PETALING JAYA: Malaysians went north in droves to give their backing to Team Malaysia when it faced Thailand in the first leg of the AFF Suzuki Cup final that ended with a disappointing result.
The winners of the AirAsia Twitter contest departed from KLIA2 to Bangkok to watch the final live at the Rajamangala Stadium in Bangkok.
The 13 winners left for Bangkok on flight AK 882 at 11.45am yesterday, serviced by AirAsia’s Airbus A320 aircraft featuring the Harimau Muda livery as a tribute to the Malaysian national team.
Malaysia qualified for the final by defeating Vietnam 5-4 on aggregate.
In the first leg final, Malaysia fell 0-2 to Thailand. The return leg will be played on Saturday.
The contest was initiated by AirAsia Group CEO Tan Sri Tony Fernandes via his personal Twitter. He invited football fans to submit their best “Harimau Malaysia supporter” photo in return for free return flights to Bangkok.
The lucky winners also won complimentary accommodation at Tune Hotels and tickets for the match.
Meanwhile, three superbikers also rode for more than 1,500km just to show their support for the national squad, reported Bernama.
Datuk Azman Abu Hassan, 48, led the convoy with the other riders including his son Mohd Azli, 15, who rode pillion and nephews.