The demographic results provide a profile of soccer fans who attend official football matches in Cameroon and Nigeria. The demographic data collected pertained to age, gender, monthly household income, education and employment status.
The respondents were asked, in an open-ended question, to state their current age. Because age distribution usually assumes a wide range of categories, the total sample for this study was captured into seven groups, as can be seen in Figure 5.1 below. The age distribution among the respondents showed that the majority of the respondents (41% from Cameroon and 45.7% from Nigeria) were between 21 and 30 years old. Some of the respondents (26.2%
from Cameroon and 30.7% from Nigeria) fell in the older age group of between 31 and 40 years old. Almost equal proportions in both age groups were from the younger age group of between 18 and 20 years old (13.1% from Cameroon and 12.3% from Nigeria). A total of 11.8% of the respondents in Cameroon and 9.7% in Nigeria were found to fall within the older age group of between 41 and 50 years old. Very few respondents said they were within the age group of between 51 and 60 years old (3.8% from Cameroon and 1.6% from Nigeria).
The result further indicates that only respondents from Cameroon said that they fell in the much older age group of 61 and above. Specifically, 3.8% of the respondents from Cameroon were found to be between 61 and 70 years old, with 0.3% being above 71 years old. The average age of the respondents from Cameroon was 32 years (ranging from 18 years to 71 years) and from Nigeria was 30 years (ranging from 18 years to 60 years).
Several research endeavours have focused on age as a factor in attending sport tourism events.
Correia and Esteves (2007) depart from a premise that an active social life is the time period that ranges from 15 to 65 years old. They note that attending sport events is an activity that decreases in tandem with advances in the aging process. Snelgrove et al. (2008) note that, as people age, their consumption away from sport is shifted increasingly towards the arts, leaving sport to be considered as a social activity that tends to be the choice of younger consumers. Subsequently, older persons may require a higher threshold of motivation and identity than do younger ones in order to attend a sport event. Furthermore, Smith and Stewart (2007) suggest that a negative correlation exists between age and group affiliation, advocating
that older fans have a weaker affiliation, and are less interested in travelling long distances to attend a sport event than are older fans.
Evidently, the results show that soccer fans in Cameroon and Nigeria are relatively young, tending to be between the ages of 18 and 50 years old. Their average age was calculated as being 31.32 years, with a standard deviation of 10. The results are consistent with those obtained by Tichaawa and Swart (2010) who noted that the average age of soccer fans attending football games in Cameroon was 30 years old. Research conducted in Nigeria by Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala (NOI) (2012) on the Nigerian Premier League found that most soccer fans were between the age group of 30 and 40 years. The key informants in the study were found to be slightly older than were the soccer fans. Their ages ranged between 31 and 50 years old.
Figure 5.1: Fan respondents’ age categorisation (in %)
In terms of gender distribution, there was an unequal representation in the survey across both case study areas. Figure 5.2 below illustrates that more males (64.9% from Cameroon and 74.3% from Nigeria) participated in the study than did females (35.1% from Cameroon, and 25.7% from Nigeria). Such results are reinforced by those of Tichaawa and Swart (2010) and the NOI (2012), who found that in Cameroon and Nigeria, more males than females tend to watch football. Gender issues in sport attendance and participation have received attention in recent times. According to Smith and Stewart (2007), sport appears to have a masculine gender appeal, since its values are based around aggression, mental toughness, external
discipline and character building; all of which are core dimensions of ‘traditional’ male identity. Nevertheless, although women frequently view sport differently to how men view it, they still perceive themselves as sport fans. For example, as Bob and Swart (2010: 94) in their empirical study that focused on women experiences during the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa assert, “women were as much fans as the men visiting the fan parks. They wore a range of soccer fan wear including t-shirts, jackets, scarves, tattoos, etc.”
However, gender differences in sport consumption could be attributed to gender roles, as postulated by Robinson and Trail (2005). Sport is not deemed socially feminine, so social norms and expectations discourage women from attending matches (Snelgrove et al., 2008).
