Round 2 attendance

CONCACAF Round 2 attendance

The first games of round 2 are in the books. What mostly interests me is the “interest” of other fans. I was thinking before these games started that El Salvador and Guatemala would have good fan participation and they both came through will flying colors. Canada, Belize, Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic were all disappointments to me. Haiti and Nicaragua both had great turn outs.


Group A

Obviously has El Salvador lead the group with attendance. They not only led their group but also everyone else in Round 2 in attendance. There are great fans that pack into Cuscatlán Stadium and I see this trend continue. The Dominican Republic was a bit of a disappointment to me. Only 2,300 turned out for them. The Dominican Republic did play in a very nice stadium called Estadio Panamerico in San Cristobal. The stadium holds 2,800 so it was near capacity. I was hoping for a sellout here. They Cayman Islands has twice as many as Suriname. Shame on Suriname fans for such a piss poor turnout. I expected more from this South American participant.

Group B

Trinidad & Tobago has the pedigree and also had the 2nd most fans of any Caribbean nation at 6,000. Guyana has hosted 2 games already and got about 4k at each game. They are playing consistent ball and the fans rewarded them with a consistent attendance. Barbados was a God awful 775. Bermuda has yet to host any games so the jury is still out on this beautiful island. They also seem to have a competitive team.

Group C

This is the group of the home losers. Bothe host have lost to their competition. Dominica lost to Nicaragua and Nicaragua lost at home to Panama. Since the Bahamas dropped out each nation will only be hosting 2 games. Nicaragua had a great turn out at their new national stadium in Managua. Over 10 thousand turned out to see them play their Central American rival Panama. Unfortunately for their fans they lost 2-1. They are now hoping Dominica can come up with a win at home against Panama. This would make for great drama in this group. Panama is sitting pretty here already beating their stiffest competition away.

Group D

Canada was a bit of a disappointment for me. Canada played in front of 11,500 which was a good crowd for this round. However I was a bit disappointed it was not a sellout. The Canuck fans are taking after the Sam’s Army. Seems like the Canucks will only sell out when it is a “big” game or big opponent. Puerto Rico was also a disappointment to me. The PR Islanders can pack their stadium but the national team could not. Puerto Rico was playing Canada the favorite of the group also. Only 4k turned out. Canada is sitting confortable atop this group and will sharpen their skills before the semi-finals begin.

Group E

This is Guatemala group on the field and in the stands. Guatemala had 24,000 turn out at Mateo Fiores stadium. They blasted 4 goals by St Vincent’s. Guatemala is already looking toward the semi-finals with 2 wins under their belt. Their strongest competition will now have to come from winless Grenada. Ugg. Grenada had 2,600 turn out in St George. Belize had 3,027 turn out at FFB Field in Belmopan. They will have to do better than this when they play the likes of Guatemala on their home field. Belize still has a long way to go before they are the favorites at home in qualifying. St Vincent’s gave 2,500 a thrill in Kingstown when they beat Grenada 2-1. Grenada had been to the last 2 Gold Cups and was considered the favorite.

Group F

Hats off to Haiti and their fans. 12,000 Haitians turned out in Port-au-Prince to see the national team play. Haiti had the most fans of any Caribbean nations and the 3rd most in the group. The national team rewarded their fans with a convincing 6-0 beat down of lowly USVI. Curacao had a healthy turnout of 5,000 but poor Curacao is now 0-2. Haiti competition is coming from Antigua and Barbuda. Both A&B and Haiti are 2-0 so the winner between these two will make the semi-finals. I am pulling for the Haiti