Go to game or watch on Tv? Why stadium attendance is falling?
Last month, the Premier League has sold Television rights to its games for approximately £5.200bn to Sky and BT and in the meantime the average per-game attendance at live football games has declined.
This is a video report that summarize these current issues:
Interviews to: Antonio Di Cianni and Pablo Contreras Choco, students in Sport Management and Sport Marketing.
The relationship between Social Media and Football is becoming more considerable today. Football clubs and either players used to join them in order to faster approaching supporters and getting closer with them.
Social Media has quickly become a primary channel for domestically and abroad fans, finding out the latest news of the club, game commentary, statistics and also transfer market updates.
In addition to this, the power of these platforms sustains clubs in the use of marketing strategies and research, producing analysis that help in building a better relationship with their customers. Therefore, there is a great opportunity for brands to work close with football clubs and engage fans from all over the world.
IMG Consulting Fan Engagement Study
From the annual IMG Consulting Fan Engagement Study (2014), first launched in the US in 2010 as an annual insight into the relationship between sports and digital media use, football supporters are one of the heaviest users.
The study analyzes mainly UK, US and Brazilian fans. The latter are almost 50% more likely to use social media than US fans, especially Facebook (90%), while YouTube is prevalent used by the Stars and Stripes citizens.
The study also highlighted the importance of social media during the match-day. Indeed, UK fans check Twitter more than other social media network during the performance of their teams, looking on it on average 8.4 times per day. In contrast they looked at Facebook on 5.0 times per day and Instagram or Google+ less often (2.2 and 3.9 times).
Twitter 
The study stressed that, since last year in US, sports fans are increasingly using Google+, YouTube and especially Twitter (14%). Moreover, the official football social media metric site (folos.im) reports that, currently there are more than 1876 teams signed in this platform.
With more than 15,580,000 followers, Real Madrid is the club with more followers. Immediately then, we find Barcelona, Arsenal and Chelsea. The first Italian club, AC Milan is 10th in the rank and the greatest German squad, Bayern Munich, is only in the 15th place with more than 2,000,000 followers.
The trend to follow teams and athletes on this social media platform is stronger among 16-29 year old and this group is also more likely to use social media to engage with specific sports brands (44% follow a brand on Twitter). Moreover, more than one club using the hashtag key, try to start Twitter chats and Q&A conversations between the club and fans.
Instagram 
Another increasing powerful tool is Instagram which mainly provides clubs with an opportunity to share pictures from daily training and club life. It is also used to share pictures with particular statistics or look at the starting 11 before a match but also to take video behind the scenes after an important win. Some clubs update their profiles also with pictures that contain brief declarations from club’s staff or players. With 8,6 million followers, FC Barcelona is one of the most active.
Facebook 
However, Zuckerberg’s network seems the one most used from fans to engage with their club.
Its constant, frequent and live updates reach a great amount of audience: about 93% in Brazil, approximately 70% in UK and the 72% in US. Moreover, thanks to his commentary tool it is useful to see live responses and reactions of supporters, which could help also in working on to build a good marketing strategy. Then, the opportunity for football clubs to tag in players part of the team or sports sponsor’s brand, it is something more in construct the best engagement with fans.
Finally, it is fundamental for every football clubs to achieve a real online strategy with a long-term approach, embracing the purpose of how going to use these platforms, defining a proper audience, looking to which platform will perform best and how to reach the purposes before stated.
Moreover, one of the idea should be working close with the traditional media (tv, radio and newspapers) adapting their contents on them for supporters of all ages. Going through this way both supporters and clubs can acquire great benefits from these potential tools.
The stories of a football game not only pass through players and scores but also through the atmosphere. Without a stadium to host it, our memories could be forgotten. And these are three of the most iconic football stadiums in Europe: Allianz Arena, The Nou Camp and Wembley Stadium.
ALLIANZ ARENA
Tenants: Bayern Munich; 1860 Munich
Opened: 2005
Capacity: 75,000
Brief Description: The Allianz Arena’s construction began on October 2002 and it is now the home of Munich-based football teams: Bayern Munich and 1860 Munich. Known for its exterior in ETFE plastic panels, it is the first stadium in the world able to change colours to show witch of the two teams are playing: Red for Bayern and Blue for 1860 Munich. The legal capacity of the stadium increased from 2006 (69,000 seats) until January 2015 (75,000 for Bundesliga Games and 70,000 for Champions League’ games). Allianz Arena offers three day-care centers, the FC Bayern Munich Megastore and Museum.