This factor is noted as perhaps having contributed to the findings of this study. A study on the anthropology of football in Cameroon, Ghana, Senegal and Nigeria by Guilianotti (2010) noted that the game of football, in relation to participation (active and spectator), is largely dominated by men rather than by women. Another study that was conducted by Tichaawa and Swart (2010) on the perceptions of soccer fans in Cameroon, linked to the hosting of the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, also yielded similar results. The findings of the study also correlated with those of Getz (2003) and Rubin (2009) who noted that more men compared to women tend to attend sport events and, specifically, that football fans tend to be men. The evidence from the documented literature highlighted, taken together with the results of this study, reinforces examples of men being more likely than women to travel between cities or regions with the aim of engaging in sport events and related experiences. In contrast, the results also reveal that female participation and involvement in football is on the rise, as Correia and Esteves (2007) reiterate that sport is no longer a ‘men thing’ that is a preserve of males only, as has been expressed in many sport typologies, but female attendance and spectating is increasing in number.
Unlike the disparity that has been noted in terms of male and female representation among the soccer fans in Cameroon and Nigeria, the key informant gender composition was much more equally balanced in the current study in terms of male and female representation. There were slightly more men (55%) than there were women (45%) involved.
Figure 5.2: Gender of fan respondents (in %)
Level of income can have an impact on the decision to travel and attend sport mega-events.
As Smith and Stewart (2007) found out, sport tourism diminishes with income, with older people on a high income being less interested in travelling long distances to attend events than are younger people. Kim and Chalip (2004) found that income is one of the push factors in terms of interest in, and constraints on, travel to attend the FIFA World Cup tournaments.
Figure 5.3 below indicates that in this study the majority of the respondents (33.3% from Cameroon and 28.1% from Nigeria) lived in households earning between R1 001 and R4 000 a month. A total of 6.1% and 21.6% in Cameroon and Nigeria, respectively, earned a monthly income of between R4 001 and R8 000. Few respondents had an income of between R8 001 and R12 000 a month (1.3% in Cameroon and 7.8% in Nigeria). Very few of the respondents had either a monthly income of between R12 001 and R20 000 (0.5% from Cameroon and 0.3% from Nigeria) or above R20 001 a month (0.6% from Cameroon and none from Nigeria). Some of the respondents (21.6% from Cameroon and 4.1% from Nigeria) reported earning less than R1 000 a month. Furthermore, an almost equal number of those surveyed reported having no monthly income in Cameroon (17.3%) and Nigeria (16.8%), respectively.
Nineteen percent of respondents from Cameroon and 21.5% from Nigeria did not feel comfortable to disclose their monthly income and declared it to be confidential. The average monthly household income was calculated at R2 551.74 for Cameroon and at R4 586.38 for Nigeria ranging from under R100 to R66 670. The level of income of the respondents can be described as low. This could represent that the respondents in both case study areas were
engaged in low-income jobs, or that such jobs, in themselves, did not attract high incomes.
Such a low level of income could also be due to the fact that some of the respondents were unemployed, students or scholars, pensioners or that they only worked on a part-time basis (see Table 5.2 below). The data reinforces, to some extent, those of the UN (2011), which shows that about a third of the population (in both Nigeria and Cameroon) was estimated to be living below the international poverty threshold of US$1.25 a day in 2011. The findings in this study could also mean that the ability of soccer fans in Cameroon and in Nigeria to travel to attend the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa could have been limited by income.
Although Lee and Taylor (2005) recommend that travel and attendance motives should be viewed holistically and include demographic characteristics of potential event attendees when attempting to forecast their prospect of travel.
