One of the ways that my team Livingston build a fan base from nothing in the 13 years we've been located at Livingston was to offer free tickets to children. So therefore I was interested to see that the Scottish Government have called on the SPL and Scottish League to allow access for kids for free at certain games in a bid to boost attendance.
The aim of course is to get kids excited about the atmosphere of actually being at the game, something that no matter what level or Setanta or Sky technological gimmicks watching on TV can't make up in entirety. Of course the kids would end up dragging along a parent or other adult to escort them, boasting coffers. If they also get really into their team they may well go to other games which they have to pay.
As the indirect result of such a scheme, my exes little brother took the option of the free tickets, going along with him and father to games was seen as a bonding experience. End result of which is that I still go, indeed go home and away. Alongside many young people who started out as part of the free tickets scheme.
The scheme may help boast football attendances but will only maintain them if there is the need for maintaining a product that will hold an audience. In the depths of a Scottish winter that can end up being only the hard core fans. There may be a need to look at a chance in the season, if only because with Saturday lunchtime and evening games, the warmth of being in front of a TV and watching two games on a Saturday is far more attractive to our seditary society than actually going out layered up for the cold to get the live experience of just 90 minutes of football.
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