Family, friends, football forever

SINGAPORE - The brother and sister were there 30 minutes before kick-off, wide-eyed and all set to go. The venue was the small theatre at Toa Payoh Central Community Club (CC) yesterday, which was already filling up quickly with football fans eager to catch a piece of the live World Cup action on the giant television screen.

England and Italy were playing, kickoff was at 6am, Singapore time, and the air was buzzing with excitement.

Brandon, 11, and Amanda, nine, eagerly took their seats, accompanied by their father, Mr Vijoo George, 48, a polytechnic lecturer.

All three supported different teams (dad roots for Spain, son Holland and daughter Brazil), but for yesterday's match, they were all for England.

And passionately as well. Their shouts could be heard amid the cheers when the game got underway.

"Come on England! Clear the ball!", they yelled in unison upon the sight of a loose ball.

There were also the occasional "oohs" and "ahhs" when an England player managed to dribble the ball past an opposing defender.

The two little ones squealed in delight when Daniel Sturridge equalised not long after the Azzurri (the nickname for the Italian team) scored.

Sad

But England eventually lost and the family left a little sad.

"They had very good players and tried their best, but still lost," Brandon said.

Earlier that night, The New Paper team visited Jurong Green and Buona Vista CCs and met other World Cup fans.

A father and his two sons had brought along a mat and pillows to make themselves at home.

"It's quite painful to sit on the floor for such a long time, so we think it's better to bring these along so we can lie down and relax," said Mr Yaz Yubistira, 25, who was at Jurong Green CC at the Uruguay-Costa Rica match with his brother, Mr Yaz Nguraha, 17, and father, Mr Muhd Razib, 54, a supervisor at Sembcorp.

During the World Cup month, some 40 CCs will be screening the Brazil 2014 games live.

The People's Association said such screenings will help bring people who share the same love for football together.

colintzx@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on June 16, 2014.
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