A Malaysian fan group’s protest against Premier League clubs organising lucrative friendly matches in the country appears to have been effective, with only 19,000 tickets sold for Tottenham Hotspur’s fixture on Wednesday.

The Ultras Malaya had labelled Spurs’ game against a Malaysian XI and the 24 July visit from Liverpool as “circus matches”, and expressed anger at the disruption caused to their domestic league as well as the World Cup qualifying preparations. The group had asked fans to rip up any free tickets offered and urged people to boycott the match.

The Spurs squad arrived in Malaysia on Tuesday with organisers hopeful they would be able to boost the attendance before kick-off at the 80,000-capacity Shah Alam Stadium.

The ProEvents Group chief executive officer Julian Kam told the Malaysian news agency Bernama: “I hope we will reach 30,000 by tomorrow. It will be a very entertaining game for the fans to enjoy the moments.”

However, a less-than-half-full stadium will still be an unusual sight for English clubs travelling to Malaysia. In recent years Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal have all managed to attract over 80,000 fans for friendly matches in the country.

Yet the Ultras Malaya argue they have seen little impact over the years of the money-spinning matches and have fears about the state of the national team, who dwindle at a worst ever Fifa ranking of 166th.

Kam defended the fixture and said Malaysia would benefit from the arrival of fans flocking from around the region to see the north London side. “The tourists will not just spend on the game, they will spend for the hotel, food and transportation, which is good for the country,” he said.