Quantification of competitive balance in European football: development of specially designed indices

2012 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 363-375 ◽  
Author(s):  
V. Manasis ◽  
V. Avgerinou ◽  
I. Ntzoufras ◽  
J. J. Reade
Keyword(s):  
Competitive Balance ◽  
European Football

Kartellrechtliche Zulässigkeit von Superligen im Fußball

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dennis Cukurov
Keyword(s):  
Conflict Of Interest ◽  
Competition Law ◽  
Competitive Balance ◽  
Prevention Measures ◽  
Before And After ◽  
European Football ◽  
The Creation ◽  
Super League

The creation of a European football super league is becoming more and more likely. Some top clubs want to introduce such a league without involving the UEFA. The UEFA wants to prevent this in order to keep its tournaments free of competition. This conflict of interest is an example of the more general tension between competition law and sport. The author examines not only UEFA’s prevention measures, but also possible cooperation between the clubs. Among other things, he addresses two topics that have been insufficiently discussed so far, the concept of legitimate objective within the meaning of the so-called Meca-Medina test and the competitive balance before and after the creation of a super league, and argues for the implementation of a “more Europe” approach in European football.

Between-seasons competitive balance in European football: review of existing and development of specially designed indices

2014 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Vasileios Manasis ◽  
Ioannis Ntzoufras
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Investigation ◽  
Complex Structure ◽  
Competitive Balance ◽  
Premier League ◽  
Sport League ◽  
European Football ◽  
Using Data ◽  
English Premier League ◽  
Relative Quality

AbstractCompetitive balance is a key issue for any professional sport league substantiated by its effect on demand for league games or other associated products. This work focuses on the measurement of between-seasons competitive balance, the longest time-wise dimension, which captures the relative quality of teams across seasons. The review of the existing indices examines their applicability in the context of European football. Given that domestic championships are multi-prized tournaments, as opposed to the more common North American unitary structure with a single prize, a set of specially designed indices that capture the complex structure of European football are introduced. An empirical investigation, using data from the English Premier League, further elucidates the main features of all appropriate indices by exploring their value and trend. It may be inferred that between-seasons competitive balance in England worsens through seasons mainly due to the very low ranking mobility of the top teams through seasons.

scholarly journals The Impact of Foreign Ownership in Czech Football

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 63-70
Author(s):  
Selçuk Özaydın
Keyword(s):  
Stochastic Frontier Analysis ◽  
Stochastic Frontier ◽  
Foreign Ownership ◽  
Competitive Balance ◽  
Main Interest ◽  
Foreign Investors ◽  
Frontier Analysis ◽  
Football Team ◽  
European Football ◽  
The Impact

Foreign ownership in European football has been rapidly increasing especially in the last two decades. Although the main interest for the foreign investors are the teams of Big 5 leagues, there are some occasional surprises. One of the surprises is the oldest football team in Czech football, SK Slavia Prague. This study investigates the impact of Slavia’s takeover on Czech First Division. First a stochastic frontier analysis is conducted and efficiency scores are estimated. The results indicate that Slavia’s athletic efficiency has improved significantly after the takeover. The transfer activity in the league increased greatly thanks to Slavia’s additional funds allocated to transfers and also it should be noted that Slavia’s domestic transfers have created an opportunity for the other teams to improve their finances. Finally, the overall competitive balance in the league improved after the takeover despite Slavia’s dominance in the league after the takeover.

scholarly journals How the UEFA Financial Fair Play regulations affect football clubs’ priorities and leagues’ competitive balance?

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 119-142
Author(s):  
Pedro Garcia-del-Barrio ◽  
Giambattista Rossi
Keyword(s):  
Financial Stability ◽  
Structural Changes ◽  
Theoretical Description ◽  
Fair Play ◽  
Competitive Balance ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Legal Reforms ◽  
Financial Fair Play ◽  
Football Clubs ◽  
European Football

Institutional and legal reforms applied in the context of sports competitions often provoke structural changes that can be empirically investigated. Using a data set of 560 observations (20 teams per season, from 2009/10 to 2015/16, of teams playing in the Premier League, La Liga, Serie A and Ligue 1), this paper examines how the UEFA Financial Fair Play (FFP) regulations may have altered the football clubs’ decisions concerning their sport and financial priorities. Moreover, based on a simple theoretical description, the paper shows that the increasing financial stability promoted by the FFP rules might actually imply – as an undesired side effect – a declined competitive balance affecting the European football leagues. Finally, the paper discusses some policy issues and recommendations.

scholarly journals Does size matter?

