Crowd Support Research Articles

Is crowd support important in professional football’s home advantage? A systematic review based on covid-19 effect<b></b>

Is crowd support important in professional football’s home advantage? A systematic review based on covid-19 effect<b></b>

The Importance of Crowd Support and Team Quality to Home Advantage in Brazilian Soccer League First Division.

Our aims in the present study were to analyze home advantage (HA) and number of goals scored in consideration of the presence or absence of crowd support and the influence of team quality during the last 11 seasons of the Brazilian Soccer League first division. We analyzed data from 4162 matches played in the Brazilian Soccer League in seasons 2012-2022 (3563 matches with an audience and 599 matches without an audience). We calculated HA by comparing the number of points won at home as a percentage of the total number of points gained, and we also recorded the number of goals scored by home and away teams. For analyses, we divided the teams based on home and away matches, with and without crowds, and we classified teams into three ability groups, based on the points scoring percentage of the team at the end of the season. There was a HA in all seasons analyzed (i.e., home teams won more than 50% of the total points won at home); but in matches in empty stadiums, the HA was reduced significantly, compared to matches with crowd support (66.6% with crowd vs. 57.2% without crowd, p < 0.05). The number of goals in all seasons was higher for home teams than for away teams; however, away teams scored more goals in empty stadiums than in stadiums with crowd support (p < 0.05). The HA was greater in matches with crowd support than in matches without crowd support (p < 0.01), independent of the team's ability level; but, top teams scored more goals than weaker teams (p < 0.01). In conclusion, in the Brazilian Soccer League, the HA and number of goals scored were affected by the presence or absent of an audience in the stadiums. While top teams scored more goals than weaker teams, the HA was lower without than with crowds, independent of team quality.

Impact of COVID-19 lockdown on match performances in the National Basketball Association.

This study aimed to compare differences in the match performances between home and away games during pre- and post-COVID-19 lockdown and to identify the key factors to match success with and without spectators. The sample consisted of 1,549 basketball matches including 971 games of the 2019-2020 regular season before the COVID-19 lockdown and 578 ghost matches of the 2020-2021 regular season after the COVID-19 pandemic. The independent t-test was used to explore the differences before and after COVID-19 while univariate and multivariable logistic regression models were used to identify the key factors to match success between matches with and without spectators. Our study identified that offensive rebounds were the only indicator differentiating between home and away games after the COVID-19 lockdown. Furthermore, home teams won more matches than away matches before the COVID-19 whereas home advantage had no impact on winning matches after the COVID-19. Our study suggested that crowd support may play a key role in winning games in the NBA. Furthermore, independently of the pre-and post-COVID19 pandemic, free throws made, three-point field goals made, defensive rebounds, assists, steals, personal fouls, and opponent quality were key factors differentiating between win and loss. Coaches and coaching staff can make informed decisions and well prepare for basketball match strategies.

New sports and no spectators: Japan’s performance at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games

ABSTRACT Rationale: This paper examines Japan’s performance at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games and considers whether the inclusion of new sports and the Games being staged behind closed doors influenced Japan's performance as the host nation. Approach: We analysed Japan’s medal output and ranking at Tokyo 2020 in the context of its historical Summer Olympic performances and compared with other recent hosts. We also analysed how Japan’s performance changed between Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020 in different events (men, women and mixed) and in different sports. Findings: Japan improved its performance at its home Games across multiple measures. Evidence of improvement between Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020 was seen in men’s, women’s and mixed events and across the portfolio of sports that were common to both editions. Japan’s home performance was amplified by its success in the new sports added to the programme. Practical implications: To promote fair competition, the inclusion of new sports at future Games should be evaluated on the basis of their global appeal alongside their local popularity within the host nation. Research contribution: Our findings somewhat challenge conventional wisdom that home crowd support is a key game location factor which contributes to home advantage.

Impact of absent crowds on technical and physical performances in the Chinese Soccer Super League.

PurposeSpectators have a significant impact on match performances in soccer, but to what extent crowd support contributes to the technical and physical performances remains unclear. This study aimed to (1) investigate the differences in terms of technical and physical performances with and without spectators; and (2) identify the key factors differentiating between win and loss when playing with and without the presence of an audience.MethodsOur study examined 794 performance records from 397 matches during the 2019–2020 seasons in the Chinese Soccer Super League. The least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO)-logistic regression was utilized to select significant predictors. Using an independent t-test and the Mann–Whitney non-parametric test explores the difference between matches with and without spectators. Key factors between win and loss were explored using univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses.ResultsOur study found that cross (p < 0.01, ES = −0.24), shots (p < 0.001, ES = −0.25), and shot accuracy (p < 0.05, ES = −0.18) displayed decreasing trends whereas sprint distances (p < 0.05, ES = 0.16) presented an increasing trend without spectators comparing with the crowd support. Moreover, the above three technical variables were the main factors differentiating between wins and losses. Similarly, team and opponent quality remained important potential factors affecting the match outcome.ConclusionMatch outcome or team performance is determined by a myriad of factors, but there are clear differences in technical and physical performances between matches with and without the presence of an audience. Similarly, our study provides a better explanation for the impact of crowd support on match performances whereby coaches can deploy players and adjust match strategies for ultimate success.

