Table 5.2: Fan respondent’s employment status (in %)
Employment status Cameroon
(n=390)
Nigeria (n=381)
Unemployed 13.6 16.0
Working full-time 25.9 45.7
Working part-time 15.4 8.4
Retired/ pensioner 4.9 1.3
Student/ scholar 22.1 19.9
Self-employed 14.4 7.9
Housewife 3.7 0.8
that football is considered a strong social phenomenon that brings many Cameroonian citizens together. She maintains that the local citizens are highly involved in the game and show strong support for their teams in a number of ways including wearing replica jerseys and following their favourite teams to most games irrespective of them mostly earning a low income. As is the case with Cameroon, Boye (2012) asserts that football in Nigeria has in recent times become a strong element of culture that can unify people and is a source of significant social benefits for many Nigerians including the young and old.
Table 5.3: A summary of fan respondents’ interest in football as a spectator (in %)
Statements Cameroon
(n=390)
Nigeria (n=381) I am an avid fan of the sport, and always try to attend or watch it on
television.
57.9 60.6
I am interested in the sport and see it when I can. 26.4 24.2 I am not particularly interested in the sport, but I enjoy seeing it
when it comes to our area.
9.3 10.2
I am not interested in the sport, but sometimes attend or watch it because family or friends are interested in it.
6.4 5.0
Table 5.4 below tabulates a breakdown of the respondents, according to their level of interest in local football in Cameroon and Nigeria. Few respondents stated that they were not interested in local football (14.4% from Cameroon and 7.3% from Nigeria). A similar number of the total sample in Cameroon (28.5%) and in Nigeria (29.7%) said that they followed their favourite local team to every game. Quite a few respondents in Cameroon (27.4%) relative to the number of respondents in Nigeria (10.5%) noted that they occasionally followed their local team to a game. The majority of the respondents said that they watched their teams on television, with fewer doing so in Cameroon (29.7%) and over half of the respondents in Nigeria (52.5%). The finding indicates that the respondents also showed a strong level of interest in local football at club level in Cameroon and Nigeria.
Table 5.4: Fan respondents’ interest in football locally/ club level (in %)
Statements Cameroon
(n=390)
Nigeria (n=381)
Not interested 14.4 7.3
Follow my team to every game 28.5 29.7
Follow my team occasionally 27.4 10.5
Watch my team on television 29.7 52.5
Table 5.5 illustrates that the vast majority of the respondents in Cameroon (87.7%) and in Nigeria (90.3%) who took part in the survey said that they followed international football on television whenever their national team (the ‘Indomitable Lions’ and the ‘Super Eagles’) played. Such a finding is consistent with those whose data are shown in Table 5.4 below in terms of local football. Very few of the respondents claimed that they had travelled to international games to watch their team play (7.9% from Cameroon, and 2.6% from Nigeria).
The remainder of the sample stated that they were not interested in football played internationally by nations (4.4% from Cameroon and 7.1% from Nigeria). As was the case with the soccer fans, the key informants in the study indicated that they followed international football on television. Only one key informant from Cameroon indicated having attended the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations hosted in Angola.
Table 5.5: Fan respondents’ level of interest in football internationally in relation to the national team (in %)
Statements Cameroon
(n=390)
Nigeria (n=381)
Not interested 4.4 7.1
Follow international football on television 87.7 90.3
Travel to international football games 7.9 2.6
As had been the case with the previous findings (see Tables 5.4 and 5.5 above), the majority of the respondents in Cameroon (86.2%) and in Nigeria (89.8%) indicated that they followed international football on television whenever teams other than their own played. Those respondents who said that they were not interested (8.5% from Cameroon and 8.6% from Nigeria) were relatively few. Furthermore, the respondents who reported that they had travelled and watched international football games (5.3% from Cameroon, and 2.6% from Nigeria) were even fewer.
Table 5.6: Fan respondents’ level of interest in football in relation to other teams, excluding the Cameroonian/ Nigerian teams (in %)
Statements Cameroon
(n=390)
Nigeria (n=381)
Not interested 8.5 7.6
Follow international football on television 86.2 89.8
Travel to international football games 5.3 2.6
Previous attendance at sport events can be useful, in that it lays the basis for predicting the likelihood to travel and to attend future events (Kim and Chalip, 2004). In this study, when the respondents were asked whether they had previously travelled to watch an international football game besides a FIFA World Cup tournament, the responses received were of interest.
The vast majority of the respondents (91.8% from Cameroon and all from Nigeria) stated that they had never travelled to an international football match. Only 8.2% of the respondents from Cameroon stated that they had attended an international football game. Attendance levels in this regard were noted as being significantly low, despite the fact that many of the respondents considered themselves to be avid football fans. However, the result could have been influenced by the low level of household income recorded across the two study areas.
Table 5.7: Whether fan respondents had previously travelled to an international football match other than the FIFA World Cup tournament outside Cameroon/ Nigeria (in %)
Response Cameroon
(n=390)
Nigeria (n=381)
Yes 8.2 0.0
No 91.8 100
Of those respondents (all from Cameroon) who stated that they had previously attended an international match other than a FIFA World Cup (see Table 5.7 above), the majority (28.1%) stated that they had attended one in Ghana (see Table 5.8 below), while 15.6% claimed to have travelled to Senegal. A total of 9.3% of the respondents claimed to have travelled to Angola, Egypt and Germany, 6.2% to Mali and the Democratic Republic of Congo, 3.6% to Nigeria, and 3.1% to Gabon and Mauritius. The result showed that the respondents had predominantly attended international games that were hosted on the African continent and that had been held not too far away from their home country. The result can be explained in relation to the physical proximity involved. The literature suggests that fans’ motive in attending a sport tourism event depended on its proximity (Kim and Chalip, 2004).
Geographically, Cameroon shares borders with Nigeria and Gabon; while the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana and Mali are relatively close, which means that the cost of travel might be less than it would be if the destinations were further away.
Table 5.8: If yes, recent international match attended by fan respondent (in %)
Host country Year Cameroon
(n=32)
Nigeria (n=0)
Gabon 2011 3.1 -
Democratic Republic of Congo 2011 6.2 -
Mauritius 2010 3.1 -
Angola 2010 9.3 -
Senegal 2010 15.6 -
Ghana 2009 28.1 -
Tunisia 2008 6.2 -
Egypt 2006 9.3 -
Germany 2006 9.3 -
Mali 2002 6.2 -
Nigeria 2001 3.6 -
Given that the Cameroonian and the Nigerian national football teams have represented Africa on six and five occasions at a FIFA World Cup tournament, respectively, Figure 5.4 below shows a significant disparity between the respondents concerned in terms of them travelling to a FIFA event. A total of 99.5% of respondents from Nigeria and 91.5% from Cameroon reported never before having travelled to attend a FIFA World Cup, compared to the few (8.5% from Cameroon, and 0.5% from Nigeria) who noted that they had travelled to attend one. The results show that, prior to the hosting of the 2010 FIFA World Cup by South Africa, FIFA World Cups had not previously been sufficient enticement to African soccer fans to travel, despite them having categorised themselves as typically possessing the characteristics to travel and to attend such games. However, such a disparity can again be explained by the constraints, including travel costs, involved. The result reinforces those of Zhang (2007) who notes that mega-events are generally quite expensive to access in terms of travel cost (transportation, event tickets, accommodation, meals, etc.).
The attendance at previous FIFA World Cup tournaments by the key informants in this study mirrors those of the soccer fans, in that only one key informant in Cameroon indicated having attended the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany. Their reasons for not attending such events in the past were not covered in the questionnaire survey.