World Cup: Football viewing centres groan, as fuel price, hike in subscriptions, streaming platforms take toll on operators 

By Adebayo Obajemu 

Nigeria is a football loving nation, and across the country the bustling  football viewing centres that made an otherwise ordinary night turn into  near festive communal celebrations are  gradually receding into  silence as a result of skyrocketing  fuel prices, costly pay-TV subscriptions, and the seismic shift to mobile streaming eroding patronage.

Some football buffs now prefer to hangout in places that have class and gravitas whose ambience has enough security and room for informed social discourses on contemporary issues in Nigeria.

An ardent football fan told Business Hallmark that he prefers to go to Radisson Blu in Ikeja GRA, where there’s combination of ambience, security and social contact with the like minds .

Six years ago,  Rafiu Atanda’s   viewing centre was a  place to be and the talk of football lovers in Alakuko. It was the place where football loving fans of different premier league clubs gathered to show solidarity to their club, most time they betted on which club would win.

Atanda informed BH that today, the story is different old Business Hallmark

Six years ago,  Rafiu Atanda’s viewing centre was a  place to be and the talk of football lovers in Alakuko. It was the place where football loving fans of different premier league clubs gathered to show solidarity to their club, most time they betted on which club would win.

Atanda informed BH that today, the story is different.

Inside his viewing centre last week he sat on a bench forlorn looking, though the  wooden benches were neatly arranged in rows before three television screens mounted on a wall, the usual crowd was empty, save two middle aged men discussing insecurity.

The empty seats stand as silent reminders of a time when finding a seat at  Atanda’s  football viewing centre was nearly impossible for late comers.

He said  “Before on  match days, football lovers would arrive long before kick-off, eager to secure a spot among fellow fans. The atmosphere was usually electric, as fans bantered with one another over which team was the best.

He lamented the rough weather his business of seven years has fallen on, as he reminisced on the time when cheers would erupt with every goal scored, and arguments broke out over controversial referee decisions. Then, it was a moment when strangers became friends, united by their love for the game.

But today, everything has become a shadow of itself. The chairs now remain empty, and the once-vibrant voices of football lovers have faded over time.

Hard Times

In a voice laced with regret, Atanda noted that, “When this place was set up seven years ago, right from the onset I could get an average attendance of about 20 people. But now, attendance has dropped to a very low level. The difference is much if you compare it to the past.”

For him, the viewing centre was much more than  a business but a passion that made him happy when he thought of the joy inherent in  bringing people together.

One around his area as totally shut down and the premises now turned gas depot.

“This has been the place  where the excitement  and joy  of the English Premier League and the UEFA Champions League transforms ordinary evenings into communal celebrations”, he said.

According to him the economic side of running the place now compared to the past could not be imagined. “The difference is something I don’t want to talk about, so huge. If you compare it to the past, it is a huge low.”

Fuel and subscription costs

According to him  one of big challenge is the cost of fuel and this has  become a nightmarish  burden as a few  years ago, he could conveniently buy  petrol for about N124 per litre before it jumped  to around N500, and currently more than N1, 300 per litre.

He stated that for  a business that depends  heavily on generators to provide uninterrupted electricity during matches, the increase has been devastating.

The secret of the trade, according to him, is that one must subscribe to premium sports channels to attract football fans.

He said the costs of maintaining access to live matches have risen beyond anything he imagined when he started the business.

“Let me be frank with you, one of the biggest challenges is subscription costs. If you check the subscription rates from DStv, you’ll see a huge increase. Two years ago, we were paying around N13, 900 for Premium and about N3, 500 for Extra View.

“But  today if you want to subscribe to DStv Premium with Extra View, you’re paying around N52, 000. The difference is very, very high. These are some of the challenges we are facing. Because of the increase in expenses, we used to charge below N100 per match in the past, but now we charge N400,” Atanda noted.

According to him, he could earn as much as N10, 000 in profit from a single fixture after deductions of all expenses. Today, even charging four times more than he did years ago, the crowds no longer come.

