Italian Football Federation Says Attendance Dropped By More Than 800,000 In Last Year

The Italian Football Federation (FIGC) said on Monday that the number of people "going to watch football in Italian stadiums has dropped by over 800,000" -- 6% -- in the space of a year, according to Terry Daley of REUTERS. ReportCalcio 2014 stated that the 13,164,671 people who went to see Serie A, Serie B and the "third and fourth tier Lega Pro divisions" in the '11-12 season fell to 12,328,100 the following campaign. Aging infrastructure and "repressive ticketing measures, aimed at curbing the violence that has plagued many matches, have been blamed for a drop in gate receipts." FIGC President Giancarlo Abete said, "There is no doubt that the condition of our stadiums is one of the factors that has led to a decline in attendance, but we should not forget that we remain number five in the world for the number of average spectators." The 8,584,596 fans going to watch Serie A last season was an increase of 2.7% and the "first rise in five years" (REUTERS, 4/14).