Rugby union is being viewed and played by millions of people across the
world. It is one of the fastest growing sport codes internationally and with
more countries emerging and playing international and national games, the
supporter attendance is crucial to the game.
The rugby industry is mostly formal, with an international body controlling the
sport globally and a governing body in each country to regulate the sport in
terms of rules and regulations. These bodies must adhere to the international
body’s vision and mission to grow the sport and to steer it in the correct
direction.
This study focuses on rugby game attendance of selected smaller unions in
South Africa. Valuable information was gathered describing the socioeconomic
profile and various preferences and habits of supporters attending
rugby games. This information forms the basis for future studies to honour the
people that support their unions when playing rugby nationally or
internationally.
The research was conducted through interviews with influential administrators
within the rugby environment and questionnaires that were distributed among
supporters that attended a Leopard and Puma game. The main conclusions
during the study were the failure to attract supporters to the Leopards and the
Pumas local matches. The supporters list various reasons for poor supporter
attendances namely: • a lack of marketing, • no entertainment, • the quality of the teams that are competing, and • the time-slots in which the matches take place.
A general and mutual concern among stakeholders for the future is the
sustainability of supporters attending games of the smaller unions. The
apparent lack of funding from the South African Rugby Union and supporters
disinterest in their local union were singled out as serious shortcomings in
protecting the interests of the stakeholders. All stakeholders need to engage
on a national level strategy for developing structures and communication to
promote and grow the potential of rugby not only in the cities, but in the entire
South Africa. / Thesis (MBA)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:nwu/oai:dspace.nwu.ac.za:10394/8699 |
| Date | January 2012 |
| Creators | Heyns, Paul |
| Publisher | North-West University |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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