More than one way to create loyal fans

IT TOOK me an hour-and-ahalf to get from The Star’s office in the Joburg CBD to Makhulong Stadium on Tuesday to be a part of history.

Most of that time was spent in the crazy traffic of Tembisa because of the Rea Vaya expansion, which has left certain parts of that township’s roads with just one lane.

It took some doing not to lose it. I can’t say the same for the taxi drivers, who started creating routes that didn’t exist to beat the congestion.

Thankfully, I arrived at the stadium with the little sanity I have still intact. It was worth the trip. By 7pm, 30 minutes before kick-off, the main grandstand was packed with people of Tembisa eager to finally support their own club in the Premier Division after a 14-year wait. Highlands Park did not disappoint, beating Baroka 2-1 to start their life in the big league with a win.

But for me that wasn’t the best part of the night. That was the atmosphere at the stadium. The last time they had a team to cheer in the elite league was during the days of Tembisa Classic – Yizo Yizo as they nicknamed them. I remember one Arthur Zwane as part of that team that played a brand of exciting football. The club was loved by the locals because it became ingrained into the community. That’s why they were sad when it was relegated in the 2001/02 season.

They were heartbroken when the club sold its status to Maritzburg United after gaining promotion for the 2005/06 campaign.

For 14 years people from Tembisa watched other people’s clubs campaign in the elite league. That changed on Tuesday, and they came out in numbers to support Highlands. It was a beautiful sight, especially with the low turnout that we are used to.

What caught my eye was the number of fans wearing Kaizer Chiefs, Orlando Pirates and Mamelodi Sundowns jerseys backing Highlands. They were all locals who supported the big three in the absence of a team of their own.

It’s common knowledge that the other 13 clubs can’t compete with these three in terms of fans. They shouldn’t try to compete with them in that regard because they won those fans with their rich history of being successful.

Instead, the smaller clubs should entrench themselves in the communities that they fall under so that they are at least adopted as each community’s second club. The fans might be conflicted for that one match when their “first” team comes to town, but for the other 14 games you will enjoy good support from your people.

For a long time Bidvest Wits failed to do that in the large community of University of the Witwatersrand students around Bidvest Stadium. If they had won over that crowd, it would have been easy to get 5 000 fans for every home game. They are almost there because they now enjoy good support from the students. That’s what teams like Chippa United and Platinum Stars should do, especially since they don’t compete with any other team in the provinces that they’re from. If you’re a team from Pretoria or Nelspruit, don’t just be a team from there in name. Be there.

I remember that during my high school years at Amandlethu in Amaoti we used to be transported to every Golden Arrows home game. That was after Abafana Bes’thende had signed Philani Shange, who went to our school. Even though he spent most of the time on the bench at first, it was great being there to support one of our own. We weren’t sold a club but a sense of belonging. That’s how Arrows won over many fans in Durban, because they had a team made up of players from across the different townships in the city. Almost everyone had one of their “own”. When I left school I missed those trips to the stadium to watch Arrows. So I would do so with money from my own pocket.

I feel clubs aren’t feeding off this loyalty and a sense of community enough. Trying to compete with the likes of Chiefs, Pirates and Sundowns is a tough task. So give fans what those teams can’t give them, especially when you’re outside of Gauteng. Sell them a sense of belonging in a local team.

Even if it is to be their second team, that would go a long way towards improving attendance at our matches.