Economic impact of muscle injury rate and hamstring strain injuries in professional football clubs. Evidence from LaLiga.

The aims of this study were: 1) to describe the total muscular injuries, and specifically HSIs, and their corresponding missed matches; 2) to analyse their economic impact; and 3) to estimate the loss of incomes due to TV rights, in first division clubs from LaLigaTM depending on the expected and actual ranking position during the 2018/2019 season. To do that, a cross-sectional study for season 18/19 and for all players of the 20 Spanish professional football clubs was performed. The economic impact of injuries was estimated considering the missed matches and salary cost of all players and the audio-visual income loss was estimated considering the Spanish Royal Decree of Law (RDL 5/2015). The high number of muscular (270) and hamstring injuries (57) implies a high cost for professional first division football clubs, specifically € 365,811 per month for the former and € 47,388 per month for the latter. In addition, reaching a worse than expected position in LaLigaTM ranking involved a loss of 45,2 million € in TV rights incomes. The high cost of muscle injuries in first division teams justifies the need for multidisciplinary teams that are capable of reducing the number of injuries as well as recovery times.

Market value of Brazilian soccer players that played 2020 series A and B of the Brazilian championship: an analysis based on quarters of birth and playing position

Abstract Aim: The present study aimed to investigate the prevalence of RAE in soccer players from different positions in Series A and B in 2020 Brazilian soccer, as well as the impact of RAE on the estimated market value of these players. Methods: Data from 1080 male elite soccer athletes were analyzed. Athletes were grouped according to birth quarters: Q1 (January-March), Q2 (April-June), Q3 (July-September), and Q4 (October-December) and the competitive level (Series A or B). Chi-square tests (χ2) were performed to compare the birthdates' distribution of athletes according to a competitive level and playing positions. Kruskal-Wallis test was used to compare the market values of players born in each of the quarters of the year across competitive levels and playing positions. The significance level was set at 5%. Results: The overall analyses showed the prevalence of RAE in Series A and B, with an overrepresentation of athletes born in the first two quarters of the year. The RAE analysis based on playing positions showed different from expected distributions for forwards, midfielders, and defenders in Series A. In Series B, only midfielders showed a difference from the expected distribution. As for the market values analyses, no differences were found based on the athletes' birth quarters, regardless of competitive level or playing position. Conclusion: Our results indicate that, although RAE is prevalent in Series A and B of elite Brazilian soccer, it does not seem to influence players' estimated market values.

The financial and performance cost of injuries to teams in Australian professional soccer.

OBJECTIVES: To determine the relationship between injury incidence, player-salary cost and team performance in the professional Australian soccer league. DESIGN: Prospective observational cohort study. METHODS: Injury incidence, player-salary cost and team performance data were collected from the 10-club A-League competition (n=27 matches/season) over 6 seasons from 2012/13. Player-salary cost of injury was calculated from the salary cap, injury-induced missed matches and player exposure, and trends were reported from Poisson regressions. Team performance was determined from ranking, points, goals (scored, conceded and difference) and match outcome (win, loss or draw) per season and analysed via a mixed-effects Poisson models to estimate association with injury. RESULTS: Nine-hundred-and-sixteen injuries resulted in 3148 missed matches. Injury incidence remained stable apart from a decrease in 2015/16 (p=0.01). Missed matches were significantly higher in season 2013/14 (55.1 [50.7-59.9]; p<0.01) and 2014/15 (71.4 [66.4-76.8]; p<0.001) compared to 2012/13, without differences between other seasons. Player-salary cost ranged between AUD$187,990-AUD$332,680/team, peaking in 2014/15 (p<0.01). Multi-collinearity was detected for team performance variables except for matches lost. Teams who finished the season with greater positive goal differences were associated with 1% less injuries (p=0.003). Similarly, more missed matches were associated with 1% less league points and losses (p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Player-salary costs remained stable, concomitant with stable injury rates and missed matches. Despite injury being associated with goals difference, points and match losses; the magnitude of these relationships are small and team performance is more complex than injury occurrence alone. Injury prevention remains necessary for reducing injury-induced player-salary costs; however, additional services are required to improve team performance.

