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This paper investigates the multifaceted dimensions of sport promotion, development, and integrity within the context of men's football in Europe. It specifically focuses on the impact of a newly introduced competition, the UEFA (Union of European Football Associations) Nations League (UNL), on these three dimensions. The study utilises a dataset comprising 1,058 games played over two distinct periods: 503 games from 2014–2016 (pre-UNL) and 555 games from 2018–2021 (UNL era). The primary areas of interest are competitive balance (CB) and competitive intensity (CI), measured at the intra-match (both CB and CI) and post-match (CB only) levels, and fairness. Regressions and statistical tests were conducted to explain the determinants of CB and compare CB and CI between both periods. The analysis reveals that CB deteriorated, primarily attributed to changing incentives for the strongest and weakest teams during Euro qualifying matches. By contrast, CI increased due to the UNL's replacement of most friendly games. While recent literature has raised potential fairness issues due to the establishment of the UNL, findings of this study suggest that the integrity of national men's football team competitions and games in Europe remained intact during this period. This article advances knowledge of CB and CI. Besides, it also provides empirical evidence that the UNL did not compromise the fairness of national men's football team competitions and games in Europe. By bringing CB, CI, and fairness together, this study highlights the crucial role of sports organisations in promoting and developing their sport, while also safeguarding its integrity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prior clustering approaches of soccer players have employed a variety of methods based on various data categories, but none of them have focused on clustering by career paths characterized through a time series analysis of yearly performance quality. Therefore, this study aims to propose a methodology how a career path can be represented as a time series of a player's seasonal qualities and then be clustered with players that have a similar career path. The underlying data focuses on soccer players from the five largest European soccer nations (Big-5). This allows for the identification of different types of career paths of players and the investigation of significant disparities between career paths among the Big-5 nations. In line with our proposed methodological approach, we identified and interpreted 13 different clusters of player career paths. These range from the cluster with the highest player quality scores to the pattern comprising players with the weakest scores. Further, the detected clusters show significant differences regarding variables of soccer players' early career phase in adolescence (e.g., age of debut in professional soccer, years spent in a youth academy). The presented approach might represent a first step for stakeholders in soccer to get an objective insight in players' career by utilizing mainly freely available data sources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines a relatively recent yet under-researched role in the governance of elite European football – namely, the Supporter Liaison Officer. The Supporter Liaison Officer, as appointed by football clubs, is commonly envisioned as a mediator between fans and the clubs, authorities and security actors situated in the European football field. However, following its formal inception in the 2012/2013, little is known about how stakeholders understand the evolving and heterogeneously implemented Supporter Liaison Officer role. Drawing upon documentary and interview data, this article unpacks two key themes to develop two primary arguments. First, it argues that Supporter Liaison Officers may be understood as 'social brokers' that bridge together stakeholders who often possess diverging viewpoints and whose relationships are impacted by social barriers. Second, Supporter Liaison Officers are perceived as possessors of what is conceptualised here as a 'supporter gaze'. Whilst contributing to the literature on supporter engagement and dialogue, these arguments also matter because if we understand the Supporter Liaison Officer implementation as influenced by supporter activism in Europe, then this article speaks to how outcomes of supporter pressure mature over time and their implications on football's supporter and security cultures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By drawing upon and attaching a new layer to the "security field" concept, this article examines and conceptualizes European security practices and challenges through the lens of European football. At a critical juncture for security in both Europe and football, this article questions (i) how the supranational regulation informing European football's security field has evolved since 1985 and (ii) how exactly the security field's regulators – the Council of Europe, Council of the EU, and UEFA – set the standards for the remainder of the security field. Relatedly, it asks what this tells us about the power to define security. Drawing upon theoretical perspectives located in International Political Sociology, the sociology of leisure and sport, and publicly available documents and conventions, this conceptual article contributes to our understanding of security in Europe. It argues, first, that the security field in European football is indicative of wider security transformations. Second, that the security field's regulators configure and dictate the wider field and possess the power to standardize security and the prioritization of threats. This remains important because, to fully understand and analytically capture the security field in European football, one must conceptually account for its standard setting organizations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Melatonin is a hormone that has shown anti-inflammatory actions, reduced oxidative stress, and has effects on physical performance, so the aim of this study was to review the effects of melatonin supplementation on the performance of professional soccer players. Methods: Critical and systematic review. Data were obtained by performing searches in the following bibliographic databases: Web of Science, MEDLINE (via PubMed), Embase, Cochrane Library, and Scopus. The terms used were "Soccer Athlete", "Melatonin", and "Soccer Performance", using "Humans" as a filter. The search update was in May 2023. Results: Having applied the inclusion and exclusion criteria, eight articles were selected out of 59 retrieved references. The dose of melatonin administered in the studies ranged between 5 and 8 mg. The outcomes showed a decrease in oxidative stress, muscle damage, and inflammatory markers in the melatonin-treated group. Conclusions: Exogenously administered melatonin seems to attenuate some of the effects derived from physical