We can no longer put aside the questions that need asking, such as ‘why do we tolerate half empty stadiums?’ and ‘why is our break-even season ticket sales target based on experience not ambition?’.

We face an existential threat. We may experience an attendance ‘boost’ in the short term, as fans re-connect with the joy of the live football experience, but will this ensure without us addressing the issues of the past? Will fans’ tolerance levels remain high or will the cold water coming out of the hot taps in the stadium toilets finally push them over the edge?

The club that sees the pandemic hiatus as an opportunity to address the questions we’ve pushed to one side will immediately benefit because, as every business will tell you, simply addressing an issue starts to fix it. But when this proactivity becomes a business priority, both strategically and culturally, the results can be remarkable.  Not only can you sustain or even grow attendances when you lose, but you can do that even after relegation.

Pärnu Vaprus averaged attendances of 352 six seasons ago when in the top tier of Estonian football. Attendances fell until, two seasons ago, they were relegated to the second division. At this point, as part of a UEFA Grow project, in which I participated as a mentor, we appointed Karin Lipstuhl as Community Development Officer (CDO). At this point attendances were around the 250 mark.

Karin had no prior knowledge of football but understood engagement. She focused on the power of the club’s identity and purpose; engaging and co-creating with the community and creating a fan experience that appealed to a much wider audience.  The 38% increase in the club’s first season in the second tier might be explained by the fact that it was easier to win against lower ranked teams. But it wasn’t. They didn’t and the club is still in tier two 12 months later. But this time, there’s been a 62% rise and attendances average out just short of 600.

Karin also helped the club to achieve the highest ever attendance for a Estonian league game (over 1700) last season, in the second tier of football in that beautiful Nordic country.

Elsewhere, Daniel Lambert and his team have had similar results at Bohemian FC of Dublin. 6 years ago, the team wasn’t winning, and the stadium was only two parts habitable.  That’s still essentially the case now, but the stadium is sold out and commercial performance is at an all-time record high.

Is that because they made good plans to sell tickets and flex their corporate talent? No. It’s because they, like Pärnu Vaprus, decided to do something different. They decided to make engagement a cultural and strategic priority. You can expect the club to take a stand on political issues, to support refugee charities with the proceeds from a special third kit, to support the rehabilitation of prisoners and to be onto their second poet now.