Rugby: Impala explain low attendance at Floodlit

Quins Patrice Agunda(R) chase Roland Osil of Mwamba during Impala Floodlight Rugby Tournament quarter finals at Impala Ground on Saturday 11/10/14. PHOTO.BONIFACE OKENDO

Impala coach Nick Abok has claimed there is a little following of rugby in the country in comparison to previous years.
Abok, who was responding to a query by Game Yetu in regard to the stadium attendance to the just concluded Impala Floodlit, Abok said: "You cannot really compare the attendance to the Floodlit ten years ago," he said.
"The numbers have considerably declined and we think it is due to a number of factors, with the biggest being a declining number of following in rugby," he explained. "Back in the days, when we had the Floodlit, we were almost assured of a full-house on all four weekends of the tournament, now we have three weekends and the numbers are still lower."
Abok feels that apart from the declining number of fans, another contributing factor is other competing tournaments. "A while back, when the Floodlit was being played, there were no other rugby being played in the country, but if you look at this year, the Kenya Rugby Union has allowed for other tournaments such the Nanyuki Sevens to be played."
Abok reckons that if the Floodlit is to survive they will have to continue innovating and coming up with new ideas. "Every time we seat as the organizing panel of the tournament, we continuously ask ourselves what we can do to make the tournament better. We always ask around what fans want to see and we try out different things each year."
"As you can see some time back we had issues with the Floodlit due to erratic power from Kenya Power, but we have since sorted that out and no hitches have been experienced. The field is also much better than previous years and with all pitch matters sorted what is left is to look at other surrounding matters such as music and food."
Abok went on to hint that in future tournaments, they may be forced to hold music concerts with famous artists so that they can boost the number of fans attending the event. "We will continue to self-improve and hope that the tournament will surge forward," he concluded.