By S. Siapha Mulbah
The West African Football Union (WAFU), is currently hosting the third edition of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) Women’s Champions League qualifiers in Liberia.
The event is the preliminary qualifiers conducted by the football body for the four teams in the zone, to compete and have the champion as the singular women’s team representing WAFU zone ‘A’ at the group stage of the upcoming CAF Women’s Champions’ League.
With this being a big international football platform for Liberian women and girls to promote their talents and passion for the game, the host country presumably stood far from the bar in making the hosting opportunity count. By hosting the openers of the international clashes in women’s football before empty seats at the game venue, many believe that the local organizing committee of the competition missed a mark.
In the opening matches played on August 7, 2023, at the Samuel Kanyon Doe Sports Complex in Paynesville City, between Determine Girls Football Club of Liberia and AS Mende of Mali, as well as AS Dakar of Senegal and Mogbewmo Queens of Sierra Leone, the entire stadium was unable to headcount a dozen common fans.
Though the field was opened to the public on a free entry, only top Liberian football stakeholders and members of the Liberia Football Association and other participating team officials were seen around the VIP stand of the sports complex.
Some reports gathered by this paper have attributed the situation to poor publicity and lack of innovation by those in charge.
In a pep talk, a cross section of concerned folks said the late confirmation of the game venue by the LFA was a disappointment to the fans, causing inconvenience to most that were contemplating on gathering to support women’s football.
According to them, the FA and others who tried giving out information about the game continuously reported the Antoinette Tubman Stadium until CAF reportedly denied the use of ATS.
“Everything we heard about this tournament was ATS, which some people apparently prepared for. All of a sudden, we noticed that the Ministry of Youth and Sports was asked this morning to use the SKD. This is one of the flaws I think the LOC had that left the fans out,” they said.
Women’s football, which is facing serious challenges, according to team administrators in Liberia, needs its authorities to do the necessary engagements with the Liberian FA in arranging strategies to popularize big events.
Football is a game that requires support and fans’ participation. As a matter of fact, the fans are a major source of revenue generation for the success of the game, which is why gate intakes raised from stadiums during matches are overwhelming.
Those that sit around the stadium to follow the football like others sports in the world play a major role during matches and could have some decisions to make in terms of the following:
1. Players’ Performance: Fans or spectators contribute to the performance of players in football matches by the way they respond and cheer to certain displays. If the player in the park plays to the amusement of the fans, that player is cheered as a form of motivation. Others relatively double up their performance, making it competitive.
2. Technical Adjustment: The fans are more at times the ones that hold coaches and technicians accountable in featuring and substituting certain players. With a keen eye on the play, the spectators’ reaction sometimes influences when a substitution is made, who gets back to the bench, and reveals where the potential lapses stand.
3. Developing Partners: The fans with all the noise around the stadium are the lead developing partners to the game of football all around the world, more especially Africa. They are from diverse backgrounds and are at times interested in linking businesses and other institutions to the game. Among the spectators who troop to see matches that are played, exist potential investors who could be looking for scouting opportunities for either teams or particular players.
If the stadiums are empty, how do the sponsors of teams and the football association at large sell their different brands? This is the biggest unanswered question.
With these key factors and roles played by supporting fans and spectators, one could justify that there will be no impact made by the WAFU competition on women’s football in Liberia. If the stadium remains empty, with all the investments made by the organizers to have fans free around the stadium, the growth of women’s football will remain at its same low pace, until the game can be taken to the public.