Association of high profile football matches in Europe with traffic accidents in Asia: archival study.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the association between popular football games played in Europe and the incidence of traffic accidents in Asia. DESIGN: Study based on 41 538 traffic accidents involving taxis in Singapore and 1 814 320 traffic accidents in Taiwan, combined with 12 788 European club football games over a seven year period. SETTING: Singapore and Taiwan. PARTICIPANTS: The largest taxi company in Singapore, with fine grained traffic accident records in a three year span; all traffic accident records in Taiwan in a six year span. EXPOSURE: Days when high profile football games were played or not played. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Number of traffic accidents. RESULTS: Regression based and time series models suggest that days with high profile European football matches were more positively associated with traffic accidents than days with less popular European football matches. For an approximate €134.74m (£120.25m; $159.76m) increase in average market value for matches played on a given day, approximately one extra accident would occur among Singapore taxi drivers, and for an approximate €7.99m increase in average market value of matches, approximately one extra accident would occur among all drivers in Taiwan. This association remained after control for weather conditions, time of the year, weekend versus weekday effects, driver demographics, and underlying temporal trends. It was also stronger for daytime traffic accidents than for night time traffic accidents, suggesting that the association between high profile football matches and traffic accidents cannot be attributed to night time celebration or attention deficits while watching and driving. Annually, this increased rate of traffic accidents may translate to approximately 371 accidents among taxi drivers in Singapore and approximately 41 079 accidents among the Taiwanese public, as well as economic losses of approximately €821 448 among Singapore taxi drivers and approximately €13 994 409 among Taiwanese drivers and insurers. The total health and economic impact of this finding is likely to be much higher because GMT+8 is the most populous time zone, encompassing 24% of the world's population. CONCLUSIONS: Days featuring high profile football matches in Europe were associated with more traffic accidents in Taiwan and Singapore than were days with lower profile football matches. A potential causal mechanism may be Asian drivers losing sleep by watching high profile European matches, which are often played in the middle of the night in Asia.

Alcohol and fast food sponsorship in sporting clubs with junior teams participating in the 'Good Sports' program: a cross-sectional study.

OBJECTIVE: To examine: alcohol and fast food sponsorship of junior community sporting clubs; the association between sponsorship and club characteristics; and parent and club representative attitudes toward sponsorship. METHODS: A cross-sectional telephone survey of representatives from junior community football clubs across New South Wales and Victoria, Australia, and parents/carers of junior club members. Participants were from junior teams with Level 3 accreditation in the 'Good Sports' program. RESULTS: A total of 79 club representatives and 297 parents completed the survey. Half of participating clubs (49%) were sponsored by the alcohol industry and one-quarter (27%) were sponsored by the fast food industry. In multivariate analyses, the odds of alcohol sponsorship among rugby league clubs was 7.4 (95%CI: 1.8-31.0, p=<0.006) that of AFL clubs, and clubs located in regional areas were more likely than those in major cities to receive fast food industry sponsorship (OR= 9.1; 95%CI: 1.0-84.0, p=0.05). The majority (78-81%) of club representatives and parents were supportive of restrictions to prohibit certain alcohol sponsorship practices, but a minority (42%) were supportive of restrictions to prohibit certain fast food sponsorship practices. CONCLUSIONS: Large proportions of community sports clubs with junior members are sponsored by the alcohol industry and the fast food industry. There is greater acceptability for prohibiting sponsorship from the alcohol industry than the fast food industry. Implications for public health: Health promotion efforts should focus on reducing alcohol industry and fast food industry sponsorship of junior sports clubs.

A bioecological perspective on talent identification in junior-elite soccer: A Pan-European perspective.

Elite soccer clubs across Europe spend ever-increasing sums of money on transfers and salaries for world-class players. Consequently, clubs' talent identification and development processes for junior players have become more professionalised. Based on a holistic ecological approach, this study presents an analysis of talent identification practices across some of the most productive soccer academies in Europe (N = 11). Data were collected via semi-structured interviews with 11 heads of academy recruitment from clubs in the "big five" European leagues. Clubs were purposively sampled based on their player productivity ranking. Interviews ranged from 52:26 minutes to 114:06 minutes in length (m = 87:53 ± 20.10 minutes). This study argues that holistic ecological approaches the environments were characterised through the interplay of factors that ranged from high-level internal to international level relationships. This resulted in the identification and recruitment of players from local and international environments. The purpose of recruitment was suggested to have a dual purpose: recruitment of players for the first team; recruitment of players for further development/monitoring and/or selling to another club.

Evaluation of soccer players under the Moneyball concept.

