USD982M Liverpool FC Held by Lowly-Rated Malaysian XI, 1-1

SPORTS Editorial
Bukit Jalil Stadium-KL, MALAYSIA
24 July 2015

 (82nd Minute, Corner Kick to Malaysian XI with the score still at 1-1. )

94:06 or 94 minutes and 6 seconds. That was how long I sat with Malaysian 'traitors' and enjoyed every minute of it when the Liverpool team valued at USD982million by Forbes in May 2015 were held to a 1-1 score by lowly-Malaysia XI, a team worth perhaps not more than RM10million and a pack of ice(or two!) plus add-in all the cencalok, tempoyak and budu (all 3 are local delicacies) you can find.

( After 94:06, Game Over. 1 - 1. )

 However, the traitors I sat with are the harmless sorts i.e. fans who choose to support their favourite EPL team over the home nation's Malaysian XI. In the end, the list of winners and losers can be read as follows:

WINNERS
- Bookmakers.
Going into the game the talk was not about who will win but rather by how many goals Liverpool FC would. Obviously, a draw or a lost is beyond their wildest expectatations.

- Event Promoters.
Estimated lower-end revenue from tickets sale is around RM4.4m (based on 50,000 tickets sold x RM88). I'd estimated a 50,000 crowd at least based on the 3-tier seating in the stadium with the first tier being almost at capacity with 90-95% filled, second tier at 50-55% while the top most tier there were many empty seats with perhaps 30-35% capacity. Bear in mind the revenue from merchandising, corporate sponsorship and broadcasting have not been factored in.

- MSL
...and one smug ASEAN500 editor who had to go for a 2km walk to get a free ticket for the game courtesy of father-in-law, Haji Zakaria Rani.


LOSERS
- Malaysian Liverpool fans.
- Dented Pride, Liverpool FC.

( 16th Minute, Malaysian XI 1 - 1 Liverpool FC. 

Silence of the Lambs. 4 minutes earlier Malaysian XI had just scored. )