Abstract
The purpose of this study was to compare home advantage at the top two levels of the domestic leagues of a wide selection of countries worldwide. Limited previous work has been inconclusive with home advantage at level 2 appearing at least as high as at level 1. Home advantage was quantified for the most recent seven seasons of the top two levels for 47 countries worldwide and included 168,341 matches. A paired t‑test was used to assess the difference between levels for each country. Home advantage was significantly more likely to be higher at level 2 than at level 1. The difference was especially apparent in Bosnia–Herzegovina, Serbia and Iran (all p < 0.001). Kazakhstan was the only country with a significantly higher advantage at level 1. Possible factors that might be contributing to this finding include players and referees at level 1 being better trained to avoid being influenced by crowd support. Level 2 players may be more intimidated by performing away from home, less well equipped to cope with unfamiliar surroundings and routines, and will also have travelled in less comfort.
Zusammenfassung
In der vorliegenden Studie sollte in einer breiten und weltweiten Auswahl von Ländern der Heimvorteil in den zwei höchsten nationalen Ligen verglichen werden. Die wenigen früheren Studien kamen zu keinem eindeutigen Ergebnis, wobei der Heimvorteil in der zweiten Spielklasse mindestens so hoch wie in der ersten erschien. Der Heimvorteil wurde für die letzten sieben Spielzeiten der zwei höchsten Spielklassen in 47 Ländern weltweit quantifiziert, 168,341 Partien flossen in die Analyse ein. Mit einem gepaarten t‑Test wurde der Unterschied zwischen den Spielklassen für jedes Land ermittelt. Der Heimvorteil war mit signifikant höherer Wahrscheinlichkeit in der zweiten Spielklasse größer als in der ersten. Besonders deutlich war der Unterschied in Bosnien-Herzegowina, Serbien und dem Iran (jeweils p < 0,001). Kasachstan war das einzige Land mit einem signifikant höheren Vorteil in der ersten Spielklasse. Zu den möglicherweise beitragenden Faktoren zählt unter anderem, dass Spieler und Schiedsrichter der ersten Liga besser darauf vorbereitet sind, sich nicht durch das Publikum beeinflussen zu lassen. Spieler der zweiten Liga könnten durch das Auswärtsspiel stärker verunsichert sein und schlechter mit der fremden Umgebung sowie mit den ungewohnten Abläufen umgehen. Zudem ist für sie die Anreise weniger komfortabel.
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W. Leite and R. Pollard declare that they have no competing interests.
This article does not contain any studies with human participants or animals performed by any of the authors.
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This research investigated the home-field advantage in association football (soccer), not American football.
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Leite, W., Pollard, R. International comparison of differences in home advantage between level 1 and level 2 of domestic football leagues. Ger J Exerc Sport Res 48, 271–277 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12662-018-0507-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12662-018-0507-2