2019 ◽  
Vol 25 (3/4) ◽  
pp. 162-175 ◽  
Author(s):  
Girish Ramchandani ◽  
Daniel Plumley ◽  
Harry Preston ◽  
Rob Wilson
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Competitive Balance ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Premier League ◽  
European Football ◽  
Size Threshold ◽  
League Structure ◽  
Football Industry ◽  
Size Matter ◽  
English Premier League

PurposeThis paper aims to explore at what league size competitive balance reaches its best level through a longitudinal study and by using the English Premier League (EPL) as an example.Design/methodology/approachTo test the influence of league size on competitive balance in the EPL, the authors first calculated competitive balance scores for 22 seasons between 1995/96 and 2016/17 under the existing 20 team system. They then calculated a further ten normalised competitive balance scores for each EPL season by adjusting the league size to examine the league size threshold at which competitive balance in each season of the EPL was at its best level.FindingsThe analysis indicates that the current league structure of 20 teams compromises the overall level of competitive balance in the EPL in comparison with a league comprising between 10 and 19 teams. However, the authors cannot pinpoint the precise league size at which the EPL is most competitively balanced, as no significant differences were observed between the competitive balance indices for these league sizes.Originality/valueThe findings of this study have practical relevance for league organisers and the Union of European Football Associations given that they themselves have stated that competitive balance will be a big challenge for the European football industry in the coming years.

scholarly journals The unintended consequence of Financial Fair Play

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 118-133 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Plumley ◽  
Girish Mohan Ramchandani ◽  
Robert Wilson
Keyword(s):  
Financial Stability ◽  
Causal Link ◽  
Unintended Consequences ◽  
Fair Play ◽  
Competitive Balance ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Financial Fair Play ◽  
Before And After ◽  
European Football ◽  
English Premier League

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine competitive balance in European football leagues before and after the inception of Financial Fair Play (FFP) regulations by Union of European Football Associations in 2011, designed to bring about financial stability and improve competitive balance in the European game. Design/methodology/approach The research focuses on the top division football leagues in England (English Premier League), Germany (Bundesliga), France (Ligue 1), Italy (Serie A) and Spain (La Liga). The paper is organised into two distinct time periods: pre-FFP, comprising the six seasons between 2005/2006 and 2010/2011; and post-FFP, comprising the six seasons between 2011/2012 and 2016/2017. The paper uses recognised measures of concentration and dominance to measure competitive balance. Findings The results show a statistically significant decline in competitive balance post-FFP for leagues in Spain, Germany and France but not for England and Italy. Furthermore, the results report significantly higher levels of concentration and dominance by a select number of clubs in Germany. Originality/value The paper is one of the first to analyse competitive balance in this way both pre- and post-FFP. Whilst the paper cannot demonstrate a causal link between FFP and competitive balance, there are strong indications that competitive balance has been adversely affected (for some leagues) since the regulations have been imposed. To that end, the paper argues that FFP has had “unintended consequences” in respect of competitive balance.

scholarly journals Financial fair play and competitive balance in the Premier League

2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 175-196 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher John Freestone ◽  
Argyro Elisavet Manoli
Keyword(s):  
Fair Play ◽  
Competitive Balance ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Premier League ◽  
Financial Fair Play ◽  
Financial Strength ◽  
European Football ◽  
Financial Power ◽  
English Premier League ◽  
Positive Effect

Purpose The introduction of financial fair play (FFP) regulations in 2011 was accompanied by criticism that they would have an adverse effect on competitive balance in European football. Counter-points were also expressed, suggesting that the opposite would occur; that they would actually increase competitive balance through reducing the importance of financial power. The lack of clarity and cohesion on this issue prompted this paper. The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect FFP has had on competitive balance in the English Premier League. Design/methodology/approach The analysis conducted uses the Herfindahl Index of Competitive Balance as the primary method, and is supported by standard deviation of points analysis and a Scully-Noll ratio analysis, which together provide an indication of the level of competitive balance for each of the past 21 seasons, from 1995/1996 to 2015/2016. This examination allows for the trends in competitive balance to be identified, with emphasis drawn on the seasons after the introduction of the regulations. Findings The results provide no indication that FFP regulations have resulted in a decline in competitive balance in the EPL, instead hinting that a positive effect may have been caused. This positive effect exceeds the primary aim of the regulations and underlines their importance in the future stability of club football. Originality/value While underlining the need for further research on the topic, this study provides the first insights into the effects of FFP regulations on competitive balance in the EPL. These insights would support the view that FFP initiatives have begun to shift the focus of sporting competition away from financial strength towards more natural means of competition such as efficiency, innovation and good management.

Seeding the UEFA Champions League participants: evaluation of the reforms

2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 129-140 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dmitry Dagaev ◽  
Vladimir Yu. Rudyak
Keyword(s):  
Prediction Model ◽  
National Association ◽  
Competitive Balance ◽  
Football Club ◽  
European Football ◽  
National Champions

Abstract We evaluate the sporting effects of the seeding system reforms in the Champions League, the major football club tournament organized by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). Before the 2015–2016 season, the teams were seeded in the group stage by their ratings. Starting from the 2015–2016 season, national champions of the Top-7 associations are seeded in the first pot, whereas other teams are seeded by their rating as before. Taking effect from the season 2018–2019, the team’s rating no longer includes 20% of the rating of the association that the team represents. Using the prediction model, we simulate the whole UEFA season and obtain numerical estimates for competitiveness changes in the UEFA tournaments caused by these seeding reforms. We report only marginal changes in tournament metrics that characterize ability of the tournament to select the best teams and competitive balance. Probability of changes in the UEFA national association ranking does not exceed several percent for any association.

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