PANAJI
Spectator turnout was very poor during FC Goa’s first home game at Fatorda on Tuesday as empty stands greeted the home side.
Though Gaurs lost the match 2-1 to Jamshedpur FC, the match was attended by only 7,240 spectators. This is less than 40 percent of the total capacity of the stadium of 19,000. The North and North East part of the stadium was mostly empty, with very few spectators occupying the seats.
These figures are infact the third lowest for any ISL match played at Fatorda, ever since the football league began in 2014. The buzz, excitement and festive atmosphere was clearly missing inside in the stadium.
It’s a known fact that attendance of ISL matches have been on a decline. The average attendance figures at Fatorda for FC Goa’s home games have dropped drastically from 18,066 in 2014 to 8,642 in 2023-24 season.
“Ticket prices are high. If prices are kept high, football loving Goan crowd will stay away from coming to the stadium. Instead, they will prefer watching the matches on mobile and TV,” rued Kunal Morajkar from Vasco, a die-hard FC Goa fan who has been attending ISL matches at Fatorda since 2014.
“Prices must be reduced. Everyone cannot afford to pay higher prices for tickets. If tickets were distributed among college students for Rs 100 each, at least they would have come and watch the match and cheered the home team. Ticket prices in other places like Kolkata, Chennai, Guwahati and Bhubaneswar are much cheaper than what it is in Goa,” he said.
Ticket prices at Fatorda starts at Rs 199 for North Lower and South South stands for this season. It is priced at Rs 399, 499, 699 and 999 for other stands.
Another FC Goa supporter Xavier Dias from Margao said, “It is sad to see so many empty seats at the match today. We no longer get the feeling of an ISL match happening in Goa like what it used to be during initial ISL seasons when the stadium was packed to capacity. The organisers must do something to get the crowds back to the stadium.”
Also it looks like departure of Goa’s star player Brandon Fernandes could have contributed to some extent the decline in attendance.
“People have lost interest. There are hardly any Goan players in FC Goa team now. Brandon was my favourite. He has also left. We used to come to the stadium to cheer and see him play. He was the face of FC Goa. We badly need more Goans in FC Goa squad”, said Mario D’Silva from Benaulim, another FC Goa fan.
Apart from Brandon Fernandes, Devendra Murgaonkar has also left FC Goa this season. While Brandon moved to Mumbai City FC, Devendra joined Hyderabad FC.
“The season has just started. Today was the first home game for FC Goa. Hopefully, the crowd will pick up in the coming matches. Also injuries to key players like Sandesh Jhingan and Iker Guarrotxena must have kept the crowds away,” said Dominic Fernandes from Mapusa, another FC Goa supporter.
