Worldwide regional variations in home advantage in association football

Home advantage plays an important part in determining the result of a game of football. Its existence and magnitude is well documented in England, but its causes are still not completely understood. In this study, reliable estimates of home advantage are calculated for the domestic leagues of all countries of Europe and South America, as well as a selection of countries from other continents. The results of all games during the last six seasons are used for each of these 72 countries. In Europe, home advantage in the Balkan countries, especially Bosnia and Albania, is much higher than average. It is generally lower than average in northern Europe, from the Baltic republics, through Scandinavia to the British Isles. In South America, home advantage is high in the Andean countries and lower elsewhere, especially in Uruguay. Home advantage is not unusually high or low in any of the countries from other continents. A multiple regression model for the 51 European countries, which included variables for geographical location, crowd effects and travel, accounted for 76.7% of the variability in home advantage. The large geographical variations can be interpreted in terms of territoriality being a contributing factor to home advantage.     

Referee bias contributes to home advantage in English Premiership football

Officiating bias is thought to contribute to home advantage. Recent research has shown that sports with subjective officiating tend to experience greater home advantage and that referees' decisions can be influenced by crowd noise, but little work has been done to examine whether individual referees vary in their home bias or whether biased decisions contribute to overall home advantage. We develop an ordinal regression model to determine whether various measures of home advantage are affected by the official for the match and by crowd size while controlling for team ability. We examine 5244 English Premier League (EPL) match results involving 50 referees and find that home bias differs between referees. Individual referees give significantly different levels of home advantage, measured as goal differential between the home and away teams, although the significance of this result depends on one referee with a particularly high home advantage (an outlier). Referees vary significantly and robustly in their yellow card and penalty differentials even excluding the outlier. These results confirm that referees are responsible for some of the observed home advantage in the EPL and suggest that home advantage is dependent on the subjective decisions of referees that vary between individuals. We hypothesize that individual referees respond differently to factors such as crowd noise and suggest further research looking at referees' psychological and behavioural responses to biased crowds.     

The home advantage in sport competitions: Courneya and Carron's (1992) conceptual framework a decade later

This paper had three aims. The first was to review research carried out on the home advantage from 1992 to the present. The second was to examine the extent to which a conceptual framework proposed by Courneya and Carron (1992) was/is viable as a tool to highlight and organize an understanding of the home advantage. The final aim was to provide suggestions for future research.     

Home advantage in speed skating: evidence from individual data

Home advantage is a well-documented phenomenon in many sports. Home advantage has been shown to exist for team sports (soccer, hockey, football, baseball, basketball) and for countries organizing sports tournaments like the Olympics and World Cup Soccer. There is also some evidence for home advantage in some individual sports, but there is a much more limited literature. This paper addresses the issue of home advantage in speed skating. From a methodological point of view, it is difficult to identify home advantage, because skaters vary in their abilities and the conditions of tournaments vary. There is a small but significant home advantage using a generalized linear mixed model, with random effects for skaters and fixed effects for skating rinks and seasons. Even though the home advantage effect exists, it is very small when compared to variation in skating times due to differences of rinks and individual abilities.     

The extent and causes of home advantage: Some recent insights

The effect of strategy instruction on response time in a sequential keypressing task was compared during acquisition and retention. Specifically, this study determined the influence of: (1) an awareness strategy, (2) a non‐awareness strategy, (3) a Five‐Step Approach strategy and (4) a control condition. Sixty‐four subjects completed 250 trials of nine sequential keypresses, and 50 trials of a dual task (keypresses and verbal report). Faster response times were found for the Five‐Step Approach and non‐awareness strategies during both acquisition and retention. Introducing beginners to strategies that are used by highly skilled performers facilitated response times.     

