In the past round of the A-League, Wellington drew just over 13,000 fans to their home match against Adelaide United, showing the power the fans can have when it comes to football.
The 13,654 strong crowd was Wellington’s biggest crowd at Westpac Stadium since the 2009-10 finals series where reported crowds averaged 27,000 for their two finals matches at Westpac. It is an encouraging step for the club in its campaign to remain in the A-League amid pressure from Football Federation Australia (FFA) who have repeatedly said the club has failed to perform at any level across the board. While the impressive crowd drew some criticism from some commentators, especially at the fact that it seems Wellington fans only seem to care now that their club is in real danger of leaving the league, it is still fair to say that the attendance is a positive step forward and shows the real power fans and support groups can have on a club’s fortunes.
One of the reasons the crowd was so strong in Wellington was thanks to the fantastic campaign run by Wellington Phoenix fan group Yellow Fever, who in the past weeks have been creating support for the Phoenix in a number of ways. For the match against Adelaide, not only did the group advertise the match online through social media, but they also raised awareness in Wellington through their #ScarfWellington campaign where supporters covered the city in Phoenix scarves while handing out flyers letting people know of the important match that was to be played. It is an encouraging sight to see and it instills a sense of pride in any Wellington fan to see that people who care passionately about the club are out there and doing their best to help the club continue to exist.
But all of that pails somewhat to the Yellow Fever’s best achievement in recent weeks. Based off the strength of the #SaveTheNix campaign, Yellow Fever launched a membership campaign to help increase the Phoenix’s struggling membership numbers. However, what was different about this campaign was that it was aimed at charities and the volunteers who work hard to help the community. By other fans pooling money together, the Yellow Fever would then purchase memberships for charities in a great gesture not only to help out the club itself, but also to say thanks to the charities themselves. The membership drive raised over $11,500 dollars and resulted in over 85 season tickets being purchased for four different charities.
The efforts made by Wellington fans are very encouraging scenes to see in Australian football at a time where supporters are constantly being criticised for their actions. Western Sydney Wanderers fans were being labelled ‘grubs’ by the president of the NSW Police Association, while Wellington fans were hard at work attempting to ensure their own club’s survival. That is not to mention the effort made by fans of other clubs in the A-League to do their part in helping the Phoenix remain in the competition. Fan-made signs asking to Save the Phoenix have been spotted across the league, with the signs being held by anyone from Adelaide supporters to Sydney FC supporters in an encouraging sign of solidarity.
All of this just goes to show the strength fans now have in today’s footballing world. Through the power of social media, fans of all sides can become united in a common hashtag or idea and we can quickly see this idea spread across the nation or even the globe. A great example is through Reddit, where a post detailing the issues around the Phoenix and the campaign to save them got pushed up to the top page or ‘/r/soccer’, a subreddit with over 400,000 followers and this helped the Phoenix grab worldwide attention as a result. Another campaign on social media to get fans to sign a petition directed at the FFA to save the Phoenix also reached just under 13,000 signatures and while those numbers are not anything world changing, they are also not nothing. When fans care enough to start petitions and campaigns such as the ones found on social media, they are clearly sending a message that they care and want to help out in any way possible. And now with the #SaveTheNix campaign reaching all corners of the globe, it is a far cry from the days of localised campaigns to save sides, as social media has now made any prospective audience much larger.
With the #SaveTheNix campaign spreading so quickly and strongly in the following hours after the original announcement by the FFA not to renew the Phoenix license for 10 years, plus its considerable staying power among the Australian and New Zealand footballing communities, it is a fantastic case study in just how much fans can alter a club’s fortunes. While we do not yet have an idea of how well this worked as the Phoenix will not have another home match until 5 December against Melbourne Victory, it nonetheless gives the FFA a crucial sign as they sit down with the Phoenix to renegotiate the terms of their license; the fans are there and they do care about the Wellington Phoenix. And it is only through the power of social media and campaigns like #SaveTheNix that they are starting to be heard.
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