Panathinaikos experience sharp decline in crowds over the last decade

Panathinaikos continue to experience a sharp decline in crowds over the last decade, as this season’s average attendance currently sits at a mere 5,268 people.

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Giorgos Donis once said, “you cannot put pressure on your opponent by having a thousand people in the stands.” Unfortunately, this seems to be the case for Panathinaikos in the 2019/20 season so far, even though it may be slightly exaggerated.

The Greens have struggled to lure fans to the OAKA Stadium this season, and attendance has continued to decline drastically. Fans are further away from the action at OAKA in comparison with the Apostolos Nikolaidis Stadium (Leoforos), and the sheer size of the stadium means it is hard to generate an atmosphere with only a few thousand fans. On top of this, the Greek financial crisis early last decade, in particular, played a role in falling crowd’s across the League.

Another major reason for the fall in crowds is the team’s poor results in recent seasons and lack of silverware. Panathinaikos have not won a trophy since the 2013/14 Greek Cup and only won the League once last decade - all the way back in the 2009/10 season. As a result, a ‘rivalry’ of sorts has developed between fans and management, as the hugely unpopular Giannis Alafouzos remains at the helm. For instance, Gate 13 staged a protest against the administration in the most recent home Derby of the Eternal Enemies against Olympiacos earlier in the campaign.

In that famous double-winning 2009/10 season, the Trifylli averaged a home attendance of 29,226. Fast forward to the end of 2019, and after another poor crowd against Aris, this season’s average so far sits at 5,282.

This figure of 5,282 makes for grim reading at the best of times, but it is made even worse by the fact that the Greens have already faced Olympiacos, AEK and Aris at home (teams that will traditionally draw a bigger crowd).

In two derbies against Olympiacos and AEK, a combined total of 17,856 tickets were sold. In comparison, only last season, a home match against Levadiakos drew a crowd of 12,881 people.

Here are the average crowds for Panathinaikos since the 2008/09 season, up until the end of last season:

2008-09: 27,434

2009-10: 29,226

2010-11: 19,941

2011-12: 12,154

2012-13: 9,571

2013-14: 9,074

2014-15: 7,691

2015-16: 7,797

2016-17: 5,879

2017-18: 6,948

2018-19: 7,555

Here are the average crowd figures to date for all 14 sides competing in the 2019/20 edition of the Greek Super League:

Olympiacos: 24,714

PAOK: 18,795

AEK: 15,850

Aris: 11,300

Panathinaikos: 5,268

OFI: 4,397

Larissa: 3,854

Asteras Tripolis: 2,461

Panetolikos: 2,381

Volos: 2,246

Panionios: 1,960

Xanthi: 1,918

Lamia: 1,625

Atromitos: 1,382

by Nick Tsambouniaris

Image Source: to10.gr

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