Home team’s advantage reduced without crowd support after the COVID-19 outbreak

ABSTRACT Historically, fan attendance at sporting events has always been considered an advantage for the home team. The level of fan attendance at soccer matches was evaluated as a decisive effect to modify the performance of the home teams in the most important soccer leagues around the world. We exploit the effects of the absence of spectators driven by COVID-19 pandemic mitigation policies. We find that the advantage of the home field, measured by the proportion of wins and also by the numbers of goals and points scored, is remarkable in many leagues. We performed comparative hypothesis tests with eight of the world’s top soccer leagues, confirming a decrease in the probability of a home win, greatly affecting the matches´ outcomes.

Home advantage in football after moving to a new stadium: evidence from European professional teams

ABSTRACT Familiarity with local conditions is considered one of the main causes of home advantage (HA) in sport, yet it has received little attention from the sports science community. This study aimed to establish whether moving to play in newly built stadiums influences the HA of European professional football teams. The sample comprised 98 teams from 25 different leagues affiliated with the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). For each team, the analysis was done with six full seasons, three before and after the stadium relocation. A general linear model was fitted to the data including team ability as a covariate to calculate the HA. Tukey’s pairwise comparisons revealed that the adjusted HA did not differ between any pairs of seasons, demonstrating that moving to a new stadium did not change the HA. A complementary repeated-measure analysis was conducted to examine the relationship between HA and stadium attendance over the six seasons. Although there was a large-sized and significant increase in attendance after relocation (51.6%), a negligible correlation (rs = −0.02, p = 0.85) between the size of the increase and the change in HA was found. It was concluded that there is no consistent evidence that a change of stadium significantly affects the HA of professional football teams; nevertheless, there is likely to be a positive impact on revenue because of increased crowd support and interest from the local community. Building a new and modern stadium is a positive strategy that can be adopted by football clubs without the expectation of change in HA.

The effect of crowd support: home advantage in football is reduced during the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic

Abstract As support from other people can influence human behaviour, one may ask how the absence of crowd attendance influences the performance of football (i.e., soccer) players. I address this question by contrasting matches of the Brazilian Championship (1st and 2nd Divisions) in 2019 and 2020, years in which crowd attendance was prohibited in order to fight the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. In the 1st Division, home advantage decreased from 2019 to 2020, as teams that used to play for larger crowds had lower performance at home in 2020. However, no decrease in home advantage occurred in the 2nd Division in the same period. One explanation for this difference is that the beneficial effects of crowd support are more effective in the 1st Division, where players are used to receiving support from larger crowds. Therefore, while fan support can influence the behaviour/performance of players, this may not always happen.

The influence of spectators on home advantage and referee bias in national teams matches: insights from UEFA Nations League

ABSTRACT The home advantage and the subconscious referee bias regularly occur in professional sports, particularly in association football. The matches played behind closed doors in spring and summer 2020 highlighted that the crowd support is one of the main factors contributing to both phenomena in domestic leagues. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether the same applies also to national teams matches, given the different impact of the other factors determining the home advantage in such matches. To this purpose, the 2018–19 and the 2020–21 editions of the UEFA Nations League – 133 matches each – were analysed, the former played in front of spectators while the latter with no or limited attendance. In particular, we examined a set of indicators of home advantage (match outcome, points, goals scored, ball possession, total shots, shots on goal, corner kicks) and of referee bias (fouls, yellow cards, red cards, penalty kicks, extra time), controlling for the FIFA World Ranking points and the number of time zones crossed. Comparing home and away teams on these parameters within each edition, we observed the occurrence of both phenomena in 2018-19, as well as their absence in 2020-21. Moreover, the comparison between the two editions revealed a significant reduction of both phenomena. The results indicate that spectators have a decisive role in contributing to both the home advantage and the referee bias in national teams matches.

Did the Absence of Crowd Support During the Covid-19 Pandemic Affect the Home Advantage in Brazilian Elite Soccer?

This study aimed to investigate the impact of crowd absence due to the COVID-19 pandemic on home advantage in Series A and B of professional Brazilian male soccer. Moreover, we sought to compare the home advantage between different competitive levels. Data from 2018 to 2020 Brazilian professional soccer championships (Series A and B) were analyzed, consisting of 2280 matches. The effect of home advantage was calculated in relation to the number of points won, the number of wins, goals scored and goals conceded. Our results indicated that home advantage was reduced in Serie A. Specifically, the 2020 (absence of the crowd) and 2019 seasons showed smaller home advantage compared to the 2018 season. On the other hand, Serie B analyses indicated no changes in home advantage over the seasons analyzed. The comparison of home advantage between competitive levels indicated higher home advantage in Serie A, exclusively in the 2018 season. In addition to the absence of fans, other changes occurred in elite sports due to the pandemic, such as changes in rules and the calendar. Considering that home advantage is affected by multiple interacting factors, it is important to investigate specific sports leagues across the world to determine which factors had the greatest impact on the advantage of playing home matches.

The Role of Crowd Support on Home Advantage during COVID-19 Restrictions on Italian Football Competitions. Comparison between 2018-19 and 2020-21 Seasons of the Italian Serie A and Serie B Championships.

The home advantage (HA) affects football competitions, especially due to the presence of crowd support. Even though several studies demonstrated that HA (which is influenced by the crowd) decreased in recent years, the empty stadia caused by COVID-19 restrictions offered unique situations to explore and quantify HA. For this reason, we aimed to assess HA in two seasons of the major Italian Championships. We conducted an observational study with the data from the last three seasons of the Italian football championship A–B series, analyzing a total of 2.964 individual game scores. To quantify the HA, the number of points won at home was calculated as a percentage of the total number of points won, home and away. In every season and for every team classification, HA was found (scored points > 50% in home matches). We reported a difference in HA median score for Serie B. Additionally, a difference was found in Serie A for middle-ranking HA median scores in the two seasons compared (p-value = 0.017), which was similarly found in Serie B (p-value = 0.009). The number of penalties was lower in the season with a crowd compared to one without a crowd (p = 0.001). The HA did not disappear in empty stadiums, so there must be other contributing factors. Additionally, we found that the referees were biased by the presence of the crowd in favor of the home teams, and this result could be considered by the football association during referees’ training and formation.

The Effect of the Crowd on Home Bias: Evidence from NBA Games During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

The present study examines a specific type of referee biases, home bias, and analyzes how the presence of fans affects home bias by using NBA games played in empty arenas during the COVID-19 pandemic in the 2020–2021 season and matches played before the pandemic from 2017 to 2020. This research also uses a unique data set from NBA Last Two Minute Reports to assess referees’ performance at the play level. The findings show crowd support does not cause referees to treat home and away teams differently in crucial situations during the NBA regular season, contrary to the results in most prior studies.

A Machine Learning Approach to Analyze Home Advantage during COVID-19 Pandemic Period with Regards to Margin of Victory and to Different Tournaments in Professional Rugby Union Competitions.

Home advantage (HA) is the tendency for sporting teams to perform better at their home ground than away from home, it is also influenced by the crowd support, and its existence has been well established in a wide range of team sports including rugby union. Among all the HA determinants, the positive contribute of the crowd support on the game outcome can be analyzed in the unique pandemic situation of COVID-19. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to analyze the HA of professional high-level rugby club competition from a complex dynamical system perspective before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. HA was analyzed in northern and southern hemisphere rugby tournaments with (2013–2019) and without (2020/21) crowd support by the means of the exhaustive chi-square automatic interaction detection (CHAID) decision trees (DT). HA was mitigated by the crowd absence especially in closed games, although differences between tournaments emerged. Both for northern and southern hemisphere, the effect of playing without the crowd support had a negative impact on the home team advantage. These findings evidenced that in ghost games, where differences in the final score were less than a converted try (7 points), HA has disappeared.

Baseball Home Field Advantage Without Fans in the Stands

Abstract: Home field advantage is universally accepted across most major sports and levels of competition. However, exact causes of home field advantage have been difficult to disentangle. The COVID-19 pandemic offers a unique, natural experiment to isolate elements related to home field advantage since all 2020 regular season Major League Baseball games were played without fans. Results provide no statistically significant evidence of a difference in home field advantage between the 2019 and 2020 seasons, evidence that home crowd support is not a driver of home field advantage. There does appear to be a statistical advantage by the home team batting second in the inning. Travel fatigue seems to have no impact on home field advantage, and while home field advantage seems to increase throughout the 2020 season, we chalk that up to small sample noise. Despite lacking historical precedence, betting markets seemingly respond efficiently to the new home conditions.

Does Crowd Support Drive the Home Advantage in Professional Football? Evidence from German Ghost Games during the COVID-19 Pandemic

This paper examines the relation between crowd support and home advantage in men’s professional football in making use of a unique “natural experiment” induced by restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic: the so-called ghost games in the top three German football divisions at the end of the 2019/2020 season. We find that there is a reduced home advantage in the first division, whereas no change is observed in the second and third divisions. Our regression analysis indicates that the decrease in the home advantage and the heterogeneity across divisions are not sensitive to a variety of performance, location, and team covariates and are best explained through the lower occupancy rate in the stadia. Hence, the decrease in occupancy to zero at the ghost games has been less dramatic for teams that have been used to low occupancy rates. We cannot find strong evidence for a change in referee behavior or teams’ tactics as main impact channels of occupancy rates on the home advantage. Hence, we argue that psychological reasons are of higher importance.

Home advantage in soccer after the break due to COVID-19 pandemic: does crowd support matter?

ABSTRACT The present study aimed to investigate the impact of the return of different European leagues and their divisions after the break due to the COVID-19 pandemic, without the crowd support, on home advantage (HA). Data from the first and second divisions of the 2016/2017, 2017/2018, 2018/2019 and 2019/2020 seasons of the German, Spanish, English and Italian leagues were analysed to obtain overall HA. As 2019/2020 season was interrupted due COVID-19 pandemic, we also calculated the home advantage in a fractional way: phases 1 and 2 played before and after the break, respectively. HA in first division of the German (F 3,51 = 4.86, P = .01, = 0.22, large) and Italian (F 3,57 = 4.50, P = .01, = 0.19, large) leagues were lower in 2019/2020 season compared with other seasons. Furthermore, HA decreased in phase 2 in four of the seven leagues and divisions analysed, with no advantage in first and second divisions Germany (45.1 ± 21.3%) and Italy (49.8 ± 18.5%), respectively. A positive correlation (0.82 ± 0.10; P < .01) and significant relationship (R 2: 0.69 ± 0.16; SEE: 4.36 ± 0.76; P < .01) were found between HA and team quality for all analysed leagues and divisions during the 2019/2020 season. The findings of the present study reveal that HA was affected in the 2019/2020 season, especially after the break due to the COVID-19 pandemic without crowd support.

Professional football in times of COVID-19: did the home advantage effect disappear in European domestic leagues?

This study aimed to examine how the home advantage (HA) and home teams’ performances changed in European football leagues (German Bundesliga, Spanish La Liga, English Premier League, Portuguese Primeira Liga and Italian Serie A) with the measures imposed by legal authorities to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic (no audience, five substitutions and “cooling breaks”). The HA (Pollard’s rescaled method) and home performance-related statistics of matches contested before (n = 491) and after (n = 491) the 2019–2020 season break were calculated and compared, for each league and for all five, using the paired t-test or the Wilcoxon signed-rank test. Overall, the HA did not significantly decrease in European leagues (from 16.4% to 11.6%; trivial effect size [ES]); however, a one-sample t-test revealed that the HA after the COVID-19 break was significantly greater than 0% (small ES). While the HA completely disappeared in the Bundesliga (large ES), its effects remained stable in La Liga (small ES), Premier League and Primeira Liga (trivial ES), and even increased in Serie A (medium ES) after the return. Home teams’ performances in these leagues were influenced to different extents by the COVID-19 situation, especially by playing behind closed doors. Altogether, significant decreases were observed for total shots, tackles (medium ES), shots on target and pass success (small ES). Therefore, the role of crowd support seems to vary depending on the context characteristics in which football is played. Also, the augmented “information transfer” from coaches to players during COVID-19 matches might have masked the crowd effects on the HA.

Home Court Advantage in Basketball – A Case Study of Žalgiris Kaunas Basketball Team

The actual venue where a basketball game is played needs to be considered (Volossovitch 2017) when looking at the effectiveness of a team’s performance playing in front of home crowd. Clarke (2005), Gomez and Pollard (2011) and Bray and Widmeyer (2008) explored the home court advantage topic and argued that this exists and is influenced by various factors (such as familiarity with environment, crowd support and loud arena, shooting percentages, absence of travel, etc.). A top division professional basketball team from Lithuania (Žalgiris Kaunas) was selected for this study using a convenience sample method (Veal and Darcy 2014). A case study approach (which incorporated comparisons between and an analysis of certain statistical categories such as: points scored per game; points allowed per game; free throws – made and attempted per game; 3 points shots – made and attempted; assists and turnovers) were used as part of this investigation into Žalgiris Kaunas basketball team and the games they played at home during 2017–2018 and 2018–2019 seasons. From a methodological point of view, a three stage approach was employed. First stage was an exploratory analysis of relevant data available in the public domain for the selected team