On Wednesday, Lusaka based fans were treated to an exciting rescheduled week one encounter between Green Buffaloes and Zesco United. On the field of play, the game lived to its expectation of producing a goal.
What was impressing on the day however, was not only the goal that was scored by Jackson Jesse Were to give Zesco United the vital win over Green Buffaloes. The crowd that turned up for the game was also the highlight of the interest people have in the Zambian elite game.
Edwin Imboela witnessed a capacity crowd. This was very considering the fact that the game was play mid-week and most people were busy at work but still managed to leave their offices and businesses to witness this mouthwatering encounter.
One would now imagine, how much the home team pocketed from the gate takings on a Wednesday match day. Lessons can also be learnt that it doesn’t just happen especially for teams that are not so much of a big brand. For certain teams just a mention of the team will always draw a crowd while others need to hustle for the numbers.
All in all, teams need to sell their games to the public in whichever possible way they can. Social media is the new trend that even most European and world over are using to reach out to their audience (fans). Zambian clubs have not yet registered their presence on social media and will need to up their games.
According to Scottish Sports writer, Mark Bradley, he proposed that teams can improve attendances in stadium by;
1. Make Supporter Engagement a Priority
If you’re a CEO or senior official at the club, make it clear not just through what you say (but also what you do) that fans matter. Ask about feedback; include engagement on meeting agendas, base recognition around acts of kindness to fans and share performance stats with your people.
This however, does not happen in Zambia because CEO’s think they run the whole show.
2. Talk to Supporters
Bradley is in his research he goes to say: Most supporters believe that their clubs keep them at an arm’s length. Sometimes this is because of a feeling that ‘we can’t please anyone’ and often simply because it’s not been done before and you’re not sure how to do it.
So my recommendation would be to put in place a process for generating feedback, whether it be a simply ‘engagement’ hashtag, whereby you can collect common issues; a regular face-to-face supporter forum or a quantitative survey. Share the results widely (even if they’re critical); thank fans for input; tell fans what you’re doing with their feedback and make it a big moment when you implement a change fans have been calling for;
Clubs must interact with the fans on a regular basis.
3. Measure Supporter Engagement
Zambian clubs must learn that what they measure is what defines what they stand for as a club. If all we measure is attendance, then we can only guess at what’s driving that. However, if we’re on top of the factors influencing attendance, we’re naturally better placed to take remedial action. What is the reason for non-renewal of season tickets? What is the reason an irregular supporter has started to come more often?
4. Recognise that the Make Up of your Fan Base is Changing
Bradley asks one important questions: does your club have a high profile female voice? Women and girls make up a growing segment of your fan base and yet remain under-represented in boardrooms, management teams and on a match day.
We have seen an increase in the number of female fans attending Super League matches. Hence, they need to be represented at the top level to encourage more women to attend football matches.
To be continued…..