The recruitment of athletes with limited resources is a global problem in professional sports. In US Major League Baseball, the experience of the Oakland Athletics' general manager in the last decade turned his "Moneyball" model into a synonym of quantitative analysis in the transfer market of baseball players. His strategy focused on hiring players with outstanding technical skills but relatively low market value. This study adapted this model to the framework of a multiple criteria decision aid (MCDA), by selecting undervalued players who have complementary abilities. The novelty here refers to the joint use of four algorithms explored by the composition of probabilistic preferences (CPP) (i.e., ranking, classification, dynamic evaluation and regularity analysis) and their application to soccer player performance evaluation. The new model analysed the recent transfer of a left-back soccer player to Europe. The results indicated 12 opportunities for better investment, among 32 left and right-back players considered. Two years later, the value of the same player was considerably lower. He played only five matches in the 2018-2019 season, without scoring or providing any assists. On the other hand, the players better classified by the CPP-MB model presented higher performances and market values.

Os grupos de pressão no processo de tramitação do PROFUT (LEI Nº 13. 155/2015) / The pressure groups in the process of the PROFUT (LEI Nº 13. 155/2015)

O presente estudo identifica os grupos de pressão que atuaram ativamente no Congresso Nacional durante a tramitação da lei nº 13.155/2015 e os interesses atendidos ao longo desse processo. Trata-se de uma pesquisa exploratória, de caráter qualitativa, sendo desenvolvida a partir do levantamento e análise documental. Os documentos utilizados foram às notas taquigráficas das sete audiências públicas realizadas para discutir o tema, o relatório das emendas parlamentares, os documentos referentes à Medida Provisória nº671/2015 que deu origem a lei, tanto aqueles elaborados no Parlamento quanto pelo Poder Executivo, e a própria lei nº 13.155/2015. Ao longo da análise da tramitação desse ordenamento ficam evidentes os grupos que disputaram o conteúdo deste marco legal e os interesses em disputa e atendidos pela lei.

The present study seeks to map the pressure groups that actively participated in the National Congress during the process of Law 13,155 / 2015, as well as to present the characteristics and interests served throughout this process. It is an exploratory research, of qualitative character, being developed from the survey and documentary analysis. The documents used were the shorthand notes of the seven public hearings held to discuss the subject, the report on parliamentary amendments, the documents relating to Provisional Measure No. 671/2015 that gave rise to the law, both those drafted in Parliament and the Executive Branch, and own law 13,155 / 2015. Throughout the analysis of the processing of this order, the groups that disputed the content of this legal framework and the interests in dispute and attended by the law are evident.

Transfer market activities and sportive performance in European first football leagues: A dynamic network approach.

Professional football is a globalized game in which players are the most valuable assets for clubs. In this study, we explore the evolution of the football players' transfer network among 21 European first leagues between the seasons 1996/1997 and 2015/2016. From a topological point of view, we show that this network achieved an upper limit expansion around season 2007/2008, thereafter becoming more connected and dense. Using a machine learning approach based on Self-Organizing Maps and Principal Component Analysis we confirm that European competitions, such as the UEFA Champions League or UEFA Europa League, are indeed a "money game" where the clubs with the highest transfer spending achieve better sportive performance. Some clubs' transfer market activities also affect domestic performance. We conclude from our findings that the relationship between transfer spending and domestic or international sportive performance might lead to substantial inequality between clubs and leagues, while potentially creating a virtuous (vicious) circle in which these variables reinforce (weaken) each other.

Aerobic endurance performance does not determine the professional career of elite youth soccer players.

BACKGROUND: Physical characteristics have been widely analyzed in order to understand why some soccer players are more successful than others. Therefore, the aims of this study were: 1) to describe the evolution of aerobic endurance performance across 18 years in a Spanish elite soccer academy; 2) to know if the playing position could affect physical testing performance; and 3) to look into the alleged impact of this factor on the professional career of soccer players. METHODS: We considered 162 players belonging to the reserve team of an elite Spanish soccer club from 1994 to 2012. The percentage of players that played in the reserve team for at least five matches in Third Division (2nd B) and later promoted to the Spanish First or Second Division was 32%. The participants were classified in three six-year periods and according to their highest competitive level attained until the 2014/2015 season and their regular tactical position. All the players performed a four-stage submaximal intermittent running test with the running speeds 12 km/h (10 min), 13 km/h (10 min), 14 km/h (10 min), and 15 km/h (5 min) in order to assess the individual velocities associated with a [La]b of 3 mmol/L (i.e., V3). RESULTS: No differences (P>0.05) in aerobic fitness were found between the three six-year periods groups (P>0.05), between the tactical positions nor among the competitive levels attained. CONCLUSIONS: These findings indicate that aerobic endurance performance (i.e., V3) is not a pertinent trait when identifying players from different seasons, tactical positions and competitive levels.

Alcohol Marketing during the UEFA EURO 2016 Football Tournament: A Frequency Analysis.

