ON THE MARK: Encouraging signs as fans turn out in numbers for key matches

In the immediate weeks after the lifting of Covid-19 spectator restrictions, crowds trickled back to local football games, seemingly cautions about returning to the stands.

It came as a surprise because it was expected that after such a long hiatus, going back to stadiums would be top of the supporters’ priority list and there would be a rush to the turnstiles.

Fans were banned from stadiums for 24 months because of the pandemic and government restrictions and then allowed back in limited numbers, with vaccination-proof requirements, before all restrictions were finally lifted.

Since the start of this season, however, there have been encouraging crowds with several mega-sized attendances for key matched.

Saturday’s MTN8 final at the Moses Mabhida Stadium will be another well-attended event, following last weekend’s Soweto derby at Soccer City.

There is nothing like the vibe of a packed house; the excitement, the expectation, emotion, the banter, the frustration and elation to make an event.

The inconsistent crowds are the Achilles heel of professional football in South Africa – indeed professional sport in the country. Too often, attendance is paltry and it denigrates the product.

In September, Bafana Bafana played a pair of friendly internationals in Johannesburg that had a paid attendance of roughly 500 each in what was a scandalous situation. Few national sides are as poorly supported.

There are, also, far too many DStv Premiership games with virtually no one in the stands and it is a similar problem for cricket and rugby too.

The consumer, of course, has so much more choice and options these days. Life has moved and recreational opportunities are plentiful.

The advent of satellite television and all-hours shopping are just two of the many distractions that divert attention from sport, which has struggled to keep up.

But encouraging signs this season hold out hope that the stadium experience is improving and spectators will be drawn more regularly to games.

The Covid-19 pandemic did show that sport can be played behind closed doors but it really is not the same without spectators, who must be cherished and savoured.