Changing the Hidden Rules - An Excel Template for Discussing Soccer’s Competitive Balance

  • Joaquim Teixeira
  • Nuno Santos
  • Paulo Mourao
Conference paper
Part of the Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing book series (AISC, volume 290)

Abstract

We constructed a (Microsoft Excel) Template for simulating the final tables of soccer leagues. In our Template, the user can insert different values for parameters that influence the soccer leagues (such as the importance of the sports history of each competing team, the influence of home advantages, or the relevance of the referees’ decisions). The user is also able to choose among different systems of points awarded for victory. Then, the Template produces an index for the competitive balance of the entire league. We tested several combinations of parameters and concluded that the most balanced leagues are characterized by rewarding victory with 2 points and draws with 1 point and when the influence of the teams’ history or budget is minimized.

Keywords

Simulator Template Soccer 
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Copyright information

© Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2014

Authors and Affiliations

  • Joaquim Teixeira
    • 1
  • Nuno Santos
    • 2
  • Paulo Mourao
    • 3
  1. 1.BSc EconomicsUniversidade de Tras-os-Montes e Alto DouroVila RealPortugal
  2. 2.BSc Mechanical EngineeringUniversidade de Tras-os-Montes e Alto DouroVila RealPortugal
  3. 3.Department of EconomicsUniversity of MinhoBragaPortugal

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