The AFC Asian Cup - January 2015

On January 31st, the national Australian soccer team, the Socceroos, won the Asian Cup 2015 in a nail-biting finish against South Korea. Prior to the final in Sydney, games were played all around Australia, and students and volunteers from The Couch were in attendance at lots of the Melbourne games. Helena wrote up our collective experiences as follows.

Never heard of it before? No worries, neither had I. The Asian Cup is an International Association Football Tournament run by the Asian Football Association (AFC). The Asian Cup happens every 4 years, and this year it was held right here in good old Australia. Some of the matches were held here in Melbourne and Gary, through the City of Melbourne and as his role as a Community Ambassador, was kind enough to provide students with free tickets to watch some of these matches.

The stadium is beautiful. When we arrived for the first match, we did what any sane person living in the 21st century would do - we took selfies. Once we entered the stadium, the atmosphere was amazing. The crowd were holding up their flags and cheering for their teams. I could feel their excitement. It was contagious and I found myself caught up in the fun.

Not a selfie

Behrooz describes the first match I attended as follows:

Some of the volunteers at The Couch grabbed the opportunity to watch a group match between Saudi Arabia and DPR Korea. It, fortunately, turned out to be a very fast and interesting game. A penalty, a red card, good chances to score goals and five goals in total. Of course, Saudi Arabia's fans were happier as their team won the game. They had more supporters in the stadium and they obviously benefited from this. After they scored their first goal, the Saudi Arabia's supporters were encouraged to cheer for their team louder and that motivated the players. They scored more goal and eventually won the game 4-1.

The first two times I went, the team I was supporting won the match. The second time was Jordan vs Palestine, and one of my friends who supported the losing team, Palestine, ended up having to buy us dinner. It was delicious! I was convinced I was a good luck charm, and whatever team I supported would win the match. The third and final match I attended, my team lost and now I owe the same friend dinner.*

Whereas the first match had tickets mostly provided to the volunteers at The Couch to thank them for their ongoing contributions and hard work, the third match was mostly offered to students from the Couch’s English Conversation Class.

Students from the English Conversation Class

One of the students, Bam, just missed out on getting a lucky ticket during the class. However, when another student had to pull out, he was offered the chance to attend. He describes his experience as below:

Before that match started, the seven students from English conversation class tried to enter, only to have five of the tickets be marked as inactive. We had to go to the ticket sales area to get new tickets provided. We nervously waited, scared we would miss an exciting goal or moment. However, 15 minutes later we went in to our seats to watch Japan versus Jordan. Honda, a well-known Japanese football player, left us all gobsmacked by his skillful control of the ball and he ended up kicked 2 goals! It was absolutely fantastic to have a chance to see this match. Thanks to The Couch!

Overall, it was an unforgettable experience. The time spent with friends, cheering my team in a magnificent stadium with great seats is one I will always remember. Thanks again to the Gary, the City of Melbourne, and the Community Ambassador program for these tickets to an amazing experience.

* Editor's note: that dinner is still owed - will update if the debt is ever paid!