Brann: Low Ticket Sales Ahead of Europa Week's First Match

Low Ticket Sales

Just 36 hours before Brann’s first Europa Week match against Austria Wien only 1,000 tickets have been sold at Brann Stadion. 1,457 spectators attended the club’s match against Hammarby in the Europa Cup qualifiers, while 16,019 were present when Manchester United played there last year. 6,331 and 6,833 were the crowds for the matches against Rosengård in 2022 and Glasgow City in 2023, respectively. These figures show that attendance has been significantly higher in earlier European fixtures.

Commercial Director and Coaches’ Reactions

Commercial director Therese Rygg says: “It is unfortunately only 1,000 tickets sold, so there is room for many more. We hope more will take the trip to see such an important match tomorrow.” Rygg believes more will come if the audience becomes aware that the match is on Tuesday.

Match leaders Erlend Vågane expresses his confusion: “I can’t quite understand why it is so low.” He points out that attendance has been high in previous European matches and that it is surprising that it is now so low. Vågane cites a tight match schedule with many European games in a short period as a possible cause: “There are many games in general, and many European games in a short time, mixed with the fact that we have played many more European games than we did a few years ago. Back then there was something exotic about it. Maybe we have become a bit too used to it, even though it is not everyday fare.”

What Might Explain Low Interest?

Rygg believes that attendance will rise if more become aware of the match date and that it is important to communicate that the women play on Tuesday. She points out that there is a lot of Brann talk and many men’s matches, and that increased awareness could get more people to attend.

Additionally, Brann’s newspaper (BA) can only speak with selected players the day before the Champions League showdown. An unexpected sentence in the article says: “She has taken over Selma’s job and apartment. But Sunniva Skoglund is not a backup.” This indicates that the club is keeping a close eye on internal changes while focusing on audience engagement.

Brann hopes that more spectators will come and support the women on their way to the Champions League, and that attendance will rise when the match date is clearly communicated.