the only 2 so far who will not attend. It is also important to remember that these guys have not had an off season to themselves, I think since 2004.
We last played Ghana in November 2006 at Loftus road in London where we drew 1-1. They are currently ranked 14th in the World, so should give us a good hit out prior to the Qualifiers.
I don’t know how many people will be travelling to this match from interstate considering the travelling to be done for the WC qualifiers in the coming weeks. So it is up to you Sydney, to turn up in droves and give the boys some loud support. Fire Up. Tickets are on sale now from Ticketek
There is plenty of accommodation in Brisbane it is just a matter of finding it for the price you want to pay, and close enough to Suncorp Stadium so you don’t have to travel for ever to watch the Socceroos. You need to determine the following.
Here is some flight information from Sydney and Melbourne to Brisbane. You may want to make a weekend out of it and fly up on Friday or Saturday. Check out Flight Centre for flights from other Cities. I have listed the cheapest fares for the days at this point in time with a first flight time and a last flight time for the day. There are multiple flight times available in between this time range.
