Warning! Graphic image of empty stands at the National Stadium in Karachi...

[MenInG]

Some of you who love the game of cricket may find this image distressing but the country's premier First-class tournament's final seems to have hardly anyone watching it!

When and how will the crowds come back?

I am told that this is wedding season in Karachi and people are busy with families etc, so should this final be moved to another month?

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[Major]

How many do know that a cricket match is going? Many don't even know what quaid e azam trophy is or what first class is. They probably dont even know what a final is.

And you can't blame the awam.

Sports is not marketted in Pakistani properly. Sports isn't marketed as an event of gathering or get to gather the way it is made to in North America.

Cricket is a very long game, and its need to be promoted properly. First finish the stands, make parks with an option of having a bbq, small things like that.

 

[Slog]

LOL

Its a domestic final between 2 departments

why should i go and watch hbl or wapda when i literally have little link with them. My dad has an account in hbl though so should that be my judge?

no one will go to this fc match. its not becuse of some wedding season. its because no one is that faaright

 

[Chief Destroyer]

What [MENTION=138463]Slog[/MENTION] said.

Now replace those teams with Lahore Qalandars v Karachi Kings. With enough advertisement, you'd get a fairly decent crowd that will only increase over the years as rivalries grow.

 

[Syed1]

Yes watching Habib Bank and Water and Power development (Wapda) duke it out seems like a mouth watering prospect.

 

[Saj]

Shameful.

T20 generation.....

Honestly have the qea final in another country and you'd get more crowd than in Pakistan.

 

[Markhor]

Who wants to watch such poor quality of cricket where one of the supposedly best performing domestic teams of the season slumps to 21-6 ?

Who wants to watch TTFs like Salman Butt and Imran Farhat unless they're stuck in a 2006 time warp or have a penchant for sado-masochism ?

Who wants to watch a bank play an energy company ?

Who wants to watch cricket played on an underprepared pitch in a crumbling stadium ?

 

[Deewana Mastana]

Sorry to say but the grounds/stadiums in Pakistan look ugly.

Just by that picture, it looks like years of dust filth has engrossed the seats all around the ground.

I had always said for a very very long time that PCB should've invested in their stadiums, facilities etc;

 

[Abdullah719]

Sorry to say but the grounds/stadiums in Pakistan look ugly.

Just by that picture, it looks like years of dust filth has engrossed the seats all around the ground.

I had always said for a very very long time that PCB should've invested in their stadiums, facilities etc;

Meanwhile, the commentators were busy talking about how this is the best ground in the country with the best facilities, etc.

 

[QalandarFan]

Sorry to say but the grounds/stadiums in Pakistan look ugly.

Just by that picture, it looks like years of dust filth has engrossed the seats all around the ground.

I had always said for a very very long time that PCB should've invested in their stadiums, facilities etc;

Yeah they really need to renovate those grounds and invest in the grounds. The only decent ground is the Gadaffi Stadium.

 

[Madplayer]

It would have served Pakistan cricket better if PCB wasn't so over staffed and would use the funds to market these domestic matches. People need to feel associated with these teams somehow. Create rivalries, create local stars and make their stardom penetrate the minds of people.

 

[Fahdi]

1) Poor marketing. Most people don't even know that a tournament is being played, or that it is being broadcast live.

2) Poor structure. Even if people knew about the tournament who would bother watching a match between HBL and WAPDA? Department teams don't inspire any sort of loyalty or fan following. People could care less about Sui Gas beating Port Qasim. City or region based team on the other hand garners loyalty and support from the locals. I believe if done right over a couple of years the Karachi vs Lahore matches can result in full houses for T20 and OD matches and bring a good crowd for the FC matches.

 

[Suleiman]

Can't believe the people are being blamed for this.

Stadiums look ancient and collecting dust.

3rd grade batsman and international class TTFs fill the line-ups. Who seriously wants to see Immy Farhat swipe a few runs with his feet in cement?

As said before 0 marketing. You try walking into a social gathering and say "hey guys let's watch habib bank take on water and development authority" and see how it sounds.

 

[Statsman]

How are the facilities in the stadium? A lot of times flooding washrooms, unhygienic catering and improper security repels crowd from watching a match live at the ground.

 

[Asim2Good]

lols
yet again overseas Pakistanis expecting way too much
when anyone in Pakistan cared about domestic matches anyway? except few tournaments/matches here n there. its always been the case, empty stands

 

[ExpressPacer]

How are the facilities in the stadium? A lot of times flooding washrooms, unhygienic catering and improper security repels crowd from watching a match live at the ground.

Exactly. Bro, the washrooms for the players themselves are not up to the mark and you are speaking of the washrooms for the crowd. However, the private stadiums are right up there with the international standard ones. I recently went to play a match in a cricket stadium in Bahria Town (a housing society) and I was surprised to see how perfectly it was managed. The ground staff, curators, seats, everything was just right up there.

 

[www787]

the only entity to be blamed for this is PCB.

 

[predictablyunpredictable]

So, what is the entry scene? Do we need tickets for this and what time is the dinner break? Help plisss

 

[Tera Gawaandi]

Raze down stands to allow for the grass banks.

 

[The_Odd_One]

Is it worse than the first day and night test Pakistan ever played?

 

[Flat_Track_Bully]

Pakistani fans are pathetic. They don't understand if they want the game to grow they have to invest in it.

