This is how the Santa Fe fans reacted and doubled in El Campín

The fans of Santa Fe, which other times fell short in accompaniment, was doubled in the stands. The fans returned en masse, with their paraphernalia, their colors, with many children, with many families, with a lot of pride. It's hard to believe that a team that had been hit so hard had such a reaction from its people. In 2024, its average attendance at the stadium is 19,988 spectators.

It went from 8,000 in the second half of 2023 to an average of almost 20,000 fans. In none of their 8 home games so far this season has the attendance dropped below 13,000, regardless of the rival: against Envigado, an apparently less attractive rival, there were 17,584 people. He even had two blockbusters, against Tolima, with 29,829 fans, and against Nacional, with 28,828 attendees, according to official club data. For the game against América, until Saturday night, 22,000 attendees were reported. These figures are satisfactory for a team that was in crisis and whose fans did not react en masse.

Rafael Rubiano is one of those lifelong fans, a member of the Santafereña Community, one of the most traditional groups of the team. He is surprised but happy. “For us, especially those of us who never miss it, we have seen with great joy seeing the stadium dressed in red and white. The answer from my point of view was that rock bottom was hit, with the poor presentation that there was in the last semesters and that renewal sparked an illusion, a rebirth was shown and people became infected and it was decided to accompany the team,” he says.

It all started with the design of the Santa Fe 2024-I strategic plan. Santa Fe wanted to win back its fans, to encourage the undecided, which is why it not only formed a more balanced roster than the previous one, keeping Hugo Rodallega as a great reference, but also began an aggressive campaign to build loyalty and spread.

“It was more a strategy of sensitivity towards the fan, of touching their emotions, their fibers. It was about linking the fans, bringing them closer, making them feel part of the project,” says Jonathan Melo, head of communications for the team.

He comments that this strategy included incentives for subscribers, privileges. “We began to get notes from fans, from jersey collectors or the stories of Bar 25. In the season ticket campaign, season ticket holders could interview the players through a raffle. We also gave the subscribers the VIP experience, which is giving them preferential treatment: taking them to the dressing room, letting them watch the warm-up on the grass, watching the game in a fan zone… All this goes hand in hand with good results. .
The project has gone well, and the team has responded and the fans are moved by the results,” adds Melo.

The strategy has the fans happy, but it is the team's performance – 31 points and a difference of +10 – that does the magic. Diego Perdomo, the club's largest shareholder, explains this reaction:

“The renewal of the team, seeing the group united, running, fighting in the first games, that is contagious and makes you want to accompany them. It is notable that we have almost double the number of attendees than last year,” he says.

And he adds: “Having the stadium almost full again is a motivation for the players, for the managers, for Colombian soccer; Big teams are big thanks to the fans, let's hope they continue to support the team, in good times and bad. When the team is put together it is always done with the aim of winning and obtaining titles, if we all continue like this, the titles will come soon.”

Santa Fe and its resurgent fans are already thinking about home runs. Tomorrow the subscription plan for this instance will be launched, in which the club hopes that this doubled enthusiasm will continue to increase.
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PABLO ROMERO
Editor of EL TIEMPO
@PabloRomeroET