Abuja- Low turnout of spectators has been the order of the day as the 2014/2015 Glo Premier League Super 4 Invitational Tournament in Abuja entered Matchday Two on Monday.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the tournament started on Saturday and involves six teams, comprised four Nigerian league clubs and two national teams.
However, only a handful of spectators were there when the competition got underway at the mainbowl of the National Stadium, a trend which repeated itself on Monday.
Some of the football enthusiasts who spoke to NAN however blamed the low turnout on bad timing of the tournament, while others said it was due to low publicity.
General Manager of ABS Football Club of Ilorin, Alloy Chukwuemeka, said the low turnout was because Abuja residents were not “football-watching people’’.
“The decision to bring the match to Abuja is the cause of the low turnout, because Abuja residents do not come out to watch matches.
“In addition, there is no Premier League clubside based in Abuja, and automatically, you won’t have that fan base here.
“Also, most part of the tournament is being played within the week when most people are at work. So, we can’t avoid the low turnout we are experiencing,” Chukwuemeka said.
He however noted that the tournament was a good one to prepare the clubs and teams for their various competitions.
“It is a big tournament and the inclusion of the two national teams has brought more life into the tournament.
“The various clubs involved will now be able to use the matches as build-up to the various tournaments they are participating in,” Chukwuemeka said
A journalist with Silverbird Television, Victor Iroele, however has a different view, saying the organisers did nothing about publicising the tournament.
“We ought not to be surprised at the low turnout, because there was no publicity for the tournament.
“You don’t expect people to come out from nowhere and begin to watch the event.
“We have to get it clear that Abuja National Stadium’s location is off many people’s route. So, they must plan to come here.
“It is not a place you just go to by dropping along your way and decide to stop to watch a match. So, you must woo people to come.
“And, if you have an event where there is no publicity, such as jingles on radio and television, how do people come?’’ Iroele said.
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He claimed that the organisers were more bothered about the money involved in creating awareness than the beauty of bringing people to the stadium.
“Many times we look at money and you have to pay a price somewhere, forgetting that there is no pain no gain.
“We want to conserve money. But we are now paying for the low patronage,” Iroele said.
He however disagreed with the opinion that Abuja residents do not come out to watch matches.
“I disagree with the assertion that Abuja residents are not football-watching people.
“The Super Eagles play here and people come out to watch them.
“If a match or competition is properly publicised, people will come out to watch. We would have had better turnout than what we see now,” Iroele said.
Another football enthusiast, Wasiu Olanrewaju, said the timing of the tournament was wrong as people would be at their various work places.
“Time factor is the cause of the low turnout. You cannot schedule matches for 1 p.m., 3 p. m. and 5 p.m. which are working hours and expect people working to come out and watch.
“People are at work looking for their daily bread and you expect them to forgo that for a tournament?
“And the funniest thing is that the tournament runs throughout the week. So, no magic should be expected from the supposed fans,” Olanrewaju said.
NAN reports that the tournament which is a pre-season preparatory event is to prepare Nigerian clubs representing the country in continental championships.
The two national teams — the national under-20 and national under-23 teams — were included in the competition for it to help them build up for competitions they would participate in.
The invitational tournament which started on Jan. 24 will end on Feb. 1.(NAN)