Australian Scott Robins expert opinion on Football matters

By Scott Robins,

There are various facets that influence a fans attendance at a game. Most attend due to their love for the team or the chance to see a moment happen in history. However, there is also some science to add to the ambience of attending a match that draws fans in. Some of these include but are not limited to – ticket prices, safety, interaction and engagement, legends of the game, marquee players, and what is happening globally. I will discuss a few of these briefly in this article and hopefully I will create some debate on how we can move things forward.

Getting fans to stadiums –

Clubs will make more money by making tickets cheaper to allow greater access to the game. By reducing prices they attract more people to the game, who will spend more money on merchandise and food and by doing so up the gate intake. Also by having full stadiums it increases the brand proposition you are offering television audiences which allows you to increase revenue in television sponsorship and deals. Only when stadiums are being sold out should clubs think about increasing prices, until that point they are missing out on potential revenue. Clubs and associations need to be smarter and should look at opportunities to draw fans in. This could happen in many ways for instance in deals between two different sports. Imagine if your ticket got you into the football and the basketball on the same weekend? Or that you could bring two children to the game with one paying adult? There are many marketing opportunities for those running the game to consider which the best fit is. However, drawing fans to the games is a major responsibility of all stakeholders and ads to the excitement of the match. As a player do you think they like playing in front of empty stadiums, no, they would much prefer showing their skills off to all and sundry.

Safety concerns –

When you go the game you want to ensure you are going to make it home afterwards. I understand fans are passionate about their team and supporting your team can go to the nth degree, however when violence becomes involved it sounds alarms to true fans. We need to eradicate hooligans out of the game to make it enjoyable for all. We need to ensure football and sport is protected for the generations so you feel safe about bringing your family to the game and as such each stadium should have designated family areas. Local police need to become involved with the leagues also to help guarantee safety. If a hard stance is taken on hooliganism and they are banned from attending matches, fan behaviour will change very quickly.

Interaction and engagement –

What fans desire is a parasocial interaction with their idols. A parasocial interaction is when a fan thinks they are having a relationship with the sportsperson and have the ability to impact their life or what they do on the pitch. When a fan believes they are having an impact on a player they are more likely to attend matches to see what the team and players are up to. It is up to teams to create this interaction between their fan bases and the players. This is really down to the clubs to get their players involved with social media and to show behind the scenes content. A player that does this really well is someone like Tim Cahill, he always has time for fans no matter where he is in the world and is constantly on social media providing updates and posting photos of fan interaction.  Teams can make it easier if players are playing in the same shirt number each week and using it as their social media handle for instance @VictorWanyama5 or @DavidBecham23. Teams can also create chat rooms where fans get the chance to be able to chat to certain players during the course of the week and be able to ask them any questions that are on their mind

Players also need to give back to the community and engage with the people that support them. Through social engagement people feel connected to the team and the community feels committed to supporting the team. Through community interaction fans feel like the team is giving back to the community and not just looking after their own interest. If the team can connect with the communities they are playing in they can create interest in what they are doing on and off the pitch.

Also by getting the fans involved at the match in various ways those sitting home on the couch watching the match on television or radio are missing out. Imagine going to the game and coming home with a signed jersey from your favourite team or getting the chance to interview your favourite player after the match. There are many opportunities for teams to become involved with the crowd through half time promotions or even the chance to take penalties against a legend. Imagine if you had the chance to take a penalty at half time against the reserve goal keeper and getting guidance and tips from your favourite striker, the fan experience is unbelievable. This not only works for fans but is also a way to get sponsors involved as well. Also there are other opportunities out there to become engaged with the team and fans through school holiday training camps and getting involved with the community away from the game. Teams also have a chance to build fan bases across the country if they reach out to fans while travelling.

Getting previous players involved –

One thing that intrigued me overseas was the ability to get former players involved or even current injured players to come and speak with the fans. They would organise a lunch or dinner before the match where they would get the insight of former greats as to what to expect of the days match and to give them insight of how they thought the game would pan out during the day. They would also speak about previous matches they had been involved in between the two teams and talk about the famous matches that they had taken place whether it be a cup or league match. It was easy to see the difference between those clubs that did it and those that did not. While I worked at Tottenham they always had a full house and never struggled with an empty stadium, yet, Fullham did not do it and you would always see empty stands. If you can create that sense of history with the fans and get them to embrace the culture and understand what it means to be a fan, then it helps fans resonate with the club.

Marquee Players –

When you look at leagues around the world that are trying to develop themselves on an international stage such as Major League Soccer (USA), Super League (China) or the A League (Australia) something that has worked well has been the introduction of a marquee player to draw the fans to the game. If you look at those players that have ventured overseas such as Thierry Henry, David Beckham, Alessandro Del Pierro, Robbie Fowler, William Gallas, Didier Drogba, Emile Heskey the list goes on. Clubs need to get sponsors involved to see if they would be able to help sponsor a marquee player, even if only for a few months. Can you imagine the buzz that it would cause if you could get a guest stint out of marquee player to help drive the league forward. Obviously it restricts development of the player in the local league whose spot they take, however everyone learns more from the overseas pro who shares their knowledge and the fans are drawn to the magic of the player. East Africa seems to be very passionate about the European leagues, imagine if you could see one for yourself running around in the domestic league. I must say seeing Del Pierro in Sydney over December was just magical. Class is always class

Overseas and what is happening –

The issue of drawing fans to the game is a global issue. However the stadiums internationally allow themselves to be able to offer differing solutions to the public. If you look at the stadia overseas, and there are some impressive structures, they are able to reach out more to their fan base. I am not for one second saying we replicate what is happening overseas, as those stadiums cost millions of dollars. Yet, as sports lovers we need to see something happen and to see what is happening overseas is exciting. Stadiums are being connected by wifi to allow fans to access content on their phones that is only available to those at the stadiums. If we can just think outside the square the possibilities are endless. Imagine having a free wifi point at each of the stadia to access content that is only provided to those at the stadia. This means the team needs to come to the party and provide extra content for the fans. Something that would also see this work is to have some big screens in the stadium so that content could be beamed to the fans. Something that really excites me and I know it is going to change fans interaction with the teams they support moving forward.

I hope this provides some debate and interest on what we can do to help move the game forward and I look forward to reading some of your comments

@SkipinSaffaland

Scott Robins

Collins Okinyo

Ex- CAF Media Expert. An expert on African football with over 15 years experience ,always with an ear to the ground with indepth knowledge of the game. I have worked for top publications including 7 years at www.supersport.com until i founded www.soka25east.com to quench the thirst of football lovers across the continent. I have trained young upcoming journalists who are now a voice in African football.I have covered World Cup,AFCON,CHAN,Champions League,Confederations Cup,Cecafa,Cosafa,Wafu and many other football tournaments across the World. Founder Football Africa Arena(FAA),Founder www.afrisportdigital.com