I went to the Lecce v Cesena game on Sunday and was very surprised at how small the crowd was.
Lecce (4th from bottom) haven’t had a great season and neither have Cesena (3rd from bottom). Both are fighting to avoid relegation.
But this was an important game. It was Lecce’s home game and they have been playing well in recent weeks scoring a win against Lazio and worthy draws against Milan and Fiorentina, all teams much higher on the ladder. A win would have put them fifth to bottom and given them some much need breathing space. So why the poor crowd?
Money - Italy’s Serie A is one of Europe’s top four domestic football competitions along with England’s Premier League, Germany’s Bundesliga and Spain’s Primera Division. It is dripping in money and the top players earn obscene amounts of money but the money is not evenly distributed. The rich power clubs from Milan, Florence, Rome and Naples dominate. They buy the best players and have the best facilities.
Fickle supporters – Lecce isn’t having a great season and Cesena isn’t a great crowd puller. The recent home game against Milan had a much bigger crowd but even then the stadium wasn’t full.
Poor weather – It wasn’t a great day – cold and wet.
Substandard stadium – Cold concrete stadium that needs lots of money spent on it. Drafty and open to the elements, with poor facilities, it makes Football Park in Adelaide look luxurious. The stadium is on the edge of the city and the public transport is poor.
Live television – Terrible weather, team not having a great season, not a great stadium, let’s watch it on TV. Serie A is live to air on pay TV and can be seen on the internet as well.
But only 6,643 people to a game in one of the world’s great domestic soccer competitions? Some SANFL games attract more. I hope the AFL are watching and learning.
For the record the result was a 1-1 draw and Lecce are still fourth from the bottom.
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