I-League: The Dempo way of increasing fanbase

The I-League has been undoubtedly dominated by Goan clubs as each of the five previous seasons has been won by teams from that region, and Churchill Brothers are set to continue that trend by winning it this year.

But compared to the big clubs of Kolkata, none of the Goan teams are as popular in the country, and even struggle to attract fans for their home I-League matches. Of course, the big difference in population and history of the two places is a big factor but are the Goan clubs doing enough to increase their fanbase?

Last season, after clinching their record fifth title, Dempo had promised to increase their fanbase and even talked of the possibility of changing their name to connect better with the people of Panjim (North Goa), the place where they are based.

A year on, that change hasn’t materialised while the news of Shah Rukh Khan being interested in buying stakes of the club also haven’t become a reality, but I-League’s most successful club have been making efforts to increase their fanbase. Sportskeeda tried to find out about the same.

Back in January, when Goan clubs started playing their home matches regularly at the Duler Stadium in Mapusa (north Goa) due to the unavailability of the Nehru Stadium in Fatorda (South Goa), Dempo saw it as the perfect opportunity to involve more fans; hence they started visiting several schools in the Mapusa region.

School kids get to touch and pose with the most important trophy in Indian club football

Besides inviting several schools to their home matches at the Duler, Dempo also took their players to a couple of schools (St. Britto’s High School and St. Anthony’s School) and had interactive sessions with students. They also carried the I-League trophy and were happy to pose with students and give them autographs.

A specially signed Dempo jersey was given to the school but more uniquely, specially made player cards of Dempo players were also distributed for free. These cards were highly popular with the students and the impact of these visits by Dempo was evident later on as the kids went for the club’s I-League matches at the Duler Ground.

A sample Dempo player card

Dempo’s efforts to attract fans have not been only limited to schools as they also arrange buses for the transport of fans during matchdays.

“There is always one bus leaving from the club tent on matchdays while there are additional buses when there is a big game,” Abhijit Patil, assistant manager (Media & Marketing) of Dempo, told Sportskeeda.

The ticket price is Rs 30 and thanks to their efforts, the gross gate collections have also increased recently.

Table on the increased gross gate collections:

Goan clubs are now playing matches at Vasco’s Tilak Maidan, which is in South Goa and thus is not ideal for the Dempo fanbase as they are a North Goa club. Patil revealed that there are some plans for the Duler Stadium to have floodlights and an eastern stand. Once that happens, Dempo could permanently play their home I-League matches there.

Dempo have had good turnouts at Duler Stadium, Mapusa

The club merchandise is also on sale on matchdays and this season (until April 17) they have been able to sell up to Rs 19,405. The amount is small but at least it has been a start and they have also recently launched a store on E-bay, but it is only expected to be fully functional from next season.

For the long term though, Dempo realise that connection with the youth will be instrumental in both increasing their fanbase and popularity. As a result, they have adopted the local U-15 school team of Fr. Agnel High School (Pilar), who were the winners of the Goa leg of Mir Iqbal Hussain Trophy, the national sub-junior championship.

Most of the kids from this school team will be representing Dempo at the Nike Manchester United Premier Cup this year. Club head coach and general secretary Armando Colaco also distributed free kits to the boys recently.

Additionally, Dempo will also be holding free football camps for children in the age group of 8-12 years.

School kids attending a Dempo game at the Duler Stadium

Patil acknowledges that Pune FC and Shillong Lajong have been doing a much better job on this front but he believes Dempo are taking small steps in the right direction.

The SRK-Dempo deal didn’t happen and Patil also talked about the difficulties in finding sponsors for Indian football.

“90% of the companies I have approached for small and big sponsorships consider advertisement spots on television as their main component of sponsorship in sports. But due to Reliance IMG’s television deal, I cannot market for any FCT (Free commercial Time) over television as I don’t have any.

“Once, a major mobile telephone company executive had told me that if we market the I-League to them then they might consider putting considerable amount into football. But the I-League itself is not a separate entity, which makes the sponsorship deals difficult legally and financially,” Patil stated.

However, Dempo still have plans to have their own stadium in Panjim in the near future but it depends heavily on clearances from the state government. The club also are aiming to have their own academy but it could be based out of Panjim.

Dempo might face a transition on the pitch next season with Armando and several senior players likely to leave, but off the pitch they seem to be making progress finally and they are determined to work even harder on that front in the 2013-14 I-League.