Holding out for just two minutes more would have made for the perfect holiday. Forget about the honeymoon, or backpacking around South America at the age of 19 – for Adelaide’s most fervent supporters, stealing into Melbourne last week and walking away with the right to the Grand Final would have been the ultimate getaway. Sadly it was not to be, but last Sunday’s match was another example of the success of Adelaide United’s Get Mobile program which is making away travel in the Hyundai A-League accessible to all fans.

Unlucky 13
Since Adelaide United’s inception, the club and its fans have organised 13 Get Mobile away trips, taking vocal away support as far as Perth, Brisbane and Sydney. Adelaide fan Con Tsakiris has been there from the start, before the Hyundai A-League had even commenced. “I put up my hand to organise a trip for Adelaide United fans to travel to Melbourne. This trip was to be paid solely by the fans,” he remembers. “When the club heard of this they offered to pay for the bus, so one bus turned into two buses which turned into five and finally we had seven buses going to Melbourne for our first trip. All the buses were paid by the club.”

While a flight, train trip or bus ticket, accommodation, match tickets and expenses for an away trip can often cost several hundred dollars, the Get Mobile program has made away travel extremely affordable. “The big factor here is the cost, for example, our trip to Melbourne for the second leg of the Major Semi Final cost $30,” Con says. “This included return travel and match day ticket, with a free day in Melbourne as a bonus.”

Exceptional Snoring
The popularity is growing. “The trips to Melbourne and Sydney are most popular and the buses are always full,” Con notes. “Enquiries for seats on buses are received weeks in advance.”

Apart from the football, the trips provide hours of entertainment for football fans, many of whom have become friends. Yet being in close proximity for such a length of time has its drawbacks, as Con says: “There are 50 fans on the bus and 49 of them are chronic snorers, I am the exception.”

Reproduced from TheFull90 – the official matchday magazine of the Hyundai A-League www.a-league.com.au Get it at the game!