Football: Liverpool fans in S"pore head to Anfield to catch showdown with ...

SINGAPORE: Some Liverpool fans in Singapore are getting off the couch and taking their allegiance a step further.

With the club on the brink of winning its first league title in 24 years, diehard Reds are planning to make a trip to the English city in anticipation of what could be a historic moment.

The team currently sits atop the English Premier League with four games remaining.

The home of long-time Liverpool fan Luqman Guee could well be mistaken for a gift shop at Anfield. It has all sorts of merchandise — from jerseys to even a replica of the famous Shankly Gates.

Mr Guee is headed to Anfield for the last game of the season against Newcastle and for company, he has David Lim, a friend he made while watching live matches in Singapore.

This will be Mr Lim’s first trip to Anfield, one he has planned since December.

Mr Lim, an IT technician, said: “As a Liverpool fan for the last 32 years, this season is really special to me. In December, I was discussing with Luqman, I said, ‘Hey look, we are top of the table, we don’t we book tickets to the last game? Who knows? We might be champions’.”

They are the lucky ones. Tickets to the showdown with Newcastle have been sold out for months.

A pair of tickets costs as much as 5,000 pounds (about S$10,000) on the black market.

Ordinarily, supporters would have to go through the local chapter of the Liverpool fan club to get tickets.

The fan club receives a quota from the club for each match.

Mohamed Rasuul, president of the Official Liverpool FC Fan Club in Singapore, said: “There has been quite a significant increase in enquiries and sign-ups during the live games. I guess it’s because Liverpool is doing well, and everyone wants to be associated with the club, whether the supporters’ club or with the team itself in Liverpool.

“Normally, we get two to three requests for tickets per month. Since December, we have received 20 to 30 requests, and there’s no way we can fulfil that because Liverpool has a strict criteria to secure those tickets.”

Despite tickets being sold out, the fan club said about 20 people have expressed an interest in travelling to Merseyside.

It expects this number to at least double in the coming weeks, should Liverpool tighten its grip on the league trophy.

The fan club is planning the trip with a travel agency, 1896 Travel. Normally, the fan club comes up with the itinerary, and the agency executes the plan.

Once the fan club secures a ticket for the supporter, it puts the travel agency to work. Staff at 1896 Travel will help to search for hotels and flights, and once those are available, all they have to do is enter the name, and the supporter is on his way.

A four-night package for one that includes flights, transport, accommodation and match tickets would cost about S$3,000. This does not include meals and shopping.

1896 Travel got its name from the year the first Olympic Games was held in the modern era.

And true to its name, the company is big on sports.

Aaron Kok, managing director of 1896 Travel, said: “Sports travel is perhaps a newer travel experience that more and more people, due to affordability and passion, would want to pursue. And hence we believe that sports travel will be more and more prevalent in the next three to five years.”

Meanwhile, negotiations are underway for ticket-less fans to catch the Newcastle match, at least at a local pub.

Even if they do not get to catch the match live, they are relishing the possibility that they could be part of a victory parade, witnessing history unfold. 

Football: Liverpool fans in S"pore head to Anfield to catch showdown with ...