Paradox 'away stadium is more crowded than home stadium'

(Baonghean.vn) - For many years now, SLNA has faced a paradox: when playing away, there are more fans than at home.

According to statistics from the V-League 2017 Organizing Committee, SLNA had 8 home matches in V.League 2017, with a total of 39,500 people, an average of more than 4,900 people/match. The three matches at Vinh Stadium had the highest number of spectators when facing SHB.Da Nang (7,000 people), B.Binh Duong (7,000 people), HAGL (8,000 people). Many matches at Vinh Stadium had only about 2,000 people watching, even the first leg of the National Cup quarter-final against Ho Chi Minh City had only 500 people.

The "Vinh citadel" is cooling down and there is no sign that it will return to its golden age.

More than 10 thousand SLNA fans were present at Thong Nhat Stadium. Photo: Internet

Surprisingly, when they leave Vinh Stadium, especially when they go to the South, they will be enthusiastically supported by the Nghe community. In the 3 away matches against the Southern teams Saigon FC, Long An and Ho Chi Minh City, the number of spectators was 10,000, 3,000 and 15,000 respectively; an average of more than 9,300 people/match.

Especially in round 16, more than 10 thousand Nghe An fans came to Thong Nhat Stadium, making the match between Ho Chi Minh City and SLNA the highlight of V-League and a festival for Nghe An fans in the South. What created the paradox?

Organizational footprint

Apart from the fact that CEO Ho Van Chiem issued an A4 decision on the organization of SLNA Fans Association under SLNA Club (?!), people did not see any role of the team in the Association. Especially when SLNA Fans Association Chairman Tran Huu Thuat moved to live and work in Quang Nam, the relationship between the Association and the Club became almost blurred.

That leads to the paradox that SLNA Fan Club in Vinh area, where the team is based, operates more sluggishly than in Hanoi, Da Nang and Ho Chi Minh City. Partly because of lack of funding, partly because there is no leader with prestige and experience to rally the movement.

When the team did not play well at Vinh Stadium, the home crowd’s support was needed, but on the contrary, the stands were completely empty. The movement was formed spontaneously, the key members when free would go online to call on people to come to the stadium, when busy, then… never mind.

The areas of Hanoi, Da Nang and Ho Chi Minh City, especially Da Nang, are sponsored by benefactors and the Association of Fellow Countrymen, so the movement is quite regular. Not only going to the stadium, the Fan Association also organizes football tournaments and social activities to connect the community.

If we only count the cheering activities on the field, the Ho Chi Minh City area is doing very well. Every time SLNA competes, it is truly a community festival with many diverse forms.

What to do to make Vinh stadium more exciting?

Bac A has committed to disbursing 400 million VND/year for promotional activities, the first 40 million VND is being processed for the SLNA Fan Club in the South. It is known that the Hanoi and Da Nang areas will also be funded after working specifically with Bac A. The procedural problems between the sponsor and the regional fan clubs will soon be resolved.

Nghe An fans in Vinh area traveled to Thanh Hoa to cheer for the team. Photo: Internet

According to the schedule, SLNA still has 5 matches at Vinh Stadium in the V-League, not including the National Cup. SLNA players really want to play in the enthusiastic atmosphere at Vinh Stadium. With a large audience at the stadium, the players will definitely have more motivation to compete, the results will be better, that has been confirmed in reality.

Who will be responsible for this? Wait for SLNA to play better, for the audience to come to the stadium by themselves, or actively mobilize loyal fans to come to the stadium? Mr. Nguyen Thanh Chuong, a familiar face of the Vinh area fan club, said: "If we can reorganize and get financial support from sponsors, we can completely heat up the atmosphere of Vinh stadium like before?"

However, it is not that there is no funding but there is no disbursement address, that is the reality that sponsors cannot solve.

Obviously, the love of the audience for the hometown team is "like the Lam River, no one knows when it will dry up" but it is time for the club, sponsors and the Fan Club to sit down together. Even, if necessary, they should organize a congress to together reform and develop the Fan Club to create a meeting place for fans!

N@T