PrashantNews
The semifinal match at Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore between South Africa and New Zealand on Wednesday began amid thin attendance with some stands remaining virtually empty.
Pakistani cricket fans have more or less lost interest in the ICC Champions Trophy after the early exit of their team from the competition. The other reason is the onset of Ramzan also.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has announced it will provide free iftar for spectators attending the second semifinal at Gaddafi Stadium. Fans with valid tickets will receive iftar boxes containing dates, juice and a mini pizza, media reports said.
On Saturday also, there were hardly a few hundred people at the National Stadium in Karachi for the England South Africa match. In other matches also, the attendance remained poor.
In Dubai, the people are avoiding watching matches of the ICC Champions Trophy so far. Even in the semi-final match between India and Australia, the attendance was not full, if not poor. In most of the previous matches in Dubai stadium which can easily accommodate 25000-30000 spectators, not more than 10,000 fans have turned up in the matches involving India.
In the ICC matches in Dubai, the sparsely attendance has raised concerns.