exercise, such as oxidative stress, inflammation, and muscle damage, in professional football players, and since it has no potential adverse effects, it could be interesting to apply it in this population. However, the direct effects of melatonin supplementation on physical performance have not been demonstrated, so more research is needed on the intervention period and effective dose and with larger participant populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Football, one of the most popular and loved sports branches, always keeps its excitement, ambition, passion, joy and sadness together. European football, the football capital, is an attraction for fans and footballers. In this study, the official match results (league, country cup, European cup) of five successful football clubs (Bayern Munchen, Barcelona, Juventus, Manchester City, Paris Saint Germain) in the five major leagues of European football (La Liga, Premier League, Serie A, Bundesliga, Ligue 1) were evaluated. Method: For this analysis, ensemble learning algorithms (AdaBoost, Bagging) and machine learning algorithms (Naive Bayes, artificial neural networks, K-nearest neighbor, C4.5/Random forest/Reptree decision tree) were used. In addition, the attributes that play an active role in the classification of the match results of five successful football clubs were determined with the Symmetrical Uncertainty feature selection algorithm. Results: As effective attributes, "Conceded goal," "Half time result," "Scoring first" and "Shooting accuracy" attributes revealed to be common for five successful football clubs. In general, it was observed that ensemble learning algorithms gave successful results and AdaBoost/ANN algorithm was determined as the most successful. On the basis of football clubs, the most successful classification result was achieved for Barcelona with a rate of 99.3%. Conclusions: Obtained outputs from Ensemble learning and feature selection help sport researchers and football club planners understand and revise the match results of current football match strategies. The study has mainly twofold: to find best performer ensemble and machine learning algorithm(s) for classifying match results and to extract important features on match results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Athletes born late in the selection year are disadvantaged compared to the relatively older in youth age groups. This leads to an overrepresentation of the early-born in professional teams, which is called the relative age effect (RAE). Previous studies examine the RAE on wage or market value with contradictory results. This paper aims to estimate the partial RAE on the market value of top-level European football players with a new methodology. We analysed a data set of players from the biggest five European football leagues over ten seasons (2008-2017). We argue that the conventional estimation of RAE fails to yield a partial effect, due to a sample selection bias. For various regression models, we use a stratified sampling method to balance the birth date distribution and eliminate the bias. Unlike prior studies, we found an extremely strong straight RAE in elite European football, especially for younger players. Using our methodology, we interpret RAE as a partial effect, which indicates that an earlier birth date within the calendar year results in a higher market value. This paper contributes to the literature by proposing a new methodology to measure the partial RAE on labour market outcomes. Our results imply discrimination based on birth date in several countries, which needs to be reduced by better regulation of youth competitions. Our findings have implications for coaches and managers on how to account for relative age when training, transferring, and selecting players. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research attempts to measure the motivation for football fans to travel abroad for short periods on multiple occasions to attend small-scale events. Fans of an English football team who travelled to away matches in the 2019/20 Europa League were surveyed (n = 235). A Sport Short Visit Tourism scale is developed through confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The results found that there were 11 factors, measured by 31 variables, when considering the motivation to travel. Most notably, the results indicated that the experience of the trip was more important than the football match itself. Indeed, the fear of missing out was the most significant factor, particularly in those aged below 40. This study has expanded the current literature regarding sport tourism to cover a new context: fans of a club travelling for a short period to attend a specific small-scale event. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses competitive balance in 24 top-division domestic football leagues in Europe before and after the implementation of UEFA's Financial Fair Play (FFP) regulations. Our analysis covers 22 seasons between 2000/01 and 2021/22 and utilises indicators of overall league concentration and dominance. Seven of the 24 leagues examined have seen a statistically significant worsening of league concentration post-FFP, fourteen leagues experienced a decline in the number of top-four finishers and thirteen saw a reduction in the number of unique title winners. The weight of evidence indicates that FFP has adversely affected competitive balance in several European football leagues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Melatonin is a hormone that has shown anti-inflammatory actions, reduced oxidative stress, and has effects on physical performance, so the aim of this study was to review the effects of melatonin supplementation on the performance of professional soccer players. Methods: Critical and systematic review. Data were obtained by performing searches in the following bibliographic databases: Web of Science, MEDLINE (via PubMed), Embase, Cochrane Library, and Scopus. The terms used were “Soccer Athlete”, “Melatonin”, and “Soccer Performance”, using “Humans” as a filter. The search update was in May 2023. Results: Having applied the inclusion and exclusion criteria, eight articles were selected out of 59 retrieved references. The dose of melatonin administered in the studies ranged between 5 and 8 mg. The outcomes showed a decrease in oxidative stress, muscle damage, and inflammatory markers in the melatonin-treated group. Conclusions: Exogenously administered melatonin seems to attenuate some of the effects derived from physical exercise, such as oxidative stress, inflammation, and muscle damage, in professional football players, and since it has no potential adverse effects, it could be interesting to apply it in this population. However, the direct effects of melatonin supplementation on physical performance have not been demonstrated, so more research is needed on the intervention period and effective dose and with larger participant populations.

