Won't happen, nobody would buy tickets to the friendlies if that were the case. They should just get rid of having so many friendlies anyway, nobody cares about them, but money talks...Originally Posted by Drumcondra 69er
33,000 was the attendance estimated last night, Samoa was 31,000 according to yourself. Pretty sure that Samoa was sold as part of a package with a more attractive game which bumped up the atendance.
You're ignoring the history of football attendances in Ireland, I can remember Brazil attracting a crowd of less then 20,000 back in 1987.....
They quote 30,000 here.
http://www.soccer-ireland.com/irish-.../euro-2012.htm
Either way comparative figures between the unattractive half of a rugby friendly duo and the attractive qualifier in soccer doesn't bode well for the sport. And at the very least you can't chalk it down to recession when another sport is pulling the numbers for even its most insignificant games. Nor history since I'm sure Irish rugby was in an even worse state for attendance in 1987.
In some home games after Italia 90 I think the crowds were only 16k - two friendlies against USA & Switzerlkand, despite the carrot of automatically getting onto the block booker list. Football was hardly declining in popularity back then.
I have to say I'm surprised but it looks like the crowd is picking & choosing what to go to these days, even in the rugby.
We got to remember that LR had a capacity of 38k for competitive games. By and large we used to get that crowd but for the lesser qualifiers we didnt always.
For a wkd game we should be looking to fill the stadium but the price is too expensive. Perhaps the prices of tickets should be more graded ie 10e for kids, 15e for certain areas rising up to 60 quid for half way lower tier. Surely an extra 20k in the ground would mean more overall revenue for the FAI even if ticket revenue was down. More emphasis should be placed at getting family deals, ie a dad and two kids could get into a game for 60 quid.
Success is always a factor as well though. It happens at all codes, be it gaa, rugby etc. If the teams are doing well the crowds will follow. Ireland will always have the core 20k support who will attend most games. However its getting the other 20k odd to attend games is the issue.
No doubt that recession is a factor as well. We dont have the affluent support that rugby does for example.
dad of 3 boys , went to the wales game for twenty euros each , in that excuse for a stand behind the north goal , just bout value for money just to see the stadium and the singin welsh fans beside us provided good entertainment along with an ok game. But sixty a pop to see us play macedonia, didnt have to put much thought into that one. Stupidly expensive. We're (6 of us) headin to spain for a week for 380 flights and accomadation thats me the wife 3boys baby girl. For the six of us to go to that game would have cost that.
Yet the peak TV audience for the game was c.1 million. For such a huge game. France v Ireland was 2 million.
I think the comparison to Rugby is quite unfair. Every year with the 6 nations we've played England or France or the following years Italy, Scotland and Wales. With the excption of the Italians all those games will sell out due to the fact we are playing neighbours. And also the the irish team is what 4th in the world in rugby but that is out of what a possible max of 8 nations that would be perceived to be top class
Macedonia is not an appetite whetting fixture. In saying that none of the other teams in our group are and we'll struggle to sell out any of our remaining matches. thankfully the TV rights pooling of funds will help the FAI out with the costs but they seriously need to consider the ticketing system on a game by game scenario and price the games in accordance with the level of opposition we play against. What was it €30-50 to watch Macedonia, thats extortion imho
Long Live King Kenny
Don't forget the six nations games have a good travelling support usually.
It's far too expensive for a father and son now. Anything that's going to cost over a hundred euro for just the two of you for a few hours sounds ridiculously indulgent right now. It's also far too expensive for students and lads in the 18-35 range once pints, food and travel is factored in. People aren't spending whatever money they have like they used to, I think. The first half against Russia probably didn't help either!
They quote 32,000 on extratime.ie and 33,000 on YBIG. Old capacity with bucket seats for qualifiers was 32,000.
And there were crowds of over 50,000 for 5 nations rugby games in 1987 so you are talking out of your arse.
Last edited by Drumcondra 69er; 27/03/2011 at 8:07 PM.
