The Lagos Derby between Ikorodu United and MFM may
have come and gone but the game still remain as a pointer of how clubs should start
making deliberate effort at marketing their league matches.
During half time at the Agege Stadium, the
management of Ikorodu United in partnership with their sponsors gave out 10 GOtv
decoders to ticketed fans via a raffle draw. And it turned out to be the ‘wow
experience, as most fans left the stadium talking about it and the winners
thanking their star.
“It was a good way to connect with the fans and to
encourage more people to attend future games” noted Kingsley Ihezue of
GreenHunters Sports International, one of the prominent sport marketing company
in Nigeria.
“there’s still more than can be done to give fans a
fully rounded experience so that they can start connecting with the players and
teams. For instance, match programs bearing players profiles and interesting
little statistics can be produced by clubs and handed out to fans that
purchased tickets” He continued.
“There’s the need to regulate food vendors inside
the stadium so that fans can get refreshment at half time or during the game.
Concessionary business can be a major revenue source for the home team.”
“Our clubs should look at different concepts to
merge football with music, comedy, circus performances to give fans a generally
jolly good time at the stadium.”
“A lot can also be done before the match. Clubs
should stop siting I their armchair
waiting for people to show up on match day. They should start marketing them in
their shops, garage, offices… Develop fans subscriptions and card holders;
collect data and prompt fans via SMS and email giving them reason to prefer the
local league than competing events on Cable Tv.” Ihezue concluded.
