By Jensen Brian Abass Cummings

Football is built on suspense. It is the pause before the pass, the silence before the strike, the collective breath held by hundreds of viewers waiting for the ball to hit the net. In cinemas and viewing centres across Sierra Leone, football is not just watched—it is shared. But today, that shared joy is under attack by a small object in many pockets: the mobile phone powered by livescore apps.

Livescore apps are digital platforms designed to give instant updates on football matches—goals, penalties, red cards, substitutions, and statistics. Applications such as Livescore, Flash score, SofaScore, and One Football have become popular because they are fast, reliable, and convenient. They serve journalists, bettors, analysts, and fans who cannot watch matches live. In private spaces, these apps are useful and harmless. In public viewing environments, however, they have become silent spoilers.

The problem is simple but damaging. Television broadcasts in cinemas often run a few seconds behind real time due to satellite delays. Livescore apps, on the other hand, receive updates almost instantly. That small time difference has created a major social problem. A viewer checks their phone and shouts “Goal!” before the ball reaches the net on the screen. In that moment, suspense dies. The emotional build-up is stolen. Hundreds of people are robbed of the thrill they paid to experience.

What follows is usually anger. One careless shout can destroy the atmosphere of an entire hall. Cheers turn into complaints. Excitement turns into insults. Football becomes boring, predictable, and irritating. Cinema owners are caught in the middle. Customers blame them for poor control, while offenders claim ignorance or entitlement. To protect their businesses and the majority of respectful viewers, many cinema operators have taken drastic but necessary action—posting bold notices banning livescore use during matches, fining offenders, driving them out of cinemas, or banning them permanently.

These measures are not acts of wickedness; they are acts of survival. Without order, football cinemas lose their purpose. I have personally witnessed how ugly this issue can become. In Freetown, a viewer repeatedly announced goals using a livescore app. The crowd had enough. Without hesitation, the entire cinema audience forced him out. The embarrassment was total and unforgettable. In Makeni, where no clear notice had been put up by the cinema owner, a similar incident led to a heated confrontation. Shouting replaced cheering, and the match lost all meaning. These incidents share one lesson: where rules are unclear, conflict is guaranteed.

The problem has grown beyond cinemas. Even in private homes, livescore spoilers are unwelcome. In my own house, the rule is firm—if you are watching football and using livescore apps to announce events ahead of the screen, you will be warned once. If you continue, you will not be tolerated again. Football is meant to excite, not to be pre-announced. Spoilers drain the game of emotion and make it dull.

There is also a silent majority suffering quietly—viewers who respect the game, who pay to enjoy suspense, and who hate spoilers but fear confrontation. Their experience matters. This is why cinema owners should not fight this battle alone. If a cinema or viewing centre association exists, it must step forward and issue clear national guidelines on livescore use. If none exists, it is time one is formed. A collective voice can standardize rules, protect owners, and educate the public through radio, newspapers, and social media.

Livescore apps are not the enemy. Misuse is. What benefits one individual must not destroy the enjoyment of hundreds. Shared spaces demand shared discipline. Football belongs to everyone, and its magic lies in the unknown moment before the goal.

If football cinema culture is to survive, one simple principle must guide us all: let the goal happen on the screen before it happens on your phone.

Copyright –Published in Expo Times News on Wednesday, 17th December 2025 (ExpoTimes News – Expo Media Group (expomediasl.com)