Are fans disinterested in buying the ZPL shirts or are there gaps in marketing?

Club shirts are more than just clothes […]

Club shirts are more than just clothes but a symbol of pride and honor; unlike prominent leagues across Africa, most Zambian Premier Clubs barely sell their shirts.

Despite the overwhelming number of fans that filled the stadiums during match day, in comparison with revenue generated from shirt sales, the gap is widely visible. Is this a lack of loyalty to the ZPL or just a class of below-par marketing? Or perhaps it’s the high price of the shirt?

 Amidst the struggle, there are a few clubs that have made headway in the business, clubs like Red Arrows. Power Dynamos, Nkana, and Zesco United are doing the most. Although the official figures of the sales are not public, there is publicity that spreads across the streets from stadiums, with loyal fans clad in colors of the aforementioned clubs.

 Speaking in an interview with the Zambian Business Times— ZBT, Football Analyst Moses Mpundu observed that the lack of marketing has been the biggest hindrance.

 “It’s the lack of seriousness of the clubs in particular; most of the clubs have no idea on how to market their merchandise. There is little interest, but there is a lot of potential to have more revenue platforms, and this is one of them,” he revealed.

Mpundu urged the club administrators to take stringent action and strategies for marketing the shirts by learning from other well-to-do clubs across the globe. Recently, social media was awash with images of a club executive donning an Arsenal shirt, at a Chipolopolo shirt, which immediately attracted public backrush over loyalty. Does this incident imply that the problem starts from the executive?

Article by Samuel Mutale