This study examined the frequency and nature of alcohol marketing references in broadcasts of the 2016 UEFA (Union of European Football Associations) European Championships football tournament in the United Kingdom (UK). Eighteen matches from across the tournament were recorded in full as broadcast in the UK, including all four matches featuring the English national team and all seven featuring the French national team. All visual and verbal references to alcohol marketing were recorded using a tool with high inter-rater reliability. A total of 2213 alcohol marketing references were recorded, an average of 122.94 per broadcast and 0.65 per broadcast minute (0.52 per minute in-play and 0.80 per minute out-of-play). Almost all references were visual (97.5%), with 77.9% occurring around the pitch border. Almost all (90.6%) were indirect references to alcohol brands (e.g., references to well-known slogans), compared to only 9.4% direct references to brands (e.g., brand names). The frequency of references to alcohol marketing was high. Although the overall proportion of direct brand references was low, the high proportion of indirect references demonstrates that alcohol producers were able to circumvent the French national law governing alcohol marketing (the Loi Évin) using indirect "alibi marketing". To ensure the spirit of the Loi Évin regulations are achieved, stricter enforcement may be required to limit exposure to alcohol marketing, particularly for young people.

¿Es rentable jugar en primera división de fútbol? / Is profitable to play in Spanish soccer first division?

El artículo presenta la primera fase de un estudio del fútbol español, cuyo objetivo es averiguar si es rentable jugar en Primera División de fútbol (1ª) para cualquier equipo profesional y si todos los clubes de 2ªA deberían aspirar al ascenso. Se comparan resultados en la población seleccionada y en dos grupos de la misma: equipos que se han mantenido en 1ª y equipos ascensor. Se examinan mediante análisis exploratorio de datos resultados económicos y deportivos, se identifican factores que influyen en su variación y se clasifican los clubes según dichos factores. También se determina la influencia de ascensos y descensos en los resultados. Se deduce que los equipos ascensor obtienen peores resultados aun jugando en la misma liga. Además, a su estabilidad económico financiera le afecta más el ascenso y descenso continuo que el mantenerse en una categoría concreta. Finalmente, que la «gestión del miedo» no siempre conduce a una mejor clasificación y añade tensión financiera. Se concluye que no a todos los clubes les conviene militar en 1ª división de fútbol, que ésta debe reestructurarse y se debe reforzar la 2ªA (AU)

The paper presents the first phase of a Spanish football study. The aim is to determine if it is profitable to play in 1ª D league for any professional team and if all clubs in 2ª A division should aspire to climb. Various results are compared in the selected population and also in two groups identified: equipment that have remained in 1ªD and «elevator teams». The economics and sports results are examined by exploratory data analysis. We identify factors that are influence in change and the teams are classified according to these factors. Finally the influence of promotion and relegation in these results is determined. It follows that the «Fear Management» doesn’t always lead to better classification and adds financial stress, «elevator equipment» that perform worse even playing in the same league and its economic and financial stability will most affect the rise and decline that continued the stay in a particular category. We conclude: not all clubs suit them military in 1ª, it would be to restructure and strengthen the 2ª A (AU)

The Anatomy of the Global Football Player Transfer Network: Club Functionalities versus Network Properties.

Professional association football is a game of talent. The success of a professional club hinges largely on its ability of assembling the best team. Building on a dataset of player transfer records among more than 400 clubs in 24 world-wide top class leagues from 2011 to 2015, this study aims to relate a club's success to its activities in the player transfer market from a network perspective. We confirm that modern professional football is indeed a money game, in which larger investment spent on the acquisition of talented players generally yields better team performance. However, further investigation shows that professional football clubs can actually play different strategies in surviving or even excelling this game, and the success of strategies is strongly associated to their network properties in the football player transfer network.

Influencia de los torneos en la generación de ingresos / Influence of championships in the revenues generation

El objetivo del estudio ha sido investigar de qué manera cada campeonato afecta la generación de ingresos de los clubes de fútbol. Se ha analizado el desempeño deportivo de 28 equipos brasileños durante cinco temporadas (2010-14) en los siguientes torneos: Campeonato Brasileiro, Copa do Brasil, Campeonatos Estaduais, Copa Libertadores y Copa Sudamericana. Se ha llevado a cabo una regresión lineal con dados en panel y efectos fijos. El éxito en la temporada anterior ha sido medido por variables retardadas. Como resultado, se evidencia que el modelo explica 65.1% de los ingresos totales. Además, se observa que la Liga de la temporada anterior, la Copa y la Libertadores actuales son los únicos torneos que afectan estadísticamente la generación de ingresos. Se concluye que la importancia y el formato de los torneos influyen de manera distinta en la recaudación de los clubes de fútbol en Brasil

