Professional football around the world is gradually returning to action, but while Germany, Denmark, and South Korea got their leagues underway in empty stadiums, the scene is quite different in Vietnam.
Thousands of fans descended on stadiums around Vietnam on Friday as top-flight football returned without any social distancing measures or curbs on crowd sizes, owing to its success in combating the spread of the coronavirus.
Like most professional leagues, matches in Vietnam were suspended in March, but with no coronavirus deaths and just 328 confirmed cases, the Southeast Asian country is eagerly pursuing a return to normality to get its economy back on track.
The stadium in Nam Dinh was close to its 30,000 capacity as the home side lost 2-1 to visitors Viettel in one of three opening V League matches, where spectators stood shoulder-to-shoulder with few face masks to be seen.
Hand sanitiser was available as stewards performed temperature checks on fans, who were asked to wear masks as they entered.
"If we were scared of the virus we wouldn't have come," said Viettel fan Dinh Van Tam. "The measures taken to fight the virus were good to keep our health safe, that's why everybody is having fun."
Vietnam has won praise for its aggressive coronavirus testing and a mass, centralised quarantine programme, putting it on course to revive its economy sooner than others.
The V League's decision to pick up where it left off bucks a global pattern of countries preparing to restart leagues without supporters, while discussing changes to rules to handle fixture backlogs, the lack of atmosphere or fears about fans gathering outside grounds.
Leagues in Spain, England and Italy are set to resume this month, while the German Bundesliga has already restarted with a haunting atmosphere at empty stadiums and muted goal-scoring celebrations. Certain stadiums in Denmark have adopted "virtual grandstands" whereby fans are streamed via Zoom onto giant screens around the perimeter of the pitch.
Vietnam's national team captain Que Ngoc Hai of Viettel said it was wonderful to see a full stadium.
"I'm not saying this to compare us with other countries, but Vietnamese football has returned after the COVID outbreak, it showed how well us Vietnamese have fought the virus," he told Reuters.
if you go
The flights
Air Astana flies direct from Dubai to Almaty from Dh2,440 per person return, and to Astana (via Almaty) from Dh2,930 return, both including taxes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Ritz-Carlton Almaty cost from Dh1,944 per night including taxes; and in Astana the new Ritz-Carlton Astana (www.marriott) costs from Dh1,325; alternatively, the new St Regis Astana costs from Dh1,458 per night including taxes.
When to visit
March-May and September-November
Visas
Citizens of many countries, including the UAE do not need a visa to enter Kazakhstan for up to 30 days. Contact the nearest Kazakhstan embassy or consulate.
So what is Spicy Chickenjoy?
Just as McDonald’s has the Big Mac, Jollibee has Spicy Chickenjoy – a piece of fried chicken that’s crispy and spicy on the outside and comes with a side of spaghetti, all covered in tomato sauce and topped with sausage slices and ground beef. It sounds like a recipe that a child would come up with, but perhaps that’s the point – a flavourbomb combination of cheap comfort foods. Chickenjoy is Jollibee’s best-selling product in every country in which it has a presence.
$1,000 award for 1,000 days on madrasa portal
Daily cash awards of $1,000 dollars will sweeten the Madrasa e-learning project by tempting more pupils to an education portal to deepen their understanding of math and sciences.
School children are required to watch an educational video each day and answer a question related to it. They then enter into a raffle draw for the $1,000 prize.
“We are targeting everyone who wants to learn. This will be $1,000 for 1,000 days so there will be a winner every day for 1,000 days,” said Sara Al Nuaimi, project manager of the Madrasa e-learning platform that was launched on Tuesday by the Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, to reach Arab pupils from kindergarten to grade 12 with educational videos.
“The objective of the Madrasa is to become the number one reference for all Arab students in the world. The 5,000 videos we have online is just the beginning, we have big ambitions. Today in the Arab world there are 50 million students. We want to reach everyone who is willing to learn.”
BMW M5 specs
Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor
Power: 727hp
Torque: 1,000Nm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 10.6L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh650,000
