Factors Influencing Fans to Attend Matches Amid Pandemic: Exploring the Role of Trio of Team Affiliation, Sportscape, and Team Quality

Abstract

Football is a sport that has attracted global attention. Individuals who attend competitive football associate with teams and athletes to a point where they become ardent attendees. Post-pandemic, fans have returned in droves to watch live matches at stadiums following the relaxation of strict observance of safety protocols. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to determine the factors that prompt fans to attend matches during games by focusing on three main factors including team affiliation, sportscape and star players. We used a qualitative phenomenological approach to obtain deeper comprehension regarding factors that influence fans to crowd at stadiums to watch football. We deployed semi-structured interviews which gave us the opportunity to probe and gather relevant responses. Interviews were audio taped and transcribed to pave the way for content analysis. Results show that fan affinity and star players are prime determinants of fans’ match day attendance at stadiums. Sportscape yielded mix results with some fans putting premium on sportscape but others lamented the deplorable conditions of stadium amenities such as washrooms, insecurity, and malfunctioning scoreboard on whose evidence sportscape does little to motivate them to attend matches. We recommend the need for teams to pool resources into recruitment of star players and build a groundswell of loyal fans through outstanding in-field performances to attract crowds to the stadium.