CAMP NOU
Tenant: FC Barcelona
Opened: 1957
Capacity: 99,300
Brief Description: The Nou Camp is has been the home of FC Barcelona since 1957. It is the largest stadium in Europe and 4th largest association football stadium in the world in terms of capacity. The Barcelona’s motto “Mes Que Un Club” (More than a club) is displayed over the main stands. The facilities include a fan shop, mini-pitches for training matches, a chapel for the players and it provides also the FC Barcelona Museum, which receives more than 1.2 million visitors per year. In 2017, it will be held a re-modeled project (expected cost: € 600 million) in order to bring the capacity up to 105.000.
WEMBLEY STADIUM
Tenant: The FA, The English National Football Team
Opened: 2007
Capacity: 90,000
Brief Description: The Wembley Stadium is sited in Wembley Park , London. It is the second largest football stadium in Europe (90,000 seats) and hosts the FA Cup Final and home matches of the England national football team. Renowned as one of the most electric atmospheres in world football, it is properly called “The Home of Football”. It was built on the previous 1923 Wembley Stadium site and now it includes a partially retractable roof and the 134-metre-high arch with a diameter greater than of a cross-channel Eurostar train, which is its peculiarity. It can be configured to hold Rugby’s matches and also major concerts, thanks to its great acoustics.
Check the photo gallery here:
(All pictures by Caterina Mirra)
For some football players the most important games are not played on the pitch.
This is the case of the Serie A’s defender Francesco Acerbi who has beaten cancer twice to recover his life habits and career.
Francesco Acerbi
It was the summer of 2013 when the 26-year-old player, beginning a routine pre-season medical for his new team U.S. Sassuolo Calcio, learned that something went wrong. He was asked to undergo a specific scan and unfortunately, after that, he discovered to have a tumour on his left testicle.
The success of the operation, done at the San Raffaele hospital in Milan, allowed him to miraculously return into action for his Sassuolo’ debut in September. Obtaining also a place in the first side, all seemed to be right until a routine doping test, held on 1st December 2013.
The defender was found positive for an high levels of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG), a particular hormone which can boost testosterone. For this reason, the Italian Football Federation took the decision to suspend him and after have done careful exams, it was discovered that the tumour produced an elevated level of hCG.
His cancer came back again. But, this time, its return was unfortunately more aggressive. For this reason, the player underwent four rounds of chemotherapy that produced nausea, tiredness, insomnia and loss of appetite. Thus, spending about two months in hospital, he obviously missed the rest of the 2013-14 season.
During a Sportweek’ s interview he told that he had a thousand different medicines and, even when he came back home, he had not energy to go outside. Maybe, the scariest thing was that he did not recognise his own face in the mirror but, at the same time, all lead him to reflect on what really matter: “I used to be fickle kid who would go mad if I couldn’t find the mobile phone I wanted when I went to the shops. Now, I concentrate on the important stuff,” he confessed.
“While I was alone in my bed I thought a lot about the meaning of life,” he said in a separate interview last summer. ” I developed a furious desire to come back and play again.”
His great strenght in going on get him back on to the football pitch, on time for the 2014-15 campaign. The former Milan and Chievo made his first start in September against Sampdoria and gradually he has drafted for games against Napoli and Juventus.
But the 25th October 2014 was probably one of the most joyful day of his career. The two-time cancer survivor made is first goal since March 2012, during the derby against Parma. The Neroverdi won 3-1 thanks also to Sergio Floccari and Saphir Taider stikes. But the stage was only for Acerbi’s score who dedicated it to his medical staff. His celebration run towards his team-mates in the bench was simply touching.
Celebrating after scoring against Parma
And it is not ended yet. In November 2014, he made his debut in the senior national team, playing in a friendly match against Albania, while, one month later, struck his second goal of the season against Cagliari.
The defender believes that keeping smiling helped him in going through. Indeed, looking now to his joyful eyes on the football pitch, lead simply a sense of happiness for a boy who suffered but returned more confident than before to do what he really loves.