The aim of this paper was research how each kind of tournament affects the revenues generation in football clubs. We have analysed the sports performance of 28 Brazilian football clubs during five seasons (2010-14). We have studied the five most important tournaments there: Brazilian League, Brazilian Cup, State Championships, Libertadores Cup and South American Cup. We have carried out a linear regression in a panel data with football clubs fixed effects. The lagged variables of each tournament were employed to examine if the previous sports performance could improve the next revenues. The model explains 65.1% of the total revenues. In addition, the lagged performance in a League and the current performance in a Cup and Libertadores were the tournaments that statistically affect the revenues generation. We conclude that the importance and the competitive format have different impacts in the revenues generation on Brazilian football clubs

Measuring empathy feelings in football through media value / Valor mediático en el fútbol y grado de afinidad de los fans

This paper applies media value appraisals to measure the degree of identification that players and teams inspire in football supporters. Using a large data set of media value scores in season 2014/15, we rank the most popular football players and clubs worldwide; as well as the teams’ managers with the greatest media value exposure. Then, building upon individual ratings, we determine the hierarchy of the 'Big Five' European domestic leagues, according to their comparative media value status

En este artículo se emplean indicadores de valor mediático en el fútbol para estimar el grado de identificación que jugadores y clubs inspiran entre los aficionados. A partir de amplias bases de datos del valor mediático en la temporada 2014/15, se elaboran los rankings mundiales de jugadores y clubs, así como el ranking de los entrenadores con mayor visibilidad en los medios. Además, agregando registros individuales, puede determinarse la jerarquía de estatus mediático de las cinco grandes ligas domésticas de Europa

Objetivos financieros y deportivos en la eficiencia del fútbol europeo / Financial and sport objectives in the efficiency of european football

El objetivo del presente estudio es medir la eficiencia de los principales equipos europeos considerando los objetivos financieros y deportivos, por lo que se utilizan el beneficio y el coeficiente UEFA como outputs. Un modelo alternativo es presentado bajo la premisa de la maximización de los resultados deportivos y la minimización de las pérdidas financieras. Los resultados muestran un amplio margen de mejora, especialmente en la gestión financiera

The goal of this study is to measure the efficiency of the major European football teams under financial and win objectives using profits and UEFA coefficient as outputs. An alternative model is presented maximizing wins and minimizing financial losses. Results show much room for improvement, especially in financial management

Goal or gold: overlapping reward processes in soccer players upon scoring and winning money.

Social rewards are important incentives for human behavior. This is especially true in team sports such as the most popular one worldwide: soccer. We investigated reward processing upon scoring a soccer goal in a standard two-versus-one situation and in comparison to winning in a monetary incentive task. The results show a strong overlap in brain activity between the two conditions in established reward regions of the mesolimbic dopaminergic system, including the ventral striatum and ventromedial pre-frontal cortex. The three main components of reward-associated learning, i.e., reward probability (RP), reward reception (RR) and reward prediction errors (RPE) showed highly similar activation in both con-texts, with only the RR and RPE components displaying overlapping reward activity. Passing and shooting behavior did not correlate with individual egoism scores, but we observe a positive correlation be-tween egoism and activity in the left middle frontal gyrus upon scoring after a pass versus a direct shot. Our findings suggest that rewards in the context of soccer and monetary incentives are based on similar neural processes.

Just how important is a good season start? Overall team performance and financial budget of elite soccer clubs.

The aim of the current study was (i) to identify how important is a good season start on elite soccer teams' performance and (ii) to examine whether this impact is related to the clubs' financial budget. The match performances and annual budgets of all teams were collected from the English FA Premier League, French Ligue 1, Spanish La Liga, Italian Serie A and German Bundesliga for three consecutive seasons (2010-2011 to 2012-2013). A k-means cluster analysis classified the clubs according to their budget as High Range Budget Clubs, Upper-Mid Range Budget Clubs, Lower-Mid Range Budget Clubs and Low Range Budget Clubs. Data were examined through linear regression models. Overall, the results suggested that the better the team performance at the beginning of the season, the better the ranking at the end of the season. However, the impact of the effect depended on the clubs' annual budget, with lower budgets being associated with a greater importance of having a good season start (P < 0.01). Moreover, there were differences in trends across the different leagues. These variables can be used to develop accurate models to estimate final rankings. Conversely, Lower-Mid and Lower Range Budget Clubs can benefit from fine-tuning preseason planning in order to accelerate the acquisition of optimal performances.