Ever since football fans in Nigeria
began their love affair with English Premier League (EPL), ticket revenue in most
stadium has dropped by over 60 percent in Nigeria Premier League games. That's alarming
for a league presently without a sponsor and most of the participating clubs doesn't
even have shirt endorsements. If you think that's incredible, then you aint seen
nothing yet.
I was at Nnamdi Azikwe stadium
to see the game between Enugu Rangers VS Sharks of Port harcourt, and I did see
something more alarming. You can't believe this, virtually everyone were flashing
ID cards, Policemen, Civil defence, Red Cross, Boy scouts even MASSOB and local
vigilante groups were all showing their ID cards to get into the stadium free. That's
very bad in it's own right, but you could even excuse these people, since the popular
side were always looking empty and you need them to fill the seats, so the league
would have respectable view when SuperSports broadcast the matches on TV.
But what of the Very Important
Personality (VIP) side, which are usually filled to the capacity. You may say sold
out, since the seats are concessionary and the prices are much more higher; some
officials even have permanent seat reserved for them. You could imagine how much
the clubs would be making to cover the loose sales from the popular side. But it
would beat your imagination to know that almost everyone at the VIP side also got
into the stadium free. They got in with different nomenclatures - The governor and
his entourage, commissioner and their entourage, the team manager and his entourage,
Ex-internationals and their friends... were all allowed to get into the stadium
free. So how are these clubs going make money to finance their projects.
You may have the assumption that
these caliber of people are those financing the club. Amazingly, you'll find out
that it's not like that. It's only the governor that disburse money to finance the
club. So then, why are these guys getting free admission into the stadium. I will
tell you why.
Although, most of the VIPs' has
the capacity to donate big time to the club, but no one has ask them to do so. No
one has organize a fundraising event and call on them to donate for the club. No
one has sold season's tickets to them or
get them to subscribe for those concessionary seats at the VIP side. So you don't
blame them, everyone loves freebies.
This is one of the jobs a club
marketing department does. Your club will do better to regain lost revenue when
you recruit and empower a marketing department. They're trained and have the essential
know how to deliver more revenue to the club. Alternatively, your club may hire
an external sport marketing agency to do the job and help your club breakeven as
well as make profit. This is why GreenHunters Sports International is so vital to
the future of Nigeria football.
