The on-going concerns about dwindling spectators at sporting events in South Africa was a major talking point at the Discovery Sport Industry Summit in Johannesburg. Blue Label Telecoms chief marketing officer and chairman of the Sports Trust Rob Fleming says that sports federations and clubs have ignored the fans for too long and the time has come for them to listen to what the fans want if they are to remain sustainable businesses…….

Fleming lambasted sporting teams for neglecting even the basics of looking after the hygiene of stadiums and that many sporting codes focus too much on managing the sport while ignoring building the brand amongst their supporters…SABC Sport journalist Vata Ngobeni reports