It’s only taken 11 months and three lockdowns, but older football fans have finally got the hang of the iPad and they have boosted the viewing figures for matches in the English Football League to almost three million live streams.
The EFL’s streaming service is expected to surpass that landmark figure if enough matches survive the big freeze this weekend.
Fans have been mostly banned from grounds due to the coronavirus pandemic since March.
‘It has been a lifesaver,’ said Robbie Cowling, chairman at League Two Colchester United. ‘And it has grown.
‘We have noticed that older people are getting more involved. A lot of them are internet savvy. But where they don’t have great IT skills, we find that if they have to do it to follow their team, they find a way.
‘And then sons and daughters are helping.
‘At the moment, I have six or seven months of salaries to find and almost no revenue. The iFollow revenue is it.
‘It nowhere near fills a gap, but it is something and it keeps our fans engaged. It is easy for them to lose interest if there is no way of watching the games.’
Across the EFL, the over 65s make up the biggest proportion of season ticket holders viewing games at more than 20% of the total. And it is similar for the sale of one-off match passes.
Nine of the ten most watched games this season have involved the Championship high flyers, Norwich City, who have more than 20,000 season ticket holders as they bid to return to the Premier League.
EFL officials anticipate there will have been around five million streams by the end of the season, compared to the usual 18 million fans through the turnstiles.
But, officials say more than one person often watches a live stream, so the total number of supporters viewing games is higher than the figures initially suggest.
Across the EFL, the over 65s make up the biggest proportion of season ticket holders viewing games at more than 20% of the total. And it is similar for the sale of one-off match passes.
Nine of the ten most watched games this season have involved the Championship high flyers, Norwich City, who have more than 20,000 season ticket holders as they bid to return to the Premier League.
EFL officials anticipate there will have been around five million streams by the end of the season, compared to the usual 18 million fans through the turnstiles.
But, officials say more than one person often watches a live stream, so the total number of supporters viewing games is higher than the figures initially suggest.