Worrisome: Attendance levels continue to drop in Zimbabwe’s PSL

Zimbabwe’s Premier Soccer League is under spotlight as attendance levels at league games continue to dwindle unabated.

Two rounds of fixtures remain before the 2022/23 season concludes, but it goes without a doubt that this season has recorded the lowest of numbers in terms of attendance.

Matches have been played before virtually empty stadiums. The country’s flagship match between Dynamos and Highlander attracted just over 3 000 fans in the 80 000 seat National Sports Stadium.

For the Footballers Union of Zimbabwe [FUZ] president Desmond Maringwa, Zimbabwe is yet to recover from the effects of the Covid-19.

ZIM YET TO RECOVER FROM COVID-19

“This is one of the results of the pandemic. To be honest we are yet to recover from the pandemic,” Maringwa told FARPost.

“Every aspect of our football was affected, including administration so it will take new efforts to be back on a decent level.”

Across the Limpopo River, the Soweto derby attracted 87 000 fans, with the match likely to be the most attended this season.

Although the charges are relatively cheap, the turnout has remained low. In Zimbabwe gate charges are pegged at R54 [USD 3] for the rest of the grounds, while VIPs pay R 181 [USD 10].

Maringwa added that the FIFA ban has had ripple effects on the quality of Zimbabwean football.

According to him, the quality of football has also become poorer and less attractive as evidenced by that fact that no player managed to join the lucrative DStv premiership where a number of Zimbabweans flourished over the years.

“The FIFA ban has had negative effects, combined with the effects of Covid-19, football was affected,” he added.

“Back then, big games attracted decent crowds but after the pandemic it seems fans are already used to watching football on television.

“So, it means there is a need for a robust strategy to attract fans.

Overall, we need to work on improving our game as a whole because some may think our game is not attractive enough for fans to part ways with their hard-earned cash to watch,” he concluded.

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