The Taiwan Sports Lottery on Wednesday announced a sponsorship package for the Taiwan men’s soccer team as well as plans for international matches in the nation this year, including a friendly against Thailand in Kaohsiung next month as officials look forward to the Asian regional qualifiers for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Executives from the Taiwan Sports Lottery and the national soccer association (CTFA) announced a financial package to support the national squad and two matches.
Taiwan are to play Thailand at the Kaohsiung National Stadium on June 16 and either Malaysia or Kazakhstan in September, CTFA chairman Wang Lin-hsiang (王麟祥) told a news conference in Taipei.
Photo: CNA
Tickets for the game against Thailand would cost NT$300 for an adult, and NT$100 for a child or elderly person, CTFA officials said.
“We urge fans to show up to cheer on our national soccer team to victory,” Wang said. “These games can boost participation at the grassroots level and promote Taiwan’s soccer stars.”
Wang said that his long-term aims are to boost attendance at stadiums for club and international games, and create fully professional men’s and women’s leagues.
Derek Shih (施信安), a goalkeeper for Taipei-based club Leopard Cat also called on people to attend the game in Kaohsiung.
More people supporting Taiwan helps the players, as they like to have a boisterous crowd cheering for them, Shih said.
It has been quite a long time since international soccer was played in Taiwan, with the previous match a World Cup qualifier against Australia in Kaohsiung in October 2019, he said.
“It’s been a long time since our national team played at home, so the players are preparing for it,” he said. “We want to prove that we are a strong side and let the fans see an exciting game.”
There are many people from Thailand working in Taiwan, so Team Taiwan supporters need to pack the stadium, he said.
“We do not want Taiwanese fans to be outnumbered by Thais supporting their team,” he said.
Englishman Gary White, who has been reappointed as head coach, is expected to arrive in Taiwan next month, Wang said.
He is bringing an assistant coach with him, Wang said, adding that they would start training as soon as possible for the two friendlies, which are to help the team prepare for the first round of Asian qualifying in October for the 2026 World Cup in Canada, the US and Mexico.
A Keelung high school on Saturday night apologized for using a picture containing a Chinese flag on the cover of the senior yearbook, adding that it has recalled the books and pledged to provide students new ones before graduation on Thursday. Of 309 Affiliated Keelung Maritime Senior High School of National Taiwan Ocean University graduates, 248 had purchased the yearbook. Some students said that the printer committed an outrageous error in including the picture, while others said that nobody would notice such a small flag on the cover. Other students said that they cared more about the photographs of classmates and what was
GOING INTERNATIONAL: Rakuten Girls squad leader Ula Shen said she was surprised that baseball fans outside of Taiwan not only knew of them, but also knew their names Major League Baseball’s (MLB) Oakland Athletics on Saturday hosted its first Taiwanese Heritage Day event at the Oakland Coliseum with a performance by Taiwanese cheerleading squad the Rakuten Girls and a video message from Vice President William Lai (賴清德). The Rakuten Girls, who are the cheerleaders for the CPBL’s Rakuten Monkeys, performed in front of a crowd of more than 2,000 people, followed by a prerecorded address by Lai about Taiwan’s baseball culture and democratic spirit. Taiwanese pitcher Sha Tzu-chen (沙子宸), who was signed by the Athletics earlier this year, was also present. Mizuki Lin (林襄), considered a “baseball cheerleading goddess” by Taiwanese
WAY OF THE RUKAI: ‘Values deemed worthy often exist amid discomfort, so when people go against the flow, nature becomes entwined with our lives,’ a student said “Run, don’t walk” after your dreams, Nvidia cofounder and chief executive officer Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) told National Taiwan University (NTU) graduates yesterday, as several major universities held in-person graduation ceremonies for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic. “What will you create? Whatever it is, run after it. Run, don’t walk. Remember, either you’re running for food, or you are running from becoming food. Oftentimes, you can’t tell which. Either way, run,” he said. Huang was one of several tech executives addressing graduating students at Taiwanese universities. National Chengchi University held two ceremonies, with alumnus Patrick Pan (潘先國), who is head of Taiwan
A 14-legged giant isopod is the highlight of a new dish at a ramen restaurant in Taipei and it has people lining up — both for pictures and for a bite from this bowl of noodles. Since “The Ramen Boy” launched the limited-edition noodle bowl on Monday last week, declaring in a social media post that it had “finally got this dream ingredient,” more than 100 people have joined a waiting list to dine at the restaurant. “It is so attractive because of its appearance — it looks very cute,” said the 37-year-old owner of the restaurant, who wanted to be