This paper contributes to understanding the financial situation of European football clubs and the role of their media visibility and historical brand status. By estimating production and revenue equations, the study tests hypotheses concerning the relationships between teams’ sporting performance (current and past), historical status, media exposure, annual revenues, and annual wages. The empirical analysis is carried out on an extensive dataset, which comprises records, for seasons 1995/1996 to 2015/ 2016, of teams competing in the 1st division of the Premier League, La Liga, Serie A, and Ligue 1. In the study, we use two innovative variables: the Elo Rating, as a ‘proxy’ to capture clubs’ historical sporting status (brand value), and the Media Visibility Index, to measure clubs’ abilities to capture the attention of the fans and the media. These two variables have proven to be key assets in the revenue-generating capacity of European football clubs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aims of this study were (1) to determine the match running performance required by different teams based on their final ranking position and (2) to analyze the association between match running performance variables and team success at the end of the season. A total of 1,224 match observations from professional soccer teams competing during two consecutive seasons in the German Bundesliga were analyzed. In addition, the final league ranking position and the total of points obtained by each team at the end of the season were registered for the analysis of the association between team success and match running performance. The main findings were that high ranked teams covered the greatest total distance with ball possession, sprinting distance with ball possession, and completed the greatest number of sprinting actions with ball possession and maximal velocity. Moreover, total distance covered with possession of the ball and maximal velocity were the most important variables to predict the total of points obtained at the end of the season. Specifically, the relative contribution of total distance covered with ball possession to the total of points obtained was greater than maximal velocity. Training programs for professional soccer players should be focused on improving the sprint capacity and running with possession of the ball (e.g., transitional tasks and small-sided games). Moreover, this has implications for injury prevention, physical, psychological, and technical-tactical training since today's soccer requires players to engage in repeated high-intensity actions, reach maximum speeds above 9 m/s, and develop technical-tactical coordination when running with the ball. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The development of football, together with its attendant fandom, has been synonymous with the development of the media industry. Globalisation has made European football more accessible across Africa, including in rural spaces where fan identities related to the games have emerged. The growth of satellite television and the evolving digital access to football have influenced glocalised practices and patterns of fandom among Africans in both rural and urban spaces. This explorative analysis explains the role of mediatisation in cultivating European football fandom across Africa. It builds an analysis of localised forms of transnational fandoms grown out of increased access to European football. Football reflects society and the paper argues that the exponential growing of transnational fandom across the continent mirrors ongoing mediatisation processes affecting all spheres of life in contemporary African societies. It shows that there are distinct, evolving and unique fan cultures based on following European football teams. Additionally transnational football experienced through the tri-cast platforms of television, computers and mobile phones has negatively affected domestic African leagues almost without exception. The paper utilised a desk research approach to explore how the process mediatisation can explain transnational fandom across Africa. The study calls for continued study of mediatisation and its effect on specific aspects of African society

Research question: Previous studies have examined the impact of various sports-related events on the stock exchange; however, the impact of information leakage about players' transfer on the stock price of football clubs is yet to be explored. This study seeks to bridge the gap by investigating whether abnormal returns occur at well-known European football clubs before the announcement of the transfer. Research method: Using an event study methodology, the effect of 272 player purchases between 2015 and 2019 were analysed. The abnormal returns were estimated by applying a partial adjustment model containing the autoregressive conditional heteroscedasticity specification; then, the typical runs of cumulative abnormal returns were identified. Results and findings: In the vast majority of cases, the stock reacted to the announcement; moreover, in two-thirds of the transactions, information leakage was also established. Because the small shareholders of football clubs are, presumably, emotional investors, rather than rational ones, most of the transfers affect share prices even before the announcement; this is potentially because the acquisition of a star player strengthens both their commitment to the club and belief in its sporting success. Implications: This study provides some managerial implications for football club owners, managers, and regulators. Although there is information leakage, it is not of such a magnitude as to require the regulation of the stock market and bulk trading. It can be stated that investors were most likely to receive extra profit as a reward for their committed supporter attitude, and this is by no means a market failure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous research on professional football offer conflicting results regarding the impact of wage dispersion on team performance. However, the existing intra-league heterogeneity among clubs is overlooked and could be the reason for the diverging outcomes. The aim of this paper is to reanalyze this relationship having the clubs' size as moderator. Payroll – which captures the financial strength – is used as proxy of club size. Ordinary Least Squares regressions with season and league fixed effects are employed. Dispersion is measured by three indexes for robustness check. The outputs confirm the quadratic relationship between wage dispersion and performance, but adding that identical levels of dispersion have different impact on football clubs according to their financial strength. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

European football has transformed over the last two decades both financially and athletically. Although the aggregate revenue generated by the European football increases, some leagues grew richer than the others. The inequality in the distribution of revenue caused the talents to accumulate in the Big 5 leagues and left the others with no chance to compete. Especially after the introduction of Financial Fair Play, teams from other leagues became in desperate need of transfer income which accelerated the accumulation of talent. This paper proposes a matrix, the Balance-Performance Matrix, for classifying leagues with respect to their transfer balance and sportive performance. As the results of the matrix illustrate, some leagues indeed became suppliers for the Big 5 and they have lost their competitive edge whereas some are still competing despite losing their best talents.

