Marketing Zambian football | An analysis by Puncherello Chama

When one watches the UEFA Champions League, it is quite easy to see how well marketed it is. On the other hand, when one watches the Zambian Super League, it is easy to see that many clubs have absolutely no clue about how to market or promote themselves.

Despite the likes of Manchester United, Real Madrid, and Bayern Munich being popular around the world they ensure they continue to properly market themselves. Marketing is an everyday activity but somehow some of our clubs think that fans will turn up like magic with no effort on their part.

Many weak excuses have been given as to why the marketing of Zambian football has been so poor. One club official was quoted saying that the club is located in a low density area. One then wonders how Villarreal's stadium sells out week in week out despite the club being located in a town with a population of only about 30,000 and a stadium with a capacity of 20,000.

How does one account for such a situation whereby 2 of 3 people who in the town go and watch Villarreal? This simply shows pure negligence on the part of teams like Lusaka Tigers which fail to fill up a 25,000 capacity Independence Stadium located in Matero, a neighborhood which has a population of more than 100,000.

Juventus a couple of years ago shifted to their own stadium and they now have around 2,000 people flying in to watch their matches from France. Lastly, AS Monaco is located in a very small town and they have organised trains to ferry more than 1,000 fans who stay in nearby towns to watch AS Monaco in action.

One therefore wonders how Zambian football administrators have failed to come up equally innovative ideas. Some of the bigger Zambian clubs have made an effort in advertising and marketing. Power Dynamos for example had a radio show last year and Nkana have also made use of the radio for advertising purposes.

All in all what is saving many clubs in Zambia is the fans' passion who take it upon themselves to market their teams. Clubs need to know that they need to invest in marketing and advertising just like they do on players. It is a shame that games involving top tier teams like Red Arrows and Napsa Stars are broadcast on international television at empty stadiums.

Football is about fans. Lastly club officials need to remove the phobia they have for fans. Last year, there was one fan who wanted to open a WhatsApp group for his club and he was told that he had to follow a specific procedure. One would question why an ordinary fan would need special permission to promote his team on social media.

If club officials of bigger teams like Manchester United behaved like that, they would surely lose many fans. At the end of the day clubs need to think outside the box and look at things from a different perspective. That way, they will realize how much room there is to expand their fan-bases on a continental, and eventually, global scale.