Having trouble rousing the locals at your favourite football team’s home games? Then how about this for an idea- Crowdsourcing energy from the supporters to keep the stadium functional during the game!

This was a model trialled by Japanese Division One side Vissel Kobe earlier this month, when they faced Kyoto Sanga using a ‘crowd powered electricity generation system.’

As The Mainichi Daily News reports:

“Home’s Stadium Kobe installed 1.6-square-meter pads under 12 seats, which harness vibrations from cheering fans to produce electric power. Although power output was low at just 8,400 watt seconds, the stadium plans to install the panels in stadium stores and other areas.”

For the record, Kobe recorded a 2-0 home win, which seems to indicate that a few unresolved teething problems remain.

If Kobe’s fans can’t generate a reasonable atmosphere when they’re winning, the club’s officials may have to resort to scrabbling around on the floor for coins to power the emergency generator when results turn against them….