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Why You Should Always Carry Your Arsenal SA Membership Card
This email was received recently from Theo Sibiya – one of our long time members - and just proves that it’s always a good idea to have your Arsenal SA membership card with you….
Arsenal SA Supporters Club Membership- What an awesome value proposition!!!
I thought I would send you this email to show my appreciation for all your (supporters club management team) efforts in running the Arsenal supporters club of South Africa and to share with you my experience on my recent visit to the UK....
I recently (December 16th) went up to London to attend a close friend’s wedding. The wedding was going to be on the Saturday 19th , the same day Arsenal was going to be playing Portsmouth...away. I was quite happy that this was the case because had Arsenal been playing at home I might have been tempted to put at risk my friendship with the groom.
Anyway, to cut a long story short after the wedding on the 19th I had a couple of days free in London and decided to take a trip to the Emirates stadium and hopefully get a tour of the stadium in. So on the 21st , off I went on the Piccadilly line (I think) up North to the Arsenal station and subsequently 5 mins walk from the station, the Emirates stadium. I got there a bit late and was told that the tours were finished for the day but that I could pay a nominal fee and have a walk around the museum.
I proceeded to the museum and when asked to pay a nominal entry fee I mentioned that I was a card carrying member of the SA supporters club and showed them my card....they let me in free of charge!! I spent about an hour and a half in the museum...it’s awesome. On my way out of the emirates stadium I went back to the tickets office and asked them if they would be doing stadium tours the next day as I would like to buy a ticket. They said that there would be no tours the next day as they were having an exclusive ‘members day’ where 5000 selected members form all around Britain would be allowed in to watch the 1st team training session and meet with the players afterwards for tea before the players go to various hospitals to hand out gifts etc. I mentioned to them that I was a member of the SA supporters club and showed them my membership card...the fellow I was talking to took my card and went with it to an office somewhere upon which he returned and gave me a free ticket to the ‘members day’!!! He told me to be there at 10am the next day.
I was there at 09:45 the next day...
Unfortunately I was told the members day had been cancelled due to the very bad weather, it had been snowing heavily the last 3 days and the roads were treacherous (they were right, the weather was miserable the whole time I was there, they were having the heaviest snow storms in London in decades). They said they didn’t want to expose the players and members to the hazards of travelling that day and would reschedule the day in January....to say the least ‘I was well and truly GUTTED’!!
However, it wasn’t all bad news....after chatting to a few fellow supporters outside the stadium they came out and said they would be running 3 group tours for all those present as they wanted to compensate those that had travelled from afar. Needless to say they put me into the first tour group and into the Stadium we went...it was nothing short of amazing with the tour being carried out by a highly competent and knowledgeable tour guide!! We went to the following places:
The director’s box and lounge
The player’s entrance
The players’ changing rooms (I sat where Fabregas sits before the match and at halftime...have pictures to prove it)
The players entry tunnel
The actual pitch
The press room
The conference room
Throughout the tour we were fed with interesting trivia about the great club that is Arsenal! The tour ended with some tea and mince pies next to the press room and a trip to the Arsenal mega-store around the back. At the store, upon showing them my membership card I qualified for a 10% members discount on all Arsenal merchandise. I now own a pair of Arsenal pyjamas
Thanks Arsenal South Africa.
Regards,
Theo Sibiya
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On this day in 1956
1956 - Jimmy Bloomfield, Mike Tiddy and Cliff Holton scored to give the Gunners a 3-2 First Division victory away to Portsmouth.
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