Examining Factors that Influence Students’ Spectating Status at the GUSA Games in Ghana

University sporting spectating behaviour is shaped by complex psychological, socio-cultural, and infrastructural factors, yet still, this area remains underexplored in the context of African sports and recreation. Despite the vibrancy of Ghana’s inter-university sports culture, especially the Ghana Universities Sports Association (GUSA) games, there is limited empirical research on students’ (non-athletes) attendance patterns and influencing factors. This study adopted a mixed-methods approach, coupled with descriptive survey analysis and qualitative interviews, to examine 702 students, which comprised both athletes and non-athletes from five selected major universities in Ghana: KNUST, UCC, UEW, UDS, and UG. With the aid of SPSS, which was used for findings, mean, regression, and Principal Component Analysis (PCA), the gathered data was analysed. The findings showed that attendance at GUSA games is notably low, with 62% of the students never having attended any games in the past five years, despite 96.7% indicating interest in future participation. Key constraints included ineffective communication, scheduling conflicts, institutional and travel-related barriers, and perceived event quality. Regression analysis and PCA identified two dominant categories affecting attendance: constraints (transportation, finance, communication) and event organisation (scheduling, quality, student-driven activities). Travel-related challenges, in particular, showed a significant negative correlation with actual attendance (P<0.05). They concluded that the low attendance at GUSA games stems not only from a lack of interest but also from structural and logistical constraints. To improve students’ participation, GUSA and university stakeholders should prioritise better communication strategies, more accessible scheduling, and subsidised transportation. These insights contribute to not only local students' engagement strategies but also to the broader global discourse on university sports spectating behaviour.