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The two 11,000 plus crowds in the A-League last weekend hopefully signals an upward trend as we approach the finals, given so much talk this season has focused on poor crowd figures. But where is the A-League at in relation to crowds and what does it say about the strength of the league?
Crowds have been down this season and, as has been discussed at length, there is a myriad of reasons why – the poor form of Sydney FC, the disappointing performance of marquee stars and the global financial crisis.
How much of an influence the latter has on crowd figures is hard to quantify but it certainly has an effect on people’s wallets and therefore how they spend their money on leisure activity, not to mention the effect it has on sponsorship and marketing.
I was reminded of the A–League when listening to an interview with IndyCar president of competition Brian Barnhart, who described how the reunification of the sport after a decade of civil war coincided with the global financial crisis.
“With all of those events creating positive momentum, it’s just amazing the bad timing that we have to be facing the world economic situation that we’re facing,” he said.
Similarly, at such an early stage of its development and with expansion set to commence next season, it is simply bad timing for the A–League that the economic situation has impacted, partly at least, crowd figures and given the doubters in the tabloid press fodder for its unsubstantiated ranting of a league in crisis.
Newness of any product in this climate is a bad thing.
Unlike the rival winter football codes, the A-League franchises are still new, yet to fully infiltrate their communities, still winning over hearts and minds as opposed to the AFL for example which is entrenched in Victoria and its culture.
Hence why form has such an influence over crowds for A-League teams.
Remember, too, the position football has come from in the last few decades, a game once perceived as being reserved for ethnic minorities.
This is why crowd comparisons with other codes are futile.
But stagnation must also be expected for a product that boomed onto the Australian sporting landscape after the slow demise of the NSL. The last NSL Grand Final attracted a crowd of 9,630. The first A-League Grand Final attracted 41,689 two years later.
This isn’t to say, however, that the FFA can’t do more to attract fans.
Fancy marketing campaigns are great but hearts and minds are won on the ground, in the local communities, schools, local clubs, shopping centres, and so on.
With the FFA now campaigning heavily for the 2018 World Cup, they must ensure the A-League is not forgotten, especially during this crucial expansion phase.
Let’s be honest, there isn’t a hell of a lot of domestic sports competition in the summer months. Domestic Test cricket crowds can be counted on two hands and the struggle of the NBL has helped the A-League become the big domestic summer competition.
The final crowd figures won’t be as bad as the doomsayers predicted.
The race to the finals intensifies the drama and the desire of people to get to the games and kids are on school holidays.
In terms of crowds, Melbourne have a few home games left and Adelaide United has a match against Sydney FC at Adelaide Oval, a fixture that last season attracted over 25,000.
There is still a lot that can be done to win over fans, but don’t fret too much over crowd figures. Just get to the games yourselves.
