In the main league football, it is better than in years. The number of viewers has increased by 44 percent from the previous season. HJK attracts the most audiences, but FC Inter has grown in popularity the most.
With domestic league football, you wipe better than you have in years. At the highest series level, the number of viewers has increased by 44 percent from the previous season. HJK attracts the most audiences, but FC Inter has grown in popularity the most.
The increase in audience numbers is also clearly visible in the audience average of the 12 league teams. Each league match has been watched by an average of 2,708 pairs of eyes, almost a thousand more than the previous season.
– We are satisfied, because we have reached tough goals. Everyone is clearly ahead of the previous year and above club-specific goals, CEO of Veikkausliiga Timo Marjamaa says.
The biggest audience is gathered by HJK, whose average audience in Helsinki has increased from almost a thousand viewers to five thousand. FC Inter from Turku has relatively grown in popularity the most.
League matches in Turku have been watched by an average of 3,160 spectators, more than double the number compared to the previous season.
– This is the result of determined work. We have targeted children and young people in particular and have been featured a lot in the city and the province. We have wanted to be seen and be a part of this society, Administrator Lauri Kemppainen says.
In Turku, the new grandstand and the improvement of conditions in general have also brought a tailwind.
– We have prepared especially for larger match events well in advance and worked for them, says Kemppainen.
The audience numbers of the current season are clearly above the years before the corona.
– The two public seasons above are twenty years ago, so the current direction is right, says Marjamaa.
Social responsibility must be involved
More than one and a half thousand new pairs of eyes per match can also be seen at FC Inter’s box office.
– It brings resources, but the match itself is also important, and the fact that the club appears active and interesting, says Lauri Kemppainen.
Timo Marjamaa also emphasizes the social importance of football. In the final round of the regular season, the leagues and clubs together with the SOS children’s village collect money to promote sports activities for underprivileged children
– Sport is of course at the core, but football also has a huge social responsibility. It is by far the most popular sport in the country and it is only growing.
The final round of the Veikkausliiga regular season will be played on Sunday. The five-round upper and lower final series will be played from September 16.
HJK with 43 and KuPS with 42 points are the most closely involved in the championship fight. SJK is in third place with 38 points.