Unlike the soccer fans, the vast majority of the key informants in the current study could be classified as being in higher income brackets in their countries of origin. This could be justified by the fact that all of them were engaged in some form of economic activity that generated income, with most occupying senior positions in their respective organisations. This could, therefore, mean that they might have had sufficient disposable income available, resulting in their likelihood of travelling and attending the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
17.3 16.8
21.6
4.1 33.3
28.1
6.1
21.6
1.3
7.6
0.50.6 0.3 0
19.3
21.5
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35
Cameroon (n=390) Nigeria (n=381)
PERCENTAGE
NAME OF COUNTRY
No income > 1000 1001 - 4000 4001 - 8000 8001 - 12000 12001 - 20 000 20001<
Confidential
Figure 5.3: Monthly household income (in ZAR) of fan respondents (in %)
Level of education has been recognised as one of the push factors to travel and to attend sport tourism events (Kim and Chalip, 2004). Identifying the level of education in this study was important, in that it might have informed the ability of the respondents to understand and to evaluate mega-event legacy impacts. The educational levels attained by the respondents in this study are represented in Table 5.1 below. The table shows that very few respondents (1.8% from Cameroon and 1% from Nigeria) reported having no formal education. The respondents who reported having partial primary education (1% from Cameroon and 2.9%
from Nigeria) were also few. Of the respondents who had completed some level of education, 6.7% in Cameroon and 1.3% in Nigeria said that they had completed primary education. In terms of secondary education completed, more respondents from Cameroon (26.7%) than from Nigeria (11.8%) had attained such a level of education. Furthermore, of those respondents who had completed some form of higher education, the results show that 22.8%
of the respondents from Cameroon and 24.1% from Nigeria had obtained a certificate/
diploma or equivalent. The majority of the respondents (28.5% from Cameroon and 41.5%
from Nigeria) said that they had attained an undergraduate degree. Those who reported having attained a postgraduate degree (12.5% from Cameroon and 17.4% from Nigeria) made up the rest of the sample. Evidently, soccer fans in Cameroon and Nigeria are largely citizens with various levels of education. The data show that the majority of such fans in both case study areas were well educated. This trend was also noted among the key informants, with a significantly high proportion having attained an undergraduate qualification.
Having most of the soccer fans and key informants attaining such a level of education could have impacted positively on their ability to make informed decisions on the legacy impacts that the hosting of the 2010 FIFA World Cup could have had beyond the borders of the host nation, South Africa, into the entire African continent.
Table 5.1: Fan respondents’ highest level of education attained (in %)
Highest level of education Cameroon
(n=390)
Nigeria (n=381)
No formal education 1.8 1.0
Partial primary 1.0 2.9
Primary completed 6.7 1.3
Secondary completed 26.7 11.8
Certificate/ diploma 22.8 24.1
Undergraduate 28.5 41.5
Postgraduate 12.5 17.4
The socio-economic status of the respondents in this study can be described by their current occupational status. When asked about their occupational status, the majority of the respondents from both case study areas indicated multiple occupational status, as summarised in Table 5.2 below. Sixteen percent of the respondents in Nigeria and 13.6% in Cameroon said that they were unemployed. The finding in this regard is interesting in terms of consistency when it is read in line with those who reported having no household income in Cameroon (17.3%) and Nigeria (16.8%) (see Figure 5.3 below). In the two study areas, the majority of the respondents reported working on a full-time basis (25.9% from Cameroon and 45.7% from Nigeria) although a substantial difference in percentages is observed. Some of the respondents in Cameroon (15.4%) and in Nigeria (8.4%) noted that they were in part-time employ. A few of the respondents had either retired from service and were on pension (4.9%
from Cameroon and 1.3% from Nigeria). This finding is consistent with, and reinforces, those previously noted in terms of age categorisation (see Figure 5.1), with the vast minority being over the age of 61 years. Many of the respondents in Cameroon (22.1%) and in Nigeria (19.9%) said that they were either students or scholars. Some of the respondents were self- employed (14.8% from Cameroon and 7.9% from Nigeria) in terms of running their own businesses or exploring other economic opportunities as informal traders, which is an occupation which is particularly common in West and Central African economies. The respondents who stated that they were housewives (3.7% from Cameroon and 0.8% from Nigeria) were very few, and formed the remainder of the sample. Overall, the results show that the majority of the soccer fans in Cameroon and Nigeria were engaged in some form of economic activity that contributed to their household income. The results could have been influenced by the respondents’ level of education (previously discussed), which could have influenced their ability to provide skills required for the public/ private sectors and for self- employment creation. Furthermore, being employed could indicate that the respondents had the financial capabilities to travel to and attend sport tourism events. However, as the findings in this study show, the low levels of income generated from the various form of employment noted are of concern in this regard.
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