The evolution of competitive balance and its impact on demand is the focus in the field of sports economics. The results of previous studies examining the relationship between competitive balance (CB) and attendance, as well as the direction of the relationship between financial inequality and CB, are not clear. Through panel data of the top five European football leagues, we examine whether there is a causal relationship between the concentration of club wealth and CB. Using different CB measures and the player value concentration as a proxy for wealth concentration, we found that wealth concentration has an impact on competitive imbalance. A partial adjustment model was able to detect the causal relationship even though CB refers to a moment while the wealth concentration refers to a period. This study helps to understand why previous research has found conflicting results on the relationship between financial inequality and competitive balance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Broadcasting revenues have become the most important source of revenue for the European football leagues in the past couple of decades. This study investigates the efficiency of broadcasting revenue generation using an output-oriented data envelopment analysis for the sixteen major leagues of European football. The results suggest that the English and Turkish leagues are operating efficiently whereas the Dutch and Russian leagues are the least efficient. Due to the increasing share of broadcasting revenues within total revenues and the adverse effects of the global pandemic on other revenue sources, clubs rely on broadcasting revenues more than ever. Both the broadcasters and policy makers of European football stand to benefit from the identification of efficient and non-efficient leagues for future broadcasting agreements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Purpose: The paper analyses two current topics in sport economics research and their relationship. Looking at the past 25 years and 21 countries as well as leagues in European football, it is worth looking for the answer to the question of whether there is causality between international competitiveness and competitive balance. In other words, whether an increase in the balance of the national league (namely in excitement) causes the development (better performance of the national team) of a given country’s football or this causality is reversed. Methodology: By measuring the extent of competitive balance and identifying the measure of competitiveness, the Granger causality was tested to analyse the relationship of the UEFA country coefficient, the FIFA World Ranking and the Herfindahl ratio of competitive balance (HRCB). Findings: Based on the estimation and testing of vector autoregressions in panel data, it can be stated that the FIFA World Ranking Granger-causes HRCB. Better sports performance of a country’s national team indicates that a given league will also be appreciated, meaning that better and better players will arrive in a better and better league, which will attract more exciting games, so a decrease can be observed in competitive balance. Research limitations: The study focused on only two indicators of competitiveness, so it is worth examining causality with more measures in the future. Value: From a management perspective, it is believed that the boards of leagues should consider the results presented in this study, such as that better presence of the national team will make the league more balanced, which will lead to a rise in demand.

There is a huge difference between European football clubs in their financial and sporting performance, which may be due to their distinct economic conditions and motivations on the transfer market. Transfers of players can be considered a special supply chain; therefore, the investigation of transfer networks and central actors may yield valuable results. Unlike previous research, the European transfer market is investigated on a regional level where different groups are identified as various networks. We assume that these differences are resulted in the diverse structure of networks (small-world/random), with clubs demonstrating very different attitudes. To support this, assuming the transfer market is divided into four networks, the small-world indicators are calculated for each network by applying social network analysis, considering some 20,000 transfers between 2005 and 2019. The practical benefit of this study is the identification of the main participants and brokers in each network. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Nigde University Journal of Physical Education & Sport Sciences / Nigde Üniversitesi Beden Egitimi ve Spor Bilimleri Dergisi is the property of Journal of Physical Education & Sports Science and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)