Poor PSL clubs: forget gate takings
The sad thought of playing in front of empty stands is nothing new in SA
As the PSL readies itself to unleash its 32 teams to resume its Coronavirus-affected league programme, for the first time since World War 2, action will be played out in front of empty stands.
There will be bare pavilions, sans the usual singing, clapping, gesturing and blowing of vuvuzelas.
But many players in the PSL won’t be bemused to be playing in front of empty stands. They are used to it week in and week out, except for matches involving the so-called big three – Kaizer Chiefs, Orlando Pirates and Mamelodi Sundowns.
Even the three clubs’ players have had to exert themselves and play their hearts out in front of vacant stands at times. However, this time around the deserted stands are a testimony to the deadly Coronavirus pandemic.
For hosting clubs that had been waiting with bated breath for gate takings, traditionally the backbone of football revenue for many years, there will be none.
Some of the PSL clubs should not even complain that they will lose out on gate takings as they haven’t had decent gate-takings revenue at home matches in donkey years, unless, of course, they are playing against the big three.
So, they should not have hangups about playing behind closed doors simply because they are used to empty stands anyway.
While South Africa has been branded a football-mad nation, local fans are fickle, often resorting to being couch potatoes in front of the telly when their teams are playing, the exception being the die-hard fans.
Our football officials have been battling for years to figure out how to get bums on seats at football matches. And they still have not found the magic wand, but their work has been cut out in these days of COVID-19.
At national level, the last time we saw Bafana Bafana pack stadiums to the rafters was during the 2010 World Cup and the 1996 Africa Cup of Nations.
In the PSL, the only time Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban and Soccer City in Joburg are crowded is during the muchloved Soweto derby featuring Pirates and Chiefs. The full-house signs go up three weeks before the actual match.
Some PSL clubs battle to even get 2 000 spectators unless they host Bucs, Amakhosi or Downs. The situation will become more dire in the coming years as e-sports becomes the norm. Streaming live matches is already the new normal.
We are entering a world of bespectacled computer geeks sitting in front of a bunch of giant monitors to bring us action wherever we are. So forget about gate-takings revenue, PSL club bosses.
Our football officials have been battling for years to get bums on seats