“I’m telling you the truth, my monthly profit now averages between N35, 000 and N40, 000 before maintenance costs and other expenses are deducted.

Different Folks, Same Fate

Another viewing centre owner, Jacob Eze, recounted similar  harrowing experience. Eze, whose viewing centre  is located in Abule Egba, Lagos State, said, “Gone  were the days when people used to come here  two to three hours before matches to secure  seats reservation. Now the chairs are empty, and I barely get customers,” he said.

The oil in the ointment for Eze was not  even the  skyrocketing cost of fuel, electricity, and television subscriptions, as the  decline in patronage that has transformed his once-thriving business into a chaos of failure.

He said “in the heyday of this once thriving business”  my profits in a month used to hover  between N120, 000 and N200, 000, but it has fundamentally declined, dropping embarrassingly even below N40, 000 now. And that is because of the rising cost of operation. We have to pay for subscriptions, buy fuel, pay for electricity, and even service the generator.

“What pains me most is not just the rising costs but seeing a place that was once full of life becoming so quiet. We used to struggle to find enough seats for people before, but it is no longer like that now. I even struggle sometimes to get 15 people to fill the seats.”

Another  viewing centre owner, Abdullah based in Ilorin told Business Hallmark in a telephon chat that the business was no longer profitable as before.

“Here in  Ilorin, I don’t know about other places, but here , it’s not funny. The party is over for we the viewing centre owners. There was a time when every big match would pull crowds from the community, and people would come early just to secure a seat and join the excitement. But now, even on Champions League nights, you can count the viewers on your fingers.

“It pains me because this place used to be full of life, noise, and energy. Today, I find myself setting up chairs for a crowd that no longer comes,”  Abdulahi stated.

Hostile Business Policy

Even as many  operators are still grappling with rising costs, some have already  called it quits and folded up.

In  Kabba,  Kogi State , a former viewing centre  owner, Onietan Daramola, told BH that  he was forced to shut down the business shortly before the commencement of the English Premier League in 2024, after years of struggling with rising operational costs and dwindling patronage.

He said the business was once profitable and  he made a lot of money, noting that “sometimes  between 150 and 200 viewers came to my place, especially during major football fixtures.

“I used to make good money, especially during  weekends, as the profits could rise between N30, 000 and N65, 000 after deducting expenses, making the venture a reliable source of income.

However, the situation changed for him with government policies as fuel prices surged from N126 to N1350 per litre, and a DStv premium subscription increased to N44, 500 from the previous N29, 500 in early 2024.

“By the time I closed, even Champions League matches had started having fewer than 20 people despite charging N400 per head. There were days my total revenue was barely N8, 000, yet I spent more than N10, 000 on fuel, electricity, and subscriptions on a match day. The numbers just stopped making sense to me, so I had to close down the business,” Oladehinde added.

The Last Straw

However, the biggest setback for football viewing centre owners was the emergence of streaming platform. This was alternative viewing in your hand change everything. The smart phone was the business killer.

Daramola noted that “many fans switched to watching matches on their phones, so I was left with almost nothing. I had invested all the N500, 000 in the business, but I eventually had to shut it down because it was no longer giving me money, and I kept running into debts.”

As a result of technology and the rising insecurity many ardent football lovers began to shun viewing centres and opted for streaming platforms.

Adebayo Adejare, former lecturer in Sports education, told Business Hallmark that “Through the use of smartphones, cheaper streaming options, and improved internet access, football culture has been reshaped, as fans now prefer to watch matches on their mobile devices from the comfort of their homes or workplaces.

A football fan,  Odey Timothy noted that security concerns and the current situation in the country are mainly the factors that kept him away from viewing centres, especially for night matches.

He explained that he would rather stay at home to watch games on his phone at night than risk going out late, attributing the change in his habits to rising rates at viewing centres.

“What I miss most is the atmosphere, the crowd, the noise, the excitement, and everything that comes with watching football with other fans, especially the banter. That is something you don’t get when watching alone on your phone,”  Timothy  added.