Myanmar’s travelling fans have developed a reputation abroad for their selfless actions after every game.
During the AFF Suzuki Cup in 2014, there were several headlines highlighting Myanmar fans cleaning up the Singapore National Stadium even after their 4-2 defeat to the host country. Last year, New Zealand’s Toll Stadium’s Facebook page wrote, “The Myanmar supporters are once again picking up all the rubbish in the terraces, not just where they were sitting but helping the rubbish crew with the rest of the terraces as well! Gonna miss these guys” after Myanmar’s match with Ukraine at the FIFA U20 World Cup.
However, the same can’t be said for their reputation at home. Most notably, at a game at Thuwanna Stadium in 2011, fans threw shoes, bottles and stones onto the pitch after they disagreed with a penalty decision in the first half of a match that led to the home team losing 4-0 to Oman.
This year however, several citizens are looking to change things. Members of a Facebook group called “Waste Campaign at Soccer” have been organizing group clean-ups at the football games being held at Yangon’s Thuwanna Stadium as part of the AFF Suzuki Cup 2016.
With the permission of the match organizers, during each game, volunteers collect trash around the stadium during halftime and at the end of the match.
As you can imagine, it’s certainly not a pleasant job — bags of betel spit, water bottles, and takeaway Styrofoam boxes make up most of the trash. Although not all the match goers cleans up after themselves, the group hopes that their efforts will change this trend.
“We want to lead by example and encourage Myanmar fans to practice this good habit,” Sann Maung Maung, the group’s leader, told 7Day.
The next clean-up will be held at the upcoming Myanmar-Thailand match on December 4. Anyone who wants to lend a hand can volunteer to do so on the group’s Facebook page.
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