Philly
12/03/2007, 5:11 PM
From loi.ie:
Attendance figures for the first series of 2007 eircom League of Ireland matches were up 17% on the opening weekend of the 2006 season.
A total of 20,632 people paid into eircom League of Ireland fixtures on the opening week of the 2007 season. This figure accounts for eleven fixtures, six of which were in the Premier Division and five of which were in the First Division.
The average attendance at an eircom League of Ireland fixture during Series One was 1,876. This compares with 1,600 during the opening weekend of fixtures during 2006 - an increase of 17%.
Boosting attendances at fixtures has been singled out as a key objective for the 2007 season. The FAI recently announced the appointment of 16 Club Promotion Officers (CPOs), whose job it will be to further integrate their club into the local community.
Noel Mooney, National Coordinator of the Club Promotion Officer Programme, said that attendances for the first week of fixtures were encouraging, but said that the process of winning the league new fans was only beginning.
Mooney said: "It is a very encouraging way to begin the new season and gives us something to build on. We know that there is huge public interest in the league and our goal is to see that reflected in attendance figures. Our target for the opening weekend of fixtures was 18,000, so to clear that figure is fantastic. However, there are over thirty weeks of action ahead of us - the real work starts now".
Attendance figures for the first series of 2007 eircom League of Ireland matches were up 17% on the opening weekend of the 2006 season.
A total of 20,632 people paid into eircom League of Ireland fixtures on the opening week of the 2007 season. This figure accounts for eleven fixtures, six of which were in the Premier Division and five of which were in the First Division.
The average attendance at an eircom League of Ireland fixture during Series One was 1,876. This compares with 1,600 during the opening weekend of fixtures during 2006 - an increase of 17%.
Boosting attendances at fixtures has been singled out as a key objective for the 2007 season. The FAI recently announced the appointment of 16 Club Promotion Officers (CPOs), whose job it will be to further integrate their club into the local community.
Noel Mooney, National Coordinator of the Club Promotion Officer Programme, said that attendances for the first week of fixtures were encouraging, but said that the process of winning the league new fans was only beginning.
Mooney said: "It is a very encouraging way to begin the new season and gives us something to build on. We know that there is huge public interest in the league and our goal is to see that reflected in attendance figures. Our target for the opening weekend of fixtures was 18,000, so to clear that figure is fantastic. However, there are over thirty weeks of action ahead of us - the real work starts now".