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Home > HCAS > HCAS_PUBS > HCAS_JOURNALS > TQR Home > TQR > Vol. 29 > No. 5 (2024)

 

Abstract

Football is a sport that has attracted global attention. Individuals who attend competitive football associate with teams and athletes to a point where they become ardent attendees. Post-pandemic, fans have returned in droves to watch live matches at stadiums following the relaxation of strict observance of safety protocols. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to determine the factors that prompt fans to attend matches during games by focusing on three main factors including team affiliation, sportscape and star players. We used a qualitative phenomenological approach to obtain deeper comprehension regarding factors that influence fans to crowd at stadiums to watch football. We deployed semi-structured interviews which gave us the opportunity to probe and gather relevant responses. Interviews were audio taped and transcribed to pave the way for content analysis. Results show that fan affinity and star players are prime determinants of fans’ match day attendance at stadiums. Sportscape yielded mix results with some fans putting premium on sportscape but others lamented the deplorable conditions of stadium amenities such as washrooms, insecurity, and malfunctioning scoreboard on whose evidence sportscape does little to motivate them to attend matches. We recommend the need for teams to pool resources into recruitment of star players and build a groundswell of loyal fans through outstanding in-field performances to attract crowds to the stadium.

Keywords

team, football, fans, quality, factors, motivation, matches, qualitative research

Author Bio(s)

Dr Shani Bashiru is a Senior Lecturer and Dean of the Faculty of Business at Accra Technical University. He also previously held the Position of Head, Department of Marketing. He has a PhD in Marketing Management with over seven published articles in sports marketing. Please direct correspondence to shanibash@yahoo.co.uk

Ahmed Jamal Iddrisu Ahmed Iddrisu Jamal is a Lecturer at the University of Professional Studies, Accra. He served as the Invest and Credit Director of Ghana Enterprise Agency under the Ministry of Trade and Industry in Ghana, He is also an Adjunct Lecturer at the Kings University College. He is a PhD candidate.

Dr Cycacus Bapuuroh is a Lecturer at the Accra Technical University. He also served as Dean, Faculty of Business in the University. He is a specialist in qualitative studies and holds a PhD from the University of Leeds, England.

Mr. George Anane Takyi is a Lecturer at the Department of Marketing, Accra Technical University. He is currently a PhD candidate at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology.

Dr Alhassan Bunyaminu Is a Senior Lecturer at the University of Professional Studies. He is with the Finance and Banking Department and a research analyst.

Dr Bukari Zakari is a Lecturer at the University of Professional Studies with the Marketing Department and a football enthusiast.

Publication Date

5-12-2024

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License.

DOI

10.46743/2160-3715/2024.5419

ORCID ID

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1949-8035

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