Over the past years, the work by the English Football Association (the FA) on disability in football has been engaging and inclusive. One of the greatest professional football clubs, such as Chelsea FC provides an interesting programme with the purpose to encourage players with disabilities to develop their potentials.
“The purpose of our programme is to offer quality sport and personal development to local communities regardless of age, race, gender or ability,” as posted on the website.
Chelsea’s Foundation (Picture by chelseafc.com)
Rob Seale, Disability Inclusion Officer at Chelsea FC, declared his enthusiasm for this strong community and highlighted the progress that the club made in this particular field.
Women’s football is incredibly growing. Only in Europe there are more than one million of players running through 48 different leagues.
The expansion of women’s soccer, over these last years, is different from every nation. For instance, England, France, Germany, Netherlands, Norway, Turkey and Sweden display more than 60,000 athletes. The latter, in particular, hold the greatest number: about 160,000.
In contrast, other countries present only the half of players, but on the same time they are constantly expanding. In Italy, for example, the increase of women in the field has exceeded the 80% over five years.
In addition to this, the attendance to watch latest female matches at the stadium has been registered with unexpected amount of supporters. Indeed, last November, the friendly match between England and Germany counted 55,000 fans at the Wembley Stadium in London. And it was a surprising record for a friendly match.
These are only some encouraging statistics of the present women’s football frame. In contrast, people in the field hope for a better future and a constant development. Last month, United States striker Abby Wambach declared to an exclusive BBC’ interview: “The growth of women’s soccer and women’s sports all around the world has been slow […] it not only has to come from Fifa, it needs to come from specific federations around the world.”
Lydia Nsekera (Picture by Fifa.com)
On the other hand, some steps forward have been made. It is the case of the election of Burundi FA president Lydia Nsekera on to Fifa’s executive committee, last year. In the governing body’s 109-year history, she has been elected as the first woman to its powerful executive committee. Her project encloses working to inspire women to believe they can lead and carrying on in protect the game fighting discrimination outside football.
Moreover, positive news came also last November when Stephanie Roche, Houston Club’s striker, got the nomination for the Fifa’s Puskas Award for the most sublime goal of the year. She contented the prize with Colombia’s James Rodriguez and Netherlands’ Van Persie, who finally won thanks to his diving header score in Holland’s 5-1 win over Spain, during the World Cup tournaments.
Stephanie Roche (Picture by Fifa.com)
Irish woman Roche made a remarkable turn and volley strike for Peamount against Wexford Youths Women on October 2013. It was only watched live by 95 fans but has since been seen by over six million YouTube viewers. That spectacular goal helped her not only to be nominated for the Fifa prize but also to earn a professional contract with French club ASPTT first and US Houston Club then.
Unfortunately, her nation will not attend the upcoming Fifa Women’s World Cup, hosted in Canada this summer. In the meantime, the preparations for the event keep on going. The matches played in the last weeks, by the qualified nations, have seen Germany and USA confirm their status of favourites, while promising results have been also staged by some debutants teams such as Spain, Thailand, Netherlands and Switzerland.
Qualified Teams- Women’s World Cup Canada 2015
With the hope to watch an exciting tournament, it should be significant if the optimism in the progress of women’s participation in football held by Fifa- and its guidelines– will be constant. Positive results have carried out also by UEFA with the latest edition of Women’s Competitions publication, in order to promote the sector. But the work needs to be done at all levels because “Women have a vital role to play in all aspects of the game,” as Darren Bailey, The FA’s Director of Football Governance and Regulation, recently highlighted.
Joining a match date outside the Emirates Stadium, it is quite clear how much international football clubs work on advertising and merchandising of their products and how many supporters are affected by them.
In this occasion Gunners’ fans are getting ready to attend a significant match: the derby against West Ham.
Let’s check my photo gallery:
The investment in youth football is the first step to get efficient results. Some European professional clubs built adequate systems that have contributed in this growth. And what about Italy?
Niccolò Landi, an Italian youth football expert, underlines how much progress has been made and still remains to be achieved.
Niccolò Landi is working as a sports reporter for Tv Prato (Tuscany, Italy) and you can find some of his work here: https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCbW0Ozyf8r5y-4T9q3nOA5w
Kick 'n' Goal 