I disagree with that. Rugby is booming because it's reaching out to the masses, not in spite of it, and is overtaking soccer bigtime. Munster, Leinster (and to a lesser extent, Ulster) have shown that the way forward for rugby was to take the Irish super-clubs and emphasise a strong sense of the community. Munster lead the way with the Thomand fortress - they're known the world over for essentially being the ultimate parish club; and Leinster soon realised the way to people's hearts was to do away with the Ross O'Carroll Kelly mentality. You can now see your international heroes ploughing away each weekend on home turf in the Magners League, and all for a (relative) pittance.
Soccer has fallen way behind on the "local" factor, and that could ultimately sink Irish soccer if we don't start to acknowledge that it's not just the GAA tempting away the youngsters, it's Rugby too.
It's down to the ticket prices in a broken economy. We're paying 2007 prices in a 2011 economy. Charging the same prices to play Andorra as to play Argentina, is ludicrous, never mind the other games.
NL 1st Division Champions 2006
NL Premier Division Champions 2010
NL Premier Division Champions 2011
Keep Tallaght Tidy, Throw your rubbish in the Jodi
Ten Years Not Out
Realistically we might sell out the northern ireland game and the slovakia game (particularly if we get a good result in Macedonia). If the last game against Armenia decides qualification that will also sell out as would any potential play off. So its probably going to be the end of the year before the FAI look at the situation again. The friendlies will be lucky to achieve a crowd in excess of 25k (which isnt bad in fairness, problem is it looks bad in such a big stadium, hence a reason for closing some of the ground for these matches).
A lot of what you say is true but despite rugby's boom, soccer is far away the most played sport and the sport with most clubs and active volunteers. Soccer's problem in Ireland is that although it's a country mile ahead of rugby in terms of broad popularity, English football is in the hearts and minds of the people. Even in Rathfarnham, where I'm from, I see more Chelsea and Man U merchandise than Leinster when I'm out and about.
I'm delighted rugby is growing and has become more broadly supported but it can't hold a torch to the grass roots popularity of soccer. My mate in Limerick, the hotbed of Irish rugby, says that soccer is played way more than rugby among kids. This is just one guy's word mind you.
I reckon Man United is way more popular in Dublin than Leinster rugby, without anything tangible to back that up. If the English Rugby Premiership distorted financial and competitive balance to the extent that the Premier League does, not one of our rugby stars would line out for the provincial sides. The rugby structure - commendable as it is - works only because it can.
One really positive thing about sports participation in Ireland in the current generation is that kids play everything: GAA, soccer and rugby. It must be a nightmare for their parents!
Assuming the group isn't decided by then, that Armenia game is likely to be a Tuesday 6pm ko at the latest. (Given the time difference to Russia.) It probably won't sell out.
NL 1st Division Champions 2006
NL Premier Division Champions 2010
NL Premier Division Champions 2011
Keep Tallaght Tidy, Throw your rubbish in the Jodi
Ten Years Not Out
I think soccer is played more amongst kids everywhere. I think this comes down to practicalities though amongst other things.
Kids can play on the road etc football, 2 on 2 or whatever, whereas you can't really just have a kickabout in rugby.
Can't see the ROI/NI game being a sellout to be honest. Just don't think people will be arsed, especially if ticket prices are high (which is likely).
It's the recession in Ireland & beyond.
And to a much lesser extent, the lack of positive marketing of competitive games by the FAI.
Many people have to travel to Dublin for our games (often an evening KO) and stay overnight, which can be an expensive business if you don't have friends or family to call on. That plus the obvious ticket prices.
Cut the price to €30 max and we'll get close to capacity, plus all the knock-on effects for merchandise and refreshments etc.
Btw, how much does the 'small end' hold? Conversation last night rated it as holding as little as 500-1500....
As my Spanish pal (now a semi-regular at Ireland games) said, "What was even the point of it?" .
The small end holds way more than 500 considering there was something like 5000 NI fans down at that game and the vast majority were in that wee stand.
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