The Sunday Mail
Hastings Kamanga
THE Confederation of African Football (CAF)’s ban on Zimbabwe’s stadiums has brought to the fore the fact that most of the facilities in the country are now archaic, having been built over 50 years ago.
Most are owned by local authorities and mining companies.
One only has to look at the history of underinvestment in football stadiums to understand how this has caused injury and death to supporters around the world.
Some might remember the Heysel Stadium Disaster when Liverpool fans accidentally caused the death of 39 Juventus fans in Brussels, Belgium, on May 29 1985 before the start of the 1985 European Cup final between the Italian and English clubs.
Also, on April 15 1989, 95 supporters were crushed to death at Hillsborough in a FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest.
Bruce Grobbelaar played in these two games.
In Zimbabwe, we inherited colonial football stadiums and have failed to upgrade them.
This is holding back football’s development. It is important that football leaders realise the importance of safe, functional and comfortable facilities at stadiums. Good facilities have the potential to attract sponsorship and corporate hospitality.
It cannot be disputed that there are several structural factors that affect the economics of the domestic game.
Our football pyramid makes it very difficult for clubs to identify themselves as instruments for marketing companies.
It also makes it difficult for them to attract partners such as broadcasters, sponsors and even fans.
One of the most valuable assets in football is the fan base.
The value of a football team is linked to its fan base and popularity.
Club football administrators have not been successful in activating this relationship and this makes the product unattractive. The declining attendance at football stadiums is caused by factors such as fears of hooliganism, poor access control into stadia and unfavourable kick-off times. So there is need for modern stadiums to be built. Other countries in the region and across the continent such as Zambia, South Africa, Egypt and Morocco have invested heavily in their facilities.
Modern stadiums are appealing to football fans and revenue tends to increase by moving into a new stadium.
They are dynamic as they are more than a facility that simply hosts a single event.
Understanding the changing habits of sports fans is crucial in the development of a facility that is capable of maximising fan engagement.
The last 30 years have seen a rapid increase in the development of sports facilities. Experts, however, believe that it is cost effective to build a new stadium than to renovate an existing one to meet the required standards and expectations, as is the case with Barbourfields Stadium (Bulawayo) or Gwanzura (Harare).
A modern stadium is not just a home ground for the team, but a focal point for the community that brings commercial interest into the area.
Local stadia operate only on match days, thus generate a single income stream through football attendances on a total of 17 games per season, and this income stream is the anchor of most club’s financial positions.
Germany records some of the highest attendances for matches in the world. Its stadia are owned by companies or regional governments in different cities. This, however, affects the revenue that would be generated.
Revenue sources for clubs include media rights, merchandising, sponsorship and transfer receipts.
Although they do not own stadia, they have the highest naming rights for stadia deal.
Italy has a similar model, only that their stadia are owned by local authorities.
A few clubs have built their own stadia and local authorities are considering handing them to football teams that use them.
Other clubs are moving towards securing the stadium on a long-term lease to maximise on commercial benefits.
It is not only about owning the stadium, but a well-developed fan socio-culture can lead to increased attendance, and this has to be supported by a good pricing system that ensures that attendance is high.
Clubs can then unlock other revenue sources through building their own multi-functional state-of-the-art training facilities.
Questions are always asked on why major clubs like CAPS United, Highlanders and Dynamos do not have club shops or museums, which are opportunities to generate income from their rich history.
Loss of Revenue
In Zimbabwe, which has non-existent broadcasting rights to talk of for football, match attendance is the only revenue stream or asset available to clubs.
Gate receipts will play a crucial role in attaining financial sustainability of the football club’s success.
A football match should fulfil certain conditions for dynamic pricing and revenue management practices when selling tickets.
Football is an extremely perishable product; therefore, tickets can only be sold before a match is played.
Fans are usually willing to pay different prices for the same ticket.
There is always a limited amount of tickets for sale as it is about supply and demand.
It is worth adjusting the prices of tickets as a way of boosting attendances at matches — airlines, cinemas and hotels use this method successfully.
Stadia are one of the places at which football fans are converted to customers as fans spend before, during and after games.
Modern stadia have been redesigned as a means of consumption.
They consist of restaurants, theatres, cafeteria, bars and hospitality boxes.
Fans do not only go and watch a football match but also to enjoy the entertainment offered at the stadium, making it a profitable arena.
The game now targets an audience with high purchasing power and stadia now generate revenue for 365 days a year.
Facility Management
Recruitment is a key part of sports administration, just like any other industry, and getting the right people for the right posts is key.
Ad-hoc appointments should be discouraged if any meaningful progress is to be made in developing our sports.
A huge amount of dedication is required to effectively manage sports facilities, and this involves ensuring that equipment/facilities are maintained efficiently, periodically scanning for hazards and removing ageing/defected equipment and avoiding continuous use of unsafe equipment.
Facility management is about making sure that the building complies with the health and safety standards, generates revenue and tenants-customers are satisfied.
There is need for qualified personnel in areas like marketing, PR, events, operations/ booking and ticketing to effectively administer the stadia.
The manner in which fans consume football has changed and will continue to change enormously, especially at modern stadia.
ZIFA, the clubs and municipalities need to move with the times in facility management.
Local authorities, clubs, ZIFA and PSL need to also introduce electronic ticketing system, which is an efficient way to the collection of revenue considering that match-day revenue is the major source of income for our football.
A stadium electronic card swipe system or e-ticketing system can be extended to other features beyond match-day access such as purchasing other products and services.
E-ticketing system saves time and money for both those attending the event and the organisers.
They are impossible to lose or steal as they live in the cloud and emails.
They eliminate hooliganism and ticketing cartels as those with tickets only attend the event.
E-tickets are always available and easy for those attending events as they are able to securely store tickets on their smartphones or in apps like Apple’s Passbook.
No ticket should be sold at the stadium.
Smaller Stadiums
The live match experience is part of being a football fan; this is one of the ways clubs get match-day revenue.
A smaller stadium is ideal in that it is always full and generates a good atmosphere.
Modern stadia are built with features such as corporate hospitality, shopping mall, club museum, offices for rent, doctors’ surgeries and hotel — all these coming under the umbrella of the club or can be tenant-driven.
Owning a stadium provides fans with a sense of belonging.
The stadium does not need to be huge.
CAPS United and Dynamos do not necessarily need a 60 000-seater stadium for crowds that average between 10 000 to 20 000.
Congolese giants TP Mazembe’s home ground Stade TP Mazembe has a capacity of only 18 000, yet is a multi-purpose stadium built in 2011 in Lubumbashi and bankrolled by Moise Katumbi.
Hastings Kamanga is a UK-based Zimbabwean who is the academy coach at AFC Rusden and Diamonds. He holds a BA Hons in football studies and an MA in leadership and management of sport and physical activities from the University of Bedfordshire.
