Lingard jerseys sold out – Suwon Samsung still has ‘fan spirit’
The New Year’s K League, preparing for the opening fanfare, chants ‘3 million again’.
After last year’s World Cup Round of 16 frenzy in Qatar, which saw the first and second divisions (25 clubs) combine for an explosive attendance of 3,015,091, the K League is confident of a repeat performance this year. Although there is an aftermath of the Asian Cup in Qatar, there are box office cards to offset it.
The biggest box office draw is Jesse Lingard (32-Seoul), a striker who is arguably the best K League player of all time.
The former Manchester United of the English Premier League (EPL) is a superstar that even current leaguers admit they “didn’t think he’d ever come.” He may not be at his best right away, having been out of action for over half a year, but he’s sure to bring the house down. FC Seoul, which boasted the highest attendance in the K League even before Lingard’s arrival (432,000 – average attendance of 22,633), is hoping to reach 500,000+ fans in the new year thanks to an influx of young fans interested in overseas soccer.
Seoul started selling jerseys online through its website on Feb. 22, and the 1,000 jerseys it had reserved were sold out within two hours. Tickets for the Gwangju-Seoul match at the Gwangju Football Stadium on Feb. 2 were also sold out within two and a half minutes of going on sale. The Gwangju Football Stadium has a capacity of about 7,700 people.
“Before and after the signing of Lingard, the club’s official Instagram account grew to 99,712 followers (an increase of 28,488) as of the 27th, and YouTube gained 112,374 subscribers (an increase of 17,307). YouTube, in particular, welcomed a whopping 1,056,619 new viewers.”
Another positive is that the Lingard effect has revitalized championship competition in the K-League, which had been absent for a while. Last year, seventh-ranked Seoul, with Kim Ki-dong (53), one of the best coaches in the K-League, at the helm, became the favorite to win the title with the addition of Lingard. “This year, the title will be contested by Jeonbuk Hyundai and FC Seoul, along with Ulsan HD (who won the title for the second year in a row),” the 12 managers agreed.
Of course, there are variables to maintaining 3 million spectators in the K League. Another popular club, Suwon Samsung, was shockingly relegated to the K League 2 last year after finishing in last place.
Last year, Suwon drew 224,177 fans, even in the worst of times, for an average attendance of 11,799, ranking fifth in attendance behind Seoul and Ulsan (18,210), Daejeon 토토 Hana Citizen (12,857), and Jeonbuk (12,566).
Furthermore, Suwon is a club known for its trickle-down effect in the K League. The league started counting away attendance separately last year, and Suwon’s 1504 fans ranked third behind Jeonbuk (1795) and Ulsan (1543). If fewer fans are dyeing one side of the stadium blue despite poor results, it’s a blow to the overall K League attendance. The loss of the “Super Match” between Suwon and Seoul, one of the most popular products in the K League, should also be taken into account.
The good news is that Suwon fans are still showing their love for the club. This year, Suwon sold over 2,000 Blue Pass memberships (50,000 won) with guaranteed advance ticketing rights. This year, Suwon discontinued the annual membership (230,000 to 550,000 won for adults) due to turf work at its home stadium (Suwon World Cup Stadium) in the second half of the year, and instead unified the membership with the annual membership, which is not much different from the previous year.
Suwon said that tickets for the opening match against Chungnam Asan, which went on sale at 2 p.m. on Nov. 28, sold around 9,500 tickets in just one day. At the current rate, the team expects to surpass last year’s opening match crowd (13,338) against Gwangju FC.
“We have set a goal to return to the first division with our fans this year,” said a Suwon official, “and if they help us, we will be able to achieve that goal.”