Sports-themed hotel gets World Cup makeover

KUALA LUMPUR: Considered a time capsule for the world's most popular single-sport tournament, the  uniquely-styled Olympic Sports Hotel here exhibits a wide array of World Cup memorabilia dating back to the  early 1960s, a first for any hotel in the country.

The hotel, located at Wisma OCM along Jalan Hang Jebat, displays priceless items such as autographed jerseys from the 1994 German World Cup squad and decorated English goalkeeper Ray Clemence.
Ow Soon Kooi, who took over as the hotel's director last year, said the memorabilia reflected the local passion for the World Cup.

"The idea to do this came from a friend three months ago. We decided to decorate the hotel in conjunction with the upcoming World Cup in South Africa," he said.
"As a sports-themed hotel, we have to live up to our name. And so, we have on display some of the rarest World Cup collector's items to give our guests a unique atmosphere."
Ow, himself a national hockey legend, said the hotel lobby acts as a hall-of-fame for some of the greatest football players.

Upon entering the lobby, one will be greeted by posters of Diego Maradona's 1986 "hand of God" goal, and World Cup posters.

"These exhibits are loaned to us by their owners. We had difficulty tracking them down, let alone get the respective owners' permission to exhibit them here," said Ow.

"The most priceless item here are the framed autographed photos of Brazilian legend Pele, which I purchased myself."

Next to the hotel's reception area are a number of glass showcases exhibiting items such as German goalkeeper Oliver Kahn's gloves from the 1994 World Cup, as well as the boots of Franz Beckenbauer, who won the World Cup as captain (1974) and coach (1990).

"The concept of our hotel is not only to cater to athletes, but the general public and tourists as well," said Ow.
"Among our guests over the years have been national football team members, officials from the Asian Youth Volleyball tournament as well as foreign media representatives covering the recent Thomas Cup and Uber Cup Finals."

Ow said he will continue to exhibit sports memorabilia as well as repay his debt to the country by hanging up pictures of Malaysian sports legends.

"Once the World Cup football fever has cooled down, I plan to put up pictures of our nation's greatest sportsmen. For athletes, the passion for sports never dies. It lives on and we will always be there for the love of the game."


MMAIL