When the Nigeria’s Super Eagles battle Senegal in today’s international friendly, only a pantry of 1400 will watch the encounter at the Hive.
And The Hive, being a League 2 grounds, is not only far less expensive to hire than some of the bigger stadiums, it also has on-site training facilities, which make it a one-stop shop for travelling teams.
Coupled with a large British-Nigerian population in London – the 2011 census suggested over 100,000 Nigerian-born Brits live in the capital – it seems a decent prospect.
Indeed, you might expect a large appetite to see their stars in the flesh playing for the Super Eagles against top quality opposition. But that doesn’t seem to be the case.
If you thought attendances were bad for tournaments like the Cup of Nations, where stadiums are often under half full, today’s ticket sales are something of a shock.
With entry as little as £10 for adults in some areas, and £5 for under-14s, and such a plethora of Premier League stars on show, you would hope for a decent turn-out, given the dearth of quality football available during an international break.
The Hive holds a little over 6,000 fans, is incredibly easy to access by public transport, and is convenient for many of London’s vast number of football supporters. Surely it should be full for a showpiece fixture, even if it is a friendly!
