'Would have meant the world': Fans disappointed, scalpers resell sold-out Singapore-Thailand football tickets

SINGAPORE: For 19-year-old Goh Zun Rey, being in the stands at the Jalan Besar stadium to support the Lions when they face Thailand in their ASEAN football championship semi-final on Saturday (Aug 15) would have been a special moment.

A regular at Singapore's matches, he had been hoping to snag tickets for the game not just for himself, but his younger cousins.

"It would have meant the world," Mr Goh told CNA. "I'm bringing my three younger cousins, and it would have been their first taste of watching football live."

But with tickets snapped up almost immediately after going on sale on Wednesday, many like Mr Goh have been left disappointed. 

Sales of the tickets started at 11am exclusively through the online sales channel - Tickethotline, with no box office or on-site ticket sales.

Fans said that they had joined the online queue before 11am, but when they eventually managed to access the main ticketing page minutes after, none were available.

"You can see how desperate some fans are to get these tickets, and the fact that we weren't able to get these tickets, it's just disheartening," said Mr Goh.

"I waited until lunchtime and still could not get the tickets," added 22-year-old Ayhan Escandar. 

"I'm definitely very disappointed."

Less than two hours later, the Football Association of Singapore (FAS) confirmed on social media that tickets for the game were sold out.

The eagerly anticipated first-leg clash will take place on Aug 15 at the Jalan Besar Stadium at 9pm. The second leg will be on Aug 18 at Bangkok's Rajamangala Stadium.

The Lions are unbeaten in this year's tournament so far. Last Friday, they drew with Indonesia 1-1 to qualify for the semi-finals.

This year's matches have been held at Jalan Besar Stadium, which has about