Lyon, France — Olympique Lyonnais dey make big moves for women football, but dem leaders no wan continue dey fill stadiums with free tickets. Dis Sunday, 20,000 fans fit show up for Groupama Stadium for di Champions League semi-final against Arsenal, but e no sure.
Last season, 39,000 fans come watch di same tournament when OL meet PSG. Now, dem leaders notice say di attendance don drop by half, and dem no fit understand why despite di big match. Di difference? OL no dey give thousands of free invitations like before.
Vincent Ponsot, di new managing director for OL feminin, explain say dey no want artificial crowd anymore. He talk, “For us, di cost matter well, and e no make sense. We dey pay to see artists and di men’s team, so why we go no pay for di women’s team? Better make we get 18,000 or 20,000 paying fans than 38,000 with 75% free invites.” He also mention say dem no wan bring di Ultras like PSG dey do.
For di last OL-PSG match, around 24,000 free invitations go out. Na wetin make dem leaders dey rethink how dem dey promote di games. Di level of interest for women football dey grow across Europe, but many fans still dey struggle to show up.
Ponsot conclude, “Di ideal situation na make we get 38,000 paying fans, but we go take small steps now to build di fan base. We believe say true fans wey value di game go still come out for us.”
