Sports
A quarter million fans at World Cup so far
Kingston (Jamaica) | April 10, 2007 5:15:06 PM IST
As many as 251,824 spectators have already attended the World Cup matches in the Caribbean and many more are still expected to come as the tournament moves to its final stages, said Chris Dehring, chief executive officer of the tournament. "We must thank those fans who have helped us achieve our first major landmark. The momentum is definitely building as we head into the second phase of the Super Eights, with a number of teams vying for semi-final places. I believe this will also increase the turnout at matches," Dehring said in a statement. "This is the largest ticketed event ever to be held in the Caribbean and the momentum is building towards a battle royal among some of the world's best teams. We have already seen a marked increase in attendance during the most recent Super Eight matches as the tussle for points intensifies," he said. Dehring thanked the quarter of a million fans who have attended the matches so far and said that the number would go up as the tournament shifts into high gear. The critical group stage clash between India and Sri Lanka boasted of the highest attendance, with 16,678 spectators watching the on-field drama at Queen's Park Oval in Trinidad. The opening match where hosts West Indies defeated Pakistan at Sabina Park in Jamaica had 16,574 people in attendance. "While we would always want stadiums filled to capacity, the average attendance of the last three Super Eight games was just under 10,000 fans and if we continue on this upward trend as expected, our average attendance will be comparable with the previous World Cup in South Africa which had an average attendance of around 10,000 people per game," he said. Dehring also expressed satisfaction with international representation in the event. "Although we naturally would be impacted by the absence of India and Pakistan in the Super Eight phase, we are pleased with the international attendance so far. Just under 12,000 fans were at the Australia-England clash in Antigua Sunday, most of whom were visitors and they thoroughly enjoyed themselves, especially the lunchtime concert." (IANS)
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