They think they can log on to illegal stream at home or have no interest and everything will be fine. The same can be said for Karachi which is a mess of a city.

 

[Syed1]

Pakistani fans are pathetic. They don't understand if they want the game to grow they have to invest in it.

They think they can log on to illegal stream at home or have no interest and everything will be fine. The same can be said for Karachi which is a mess of a city.

No Pakistani fans aren't pathetic they just aren't fariq enough to watch a boring match between two sides that they have no connection with.

 

[Flat_Track_Bully]

No Pakistani fans aren't pathetic they just aren't fariq enough to watch a boring match between two sides that they have no connection with.

They choose not to have that connection.

People around the world can choose not to have a connection but they make sure they do because they understand spending a bit of money on the sport means it will grow it.

Don't give me that whole exuse that people in Pakistan don't have money to spend on these games, they do, they have plenty of money but they rather keep it and log on to illegal stream instead. This is why the country is a dump. Nobody wants to spend their money or pay any tax then when the time comes jump ship to UAE and give them all their money.

Nations are built on shared ownership. Not sure when Pakistanis will grasp this concept, maybe in 2100 when the world is about to end.

 

[Sports_Psychologist]

Shameful.

T20 generation.....

Honestly have the qea final in another country and you'd get more crowd than in Pakistan.

If the cities were involved you'd have seen a better crowd , regions will always get the crowd support but departments they won't!

 

[Flat_Track_Bully]

Who wants to watch such poor quality of cricket where one of the supposedly best performing domestic teams of the season slumps to 21-6 ?

Who wants to watch TTFs like Salman Butt and Imran Farhat unless they're stuck in a 2006 time warp or have a penchant for sado-masochism ?

Who wants to watch a bank play an energy company ?

Who wants to watch cricket played on an underprepared pitch in a crumbling stadium ?

Why do you think that is? All that costs money to improve? Do you think money is plucked from thin air?

How do you expect the teams to make money when nobody attends the matches? They are running at a loss. Its a business.

If you want things to improve then go to the matches and give them money to improve the stadiums and players.

 

[Madplayer]

Why do you think that is? All that costs money to improve? Do you think money is plucked from thin air?

How do you expect the teams to make money when nobody attends the matches? They are running at a loss. Its a business.

If you want things to improve then go to the matches and give them money to improve the stadiums and players.

Wonderful. So customers should buy a sub-standard product so that the company earns enough money to improve the product standard?? Doesnt work that way. Some attention can be grabbed if you brainwash the people through marketing techniques , invoking their patriotism (ala modi and demonetization), making local players popular etc.

 

[Statsman]

Exactly. Bro, the washrooms for the players themselves are not up to the mark and you are speaking of the washrooms for the crowd. However, the private stadiums are right up there with the international standard ones. I recently went to play a match in a cricket stadium in Bahria Town (a housing society) and I was surprised to see how perfectly it was managed. The ground staff, curators, seats, everything was just right up there.

That's sad. A lot of stadiums in India are in a similar plight. How do the boards expect people to flock to the stadiums if they cannot provide them with proper basic facilities?

Good to know that at least the private ones are up to the mark.

 

[Slog]

Why do you think that is? All that costs money to improve? Do you think money is plucked from thin air?

How do you expect the teams to make money when nobody attends the matches? They are running at a loss. Its a business.

If you want things to improve then go to the matches and give them money to improve the stadiums and players.

This is insane logic

And it's hilarious you are under the assumption that PCB crooks like Najam Sethi will spend money in the best way possible and not reward themselves

 

[o_ahsan99]

Imran Khan has been pointing this out for decades now. In order to get public interest, QEA trophy needs to be played between cities or regions. Karachi vs Lahore will certainly get more interest than WAPDA vs HBL.

The departments also have different goals each year. A new department may come in and start throwing money and sign big names from other teams, while another strong department may have ax exodus of players; e.g. National Bank this year. Until last year they had 6 or 7 players representing Pakistan. However, this year most of their players are gone. It becomes difficult to create a fan base when half the team changes each year. Even franchise sports like IPL, NBA, NFL are all based and named after a city.

 

[Major]

Imran Khan has been pointing this out for decades now. In order to get public interest, QEA trophy needs to be played between cities or regions. Karachi vs Lahore will certainly get more interest than WAPDA vs HBL.

The departments also have different goals each year. A new department may come in and start throwing money and sign big names from other teams, while another strong department may have ax exodus of players; e.g. National Bank this year. Until last year they had 6 or 7 players representing Pakistan. However, this year most of their players are gone. It becomes difficult to create a fan base when half the team changes each year. Even franchise sports like IPL, NBA, NFL are all based and named after a city.

When imran khan himself says that hr played little of pakistan domestic cricket then what does he know?

First of all, the empty stadiums is due to the culture of sports not existing in pakistan. Forget this final scroll up and look at the image of day and night test game.

Coming back to the imran point, department cricket is much much much better then regional cricket. Departments pay good money, they offer a good job, plus department cricket dont have politics like regional cricket.

Regional teams are full of politics. Selection of particular player is done on a vote. Teams are made based on vote and influence not based on merit. If department cricket is finished, international players wont bother to play domestic as regional set up is messed up

 

[coy0607]

you make it sound like this should be a massive shock to someone

a first class game in Pakistan being played with empty stands - big deal, people have better things to do, even the die-hard cricket fans