The wait is over. Football is back on screen again. Since announcing its return fans of the Premiere League have been hysterical and marking time for the most anticipated return of any entertainment product since Big Brother!
It is likened to not knowing what you have until its gone. A second chance to appreciate something that was always there and then never was. Quick note that the German Bundesliga is on already airing, but it is not premiership football. I say this with due respect to one of the best organised leagues in the world and with no intent to disparage its fans. I love football at every level, but this is the Premier League; The mother of all football leagues, the most exciting weekend show.
To buttress my point my team (and I) put together a few survey questions to find out just how much Nigerians missed football and the premiership in particular. It was announced that the Premiere League would return provisionally on June 17 after 14 weeks due to the Covid 19 pandemic, a period that also witnessed a surge in streaming, especially on Netflix. We were curious to find out how much fans missed the premiership or if they remembered anything of such.
Our survey cuts across gender and income demographics; 77% male and 23% female responded though not all respondents are football fans which we welcome because it preserves the quality of the result. However, no gain saying football fits into the lifestyle of the higher respondent ratio. We asked over 310 respondents, low- and high-income level about how certain changes would affect their viewing experience (no fans in stadium) to which many responded positively although some responses were not as we initially perceived.
For instance, when we asked fans about their preferred league many chose the premiership by a mile. We did not expect a close race or a wide margin either. 90% voted overwhelmingly for the premiership. In second was LaLiga with 8%. About 1% chose the Bundesliga ahead of Seria A.
Fig. 1 the preferred league is the Premier League
With Liverpool running away with the title this season the forced break makes the return of the league even more appealing. It is Liverpool’s title to lose, but there is a sense that they could jinx it as they have become accustomed to their ‘slipping’ on the last line. When asked why they wanted football back 82% of fans said they missed watching football, while 23% (the closest margin) said they were bored. Interestingly, when asked if the no-spectator policy in the stadium would affect the quality of the games 96% said it would not affect it and 68% said they would watch the games regardless of the teams’ standing in the table.
Fig. 2 number of fans willing to watch teams in the lower table play without spectators
As we count down to the most anticipated return, we cannot wait for other leagues to resume and for things to return to status quo, if such ever exists. However, we get a sense of how important sport is in our lives and wonder how the matches will be played in the future. Football is an essential service made for outdoor performance.
Welcome back football. We missed you.
Murtala Lanval is a registered football intermediary with Integral.
Integral is Africa’s leading sport marketing agency; it is located in Lagos, Nigeria.
Contact: Murtala@integralsande.com, twitter: @coolmurray Instagram: @mlanval
