Determinants of spectator attendance at Hollywoodbets women’s football super league matches in Gauteng province, South Africa

Abstract

Understanding the drivers of sport consumers’ willingness to attend women’s football matches is crucial in sport marketing and consumer relationship management. Given the limited number of studies conducted in South Africa on this topic, we examined the determinants of spectator satisfaction and willingness to attend Women’s Super League football matches in Gauteng, South Africa, (men: n= 161; women: n =155). We used convenience sampling and a survey questionnaire. Multiple regression analyses revealed that vicarious achievement (β = 0.329), involvement (β = 0.113), social interaction (β = 0.276), and perceived value (β = 0.244) predicted spectator satisfaction, with significant positive relationships. However, team identification had a very weak (β = 0.06)—and insignificant—positive influence on satisfaction. Furthermore, spectator satisfaction was found to be a significant, strong predictor (β = 0.811) of willingness to attend Women’s Super League football. We encourage football institutions to consider these findings and look for ways to leverage the observed factors. These insights suggest that successful women’s leagues must prioritise not only team performance, but also the overall spectator experience, including both its core (match-related) and peripheral (non-match-related) components.