Reduced home advantage for basketball teams from capital cities in Europe

Abstract

The aim of the present study was to investigate the home advantage effect in professional basketball leagues in Europe, especially the differences in home advantage between capital city teams and other teams in each country. All the teams (n=159) of seven national professional basketball leagues were studied (Bulgaria, Greece, Lithuania, Romania, Russia, Spain, and Turkey) and classified as capital city teams or other teams. The data (n=7432 games) were gathered for six seasons (2003–2004 to 2008–2009). The results confirmed the existence of a home advantage effect in all seven basketball leagues. There was a significant difference (P<0.001) between the leagues, with home advantage highest in Romania (65.10%) and Greece (65.02%), and lowest in Turkey (58.12%) and Lithuania (56.13%). The results also show that capital city teams experienced lower home advantage compared with other teams in all seven countries. After controlling for team ability, this was statistically significant for Bulgaria, Greece, Romania, and Turkey (all P<0.05), but not for Lithuania, Russia or Spain (all P>0.10). These results are consistent with previous studies in football, which suggested that teams playing in capital cities in Europe had lower home advantage than those playing elsewhere. Possible reasons for this finding include a diminished sense of being part of a cohesive local community when playing in a capital city, a lower sense of territorial protection and, for the away team, a lessened feeling of unfamiliarity.     

Compensating tendencies in penalty kick decisions of referees in professional football: evidence from the German Bundesliga 1963-2006

Using a large representative database (12,902 matches from the top professional football league in Germany), I show that the number (441) of two-penalty matches is larger than expected by chance, and that among these 441 matches there are considerably more matches in which each team is awarded one penalty than would be expected on the basis of independent penalty kick decisions (odds ratio = 11.2, relative risk = 6.34). Additional analyses based on the score in the match before a penalty is awarded and on the timing of penalties, suggest that awarding a first penalty to one team raises the referee's penalty evidence criterion for the same team, and lowers the corresponding criterion for the other team.     

关于欧盟足球运动员转会费规则的竞争法思考

转会费规则是欧洲足球运动员转会制度的基础,博斯曼案件后取消了转会费,并确立了新的转会规则,其目的是为了确保球员自由流动,促进竞争.但是由于新转会规则没有考察竞争法的政策目标,导致大量的转会费转变为球员的薪金,造成俱乐部球队贫富悬殊,足球市场上的竞争反倒减弱了,资源没有得到优化配置,消费者福利也随之减少.     

The Muslim football player and Ramadan: current challenges

Islam is a monotheistic Abrahamic faith characterised by devotional orthopraxy. The actions expected of followers of Islam are closely prescribed in the Qur'an. Muslims understand Ramadan as a mandatory requirement, excused only in the event of illness, infirmity or extremes of age. Due to the increasing popularity of football among Muslims, more and more Muslim football players of all levels make the decision to follow the Ramadan fast while they need to practise and compete. Sports medicine clinicians and scientists have the responsibility to provide them with the knowledge and evidence on how exactly Ramadan fasting impacts on their performance and how to optimise their eating, drinking and sleeping in order to minimise negative effects of their religious practice, should any have been demonstrated. The first International Federation of Football Associations (FIFA) Medical Assessment and Research Centre (F-MARC) study concluded that biochemical, nutritional, subjective well-being and performance variables were not adversely affected in young male national level players who followed Ramadan fasting in a controlled environment. Match performance was however not measured and the study did not include elite level players, leading to the Ramadan consensus meeting in order to answer the remaining questions. The conclusions and recommendations published in this supplement suggest that the best coping strategies will remain individual - as is the choice to fast.     

Home advantage in speed skating: Evidence from individual data

Home advantage is a well-documented phenomenon in many sports. Home advantage has been shown to exist for team sports (soccer, hockey, football, baseball, basketball) and for countries organizing sports tournaments like the Olympics and World Cup Soccer. There is also some evidence for home advantage in some individual sports, but there is a much more limited literature. This paper addresses the issue of home advantage in speed skating. From a methodological point of view, it is difficult to identify home advantage, because skaters vary in their abilities and the conditions of tournaments vary. There is a small but significant home advantage using a generalized linear mixed model, with random effects for skaters and fixed effects for skating rinks and seasons. Even though the home advantage effect exists, it is very small when compared to variation in skating times due to differences of rinks and individual abilities.     

关于有球练习密度对足球教学影响的研究

本文以体育系普修足球课的学生为研究对象,采用实验、统计和归纳分析等研究方法,通过课中增加有球练习密度为实验手段,结果发现,增加有球练习密度能明显提高学生学习成绩,其动力主要来源于学生的学习积极性和学生触球次数增加对技能形成的加速。     

Defining advantage and athletic performance: The case of Oscar Pistorius

Abstract

Olympic style games were first held for athletes with disabilities in Rome in 1960. Today the Paralympic Games (parallel Olympics) feature competition for athletes from six disability groups, including amputee, visually impaired, and spinal cord injury. Olympic hosts, both summer and winter, are now contractually obliged to organize the Paralympics in the same venue. The size and popularity of the games have grown exponentially since their inception, but they remain largely separate from the Olympics themselves. Recently, a very successful Paralympic athlete from South Africa, Oscar Pistorius, made it clear that despite his double below-the-knee amputation he wanted to compete in his event (400 m) at the Olympics. Initially, however, Oscar Pistorius was prohibited from competing at any International Amateur Athletics Federation (IAAF) competition on grounds of fairness. On the basis of biomechanical and physiological evidence, the IAAF argued that his highly specialized prosthetic limbs gave him an advantage and were therefore in contravention of Rule 144.2. This rule forbids the use of any technical device (such as prosthetic limbs) that provides the user with an advantage over another athlete not using such a device. This decision was subsequently overturned by the Court of Arbitration for Sport following an appeal by Pistorius. Using this case as an example, the aim of this paper is to highlight the empirical and ethical difficulties associated with the application of the principle of fairness in sport. In particular, we discuss both the complexity of identifying the nature and size of athletic advantage and the basis for determining its validity. Moreover, we explore how similar difficulties arise when attempting to establish criteria for “relevant athletic performance”. We argue that reasonable rules and norms for competition are not simply inferred from the principle of fairness. Such rules and norms should result from careful judgements informed by scientific, conceptual, and ethical evidence, and be guided by the standards of excellence that best characterize the sport in question.     

The effects of fantasy football participation on NFL consumption: A qualitative analysis

The growth of fantasy sports into a multi-billion dollar industry has made it an important component of the sports industry. Sport leagues must acknowledge the impact fantasy sports have on the way its participants consume their sport. This study examines the impact of fantasy football on the consumption of NFL-related products and services using an adapted version of the attitude/behavior model developed [Fazio, R. H., Powell, M. C., & Herr, P. M. (1983). Toward a process model of the attitude–behavior relation: Accessing one's attitude upon mere observation of the attitude object. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 44(4), 723–735]. Using qualitative methods, the data indicate that fantasy football participants utilized various media sources, specifically the Internet, television, cellular telephones, and a variety of print media, at much higher levels as a result of their interest and participation in fantasy football. Further, contrary to previous literature on fan loyalty, team and player outcomes were found to alter perceptions towards a favorite team or a fantasy team.     

中西文化比较看中国足球的发展

比较中西方文化的特点,研究民族文化,情感、行为方式和人文环境对本民族足球运动的发展所起的作用,剖析了足球运动的文化背景和历史渊源,提出中国足球水平的提高,必须扎根于中华民族的文化土壤,兼容并蓄地接纳并吸收世界各国优秀足球文化.     

The logotypes of football clubs as expressions of collective identities: a socio-semiotic approach

This paper focuses on 119 logotypes that are depicted on European football club kits. The football clubs were selected based on their participation in the first two rounds of the UEFA Champions League competitions and in specific in its first two rounds covering a period of time from 1993 to 2010. Our research interest focuses on the significance of ideological loading in terms of the codes occurring in team logos as symbols of collective identities. Our view was, firstly, that logotypes have absorbed and internalized values and stereotypes from the wider social sphere (paradigmatic axis) and, secondly, that there is a common structuring of logos in terms of codes (syntagmatic axis). Our research is based on socio-semiotic methodology, which is not confined to a formalistic approach of texts, but scrutinizes them as an integral part of a material, socio-economic and political context. The analysis led to a series of important data referring to the structuring of team logos as well as to how these logos are related.     

The role of specialisation in the promotion of young football talents: A person-oriented study

Abstract

This paper investigates the controversial question whether it is more effective to promote specialisation in a specific sport at the beginning of a career or whether to encourage a broad range of sports when promoting competitive sports talents in order for them to achieve a high level of performance in adulthood. The issue of promoting talents depends on human developmental processes and therefore raises developmental scientific questions. Based on recent, dynamic-interactionist concepts of development, we assume a person-oriented approach focussing on the person as a whole rather than individual features. Theoretical considerations lead to four interacting factors being summarised to form a subsystem: childhood training. The relative weights of these factors lead to patterns. By relating these to a performance criterion at the age of peak performance, particularly promising developmental patterns may be identified. One hundred fifty-nine former Swiss football talents were retrospectively interviewed about their career and the data analysed using the LICUR method. Two early career patterns were identified as having a favourable influence on adult performance. Both are characterised by an above-average amount of in-club training. One pattern also exhibits an above-average amount of informal football played outside the club, the other above-average scores for activity in other sports. Hence, comprehensive training and practice inside and outside the club form the basis for subsequent football expertise.     

The association between watching football matches and the risk of cardiovascular events: A meta-analysis

ABSTRACT

To comprehensively shed light on whether viewing football games is associated with a higher risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Electronic databases were searched through 17 May 2018. All studies focusing on the association between viewing football matches and the fatal or non-fatal CVD were identified. Viewing football matches was associated with a higher risk of fatal overall CVD (RR: 1.06, 95%CI: 1.01–1.12) in both men (RR: 1.13, 95%CI: 1.004–1.28) and women (RR: 1.08, 95%CI: 1.01–1.15). Subgroup analysis showed that failure of the team has a higher risk of fatal overall CVD (RR: 1.29, 95%CI: 1.15–1.45). However, lower risk of fatal overall CVD from spectators was observed when team obtained a victory (RR: 0.80, 95%CI: 0.66–0.96). For non-fatal CVD, viewing football matches was associated with a higher risk of non-fatal overall CVD (RR: 1.24, 95%CI: 1.09–1.41) in both men (RR: 1.73, 95%CI: 1.12–2.69) and women (RR: 1.25, 95%CI: 1.08–1.45). Subgroup analysis showed that viewing football matches was associated with a higher risk of non-fatal myocardial infarction (RR: 1.20, 95%CI: 1.04–1.38) in both men and women (RR: 1.51, 95%CI: 0.99–2.28; RR: 1.21, 95%CI: 1.08–1.36, respectively). No significant increase was found in fatal or non-fatal stroke. Viewing football matches was associated with a higher risk of the fatal and non-fatal CVD, especially in male spectators. The victory of team could have a lower risk of fatal CVD. Therefore, precautionary measures should be required for the reduction of healthcare burden in football matches.     

制度变迁:中国足球职业化改革的动因、进程与反思

中国足球职业化改革的动因在于市场经济下巨大外部利润的形成、固有制度的非均衡性与政府主导的强制性制度变迁;改革经历了甲A阶段和中超阶段,前一个阶段主要表现为制度变迁的帕累托改进,市场得到开拓,各方总收益良好;后一阶段主要表现为制度变迁的非帕累托改进,原因在于利益主体非一致化,制度变迁遇到瓶颈,奥运战略下的路径依赖制约了足球改革进一步深化。由此提出:政府主导的制度变迁要与社会的诱致变迁相互协调;渐进改革与强制变迁要正确对待;改革中的制度非中性不可忽视,要进行规制引导,利益主体关系的变异性应进行及时的研判与调适。