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Jamaican fans to be segregated at Aug 20 match?


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quote:Originally posted by dsqpr

Wow, it's hard to believe we are even talking about this. It's a solved problem folks. Everywhere in the football world everybody knows that you segregate the away fans. And they know how to do it. You give them around 10% of the tickets and stick them in a corner, which is where any noise they make will have the least impact on the match. If you try to get into a home section wearing away colours, they eject you. If you stand up and cheer for the away team in a home section, they eject you. This isn't rocket science. It isn't even high school science.

The only thing I can think of is that there is no motivation to do it. There seems to be a bit of motivation to pay lip service to it, but none to really do it. So far as I can see, the story goes something like this:

* The CSA needs money and the WCQs are a revenue opportunity.

* The CSA has established ticket prices that are so low that they have to maximize turn out.

* With this in mind, the CSA has located the matches to maximize away support (based on the assumption, right or wrong, that home support will be limited). Needless to say, they aren't going to then ensure that there are only a limited number of tickets available to away fans.

Nobody needs to tell me how short sighted this is, or that even a 3/4 full stadium with limited away support would increase our chances of advancing to the "super six" and getting five more revenue opportunities.

So, until something changes, the away supporters at Canada matches will not be limited or segregated. They will continue to be able to buy tickets for all sections, home and away, safe in the knowledge that they can show up in away colours and cheer for the away team with impunity.

Things have gotta change.

It's not as easy as you suggest in a country where there is no history of this practice, and where you have such a large potential for citizens of the home country to be supporting the away team. Those two combined make this more challenging than some give credit for.

It's doable, but there will be kinks for many a time until we get it right.

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quote:Originally posted by Marc

It's not as easy as you suggest in a country where there is no history of this practice, and where you have such a large potential for citizens of the home country to be supporting the away team. Those two combined make this more challenging than some give credit for.

It's doable, but there will be kinks for many a time until we get it right.

I think this is a big reason why supporters aren't segregated in our stadia. In other sporting events in this city or across the country, you see the fans of one team intermixed with the fans of another team. As soccer is only now becoming big as a spectator sport in this country, it is taking the CSA a long time to figure out that it is simply not acceptable to let all ticket sales be governed by the "every man for himself" policy that is typical of Ticketmaster.

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quote:Originally posted by Toronto Ruffrider

I think this is a big reason why supporters aren't segregated in our stadia. In other sporting events in this city or across the country, you see the fans of one team intermixed with the fans of another team. As soccer is only now becoming big as a spectator sport in this country, it is taking the CSA a long time to figure out that it is simply not acceptable to let all ticket sales be governed by the "every man for himself" policy that is typical of Ticketmaster.

Exactly. Imagine telling Toronto-based Senators or Canadiens fans that they could only buy tickets in certain sections with limtied tickets at the Gardens. They'd have a little flip like the Jamaican fans did too.

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quote:Originally posted by dsqpr

We're not talking about Hockey or Hockey fans though, we're talking about football. Football fans are used to it, they know that's how it works. Jamaicans are laughing at us because they can buy tickets anywhere in our home park. It's really not that hard guys. Just a little motivation is all it would take.

actually...its quite hard to do if the organization doesn't exist to do it.

If/when Canada qualifies for the HEX, we'll all be far more experienced and ready to do what is necessary to ensure that ticket sales are organized properly. It's been a lot of work for some to make it go as smoothly as it has, hiccups notwithstanding.

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It may not be hard, but when you're designating two sections for "Home", one section for "Away", and 53 sections for "General" it can seem somewhat pointless. It's not pointless, but it is some unusual work for a limited number of fans.

Just remember the complaints raised here THIS WEEK about the knowledge of the call centre staff at Admission (and some complaints about Ticketmaster too). Anything "different" - no matter how simple - can be a challenge in process-driven environments.

I like what's been done for these first two games - put all of those who want to behave differently than what is expected at a North American sporting event in their own section(s) where they can do what they want, what the event promoter wants them to do, and leave everyone else out of it. The announcement from WF is a fantastic step in the right direction; caution should be taken before making the next step.

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