Alfredo Silva focuses on a variety of issues in relation to fans

The Rio Maior Technical School's Professor Alfredo Silva was the lucky name chosen to open the series of seminars on the first day of the Future of Football International Congress this Tuesday. Focusing on the theme of "Fans for the Future of Football", the professor's presentation distinguished the difference between spectators and fans and their link with clubs.

“This kind of initiative is is really important for the younger generations, who are the future leaders of the country. To organise an event on the Future of Football is to look that little bit further ahead. We have to focus on ethical issues off the pitch as well. Today, we are also here to acknowledge that there are different kinds of fans too", explained Alfredo Silva, going on to reflect how Sporting in particular develops its link with the fans: "I have a special admiration for sporting and I know that the the club really studies their fan base. Only by doing that can you better understand the fans and, as a result, make them happy. You can see a reflection of the hard work Sporting has been doing in the fact that the club's fans are so knowledgeable."

One of the highlights of the Rio Maior Technical School professor's presentation was a section on spectators numbers in the stadiums of Portugal's big three. At 70% capacity, Alfredo Silva indicated a possible increase to 80% and resulting extra revenue of 3.9 million euros. To reach this target, the professor affirms that clubs need to do their homework: "I think it is really important that the big clubs also play a big social role too. They have supporters' clubs and coverage on free channels. With the crisis people have lost income, but fans carry on as members of the clubs they love, because they feel a kind of identification with the club. What I see is that the smaller clubs have to adopt strategies for increasing their fan bases. Nothing is built in a day and it will take years, but it is a serious bit of work that needs to be done. There In bigger countries there are more big cities, which is the opposite of in Portugal and that also has an influence. Fan bases are proportional to the population of each city."