Man queues for 15hrs

One man was in the queue from 7pm the day before. Others soon joined him.

They were after The New Paper's specially printed, limited edition World Cup fixtures poster and, for each of the first 10 people in the queue, a pair of Puma football boots.

When Ms Sharon Goh, 47, saw that there were already eager fans queueing at Tampines Courts Megastore on Thursday night, she quickly snapped a photo, sent it to her son, and told him to rush down to queue overnight with his friends at the Courts outlet at Tampines North.

She knew that her son, Keith Minjoot, 15, had wanted a pair of Puma football boots.

The Compassvale Secondary School student took a bus from his home in Bedok and was sixth in the line. He was there with two of his football team-mates, Eric Teo, 16, and Jad Haziq, 17.

After a 12-hour wait, Keith and his friends finally got what they were after.

The boots, together with Courts vouchers worth $40 and 100 TNP World Cup fixture posters, were snapped up in less than two hours after the giveaway began at 10am.

It was organised by Courts. The poster was designed by TNP's international award-winning creative team.

The A1-sized wall poster allows fans to fill in the results of all 64 World Cup fixtures and track the progress of their favourite teams.

The Puma boots, including the evoSPEED and evoPOWER, cost up to $279 a pair.

Said Keith: "I already have three to four pairs of boots, but the Puma ones - with pink right boot and blue left boot - are really outstanding.

"If I can't stand out on the field for my skills, at least I'll stand out with my boots.

"But I was more anxious than excited yesterday because I was worried someone would take my place before I got there."

GOOD LESSON

His mother, who works in customer support, said: "I supported him because it was a good lesson for him that if he wants something, he needs to get it himself."

Avid football fans Yamanhizas and his son Mohamed Afiq walked away with the 10th and final pair of boots.

They made the one-hour journey from their home in Jurong East to Tampines on Thursday at about 11pm.

Mr Yamanhizas took a day off from his job as a bodyguard to accompany his 14-year-old son.

Afiq, a right-back for his school team, said: "I have a pair of boots but they are torn, so I'm happy to have a new pair."

Eager fans had brought mats, stools and jackets for the long wait.

The first in the queue was Mr Chung Khai Heng, 62, who waited for 15 hours.

National junior hockey player Gousikan Ramalingam, 12, showed up at 7am yesterday in his Manchester United jersey but missed out on the boots.

He walked away with the poster and the $40 Courts voucher.

His father, cab driver K Ramalingam, 55, woke up at 5.30am to drive his son to Courts.

He said: "I appreciate my son's spirit since he was the one who suggested to queue for the boots. As his father, I should support him."

Like many others in the queue, Mr Ramalingam subscribes to TNP. Gousikan's favourite section is sports.

About 10,000 of TNP World Cup fixtures posters have been distributed since April. A poster was given out with every TV set bought at Courts.

Mr Tim Luce, Courts Singapore country chief executive, said: "Courts is well-known for bringing unique football experiences to customers and fans, and we are happy to have been able to do this with The New Paper, the definitive source for all things football.

"With the World Cup right around the corner, football fever is at an all-time high and the excitement was palpable in the queue, which had begun snaking even before our store had opened."

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Courts is well-known for bringing unique football experiences to customers and fans, and we are happy to have been able to do this with The New Paper, the definitive source for all things football.

- Mr Tim Luce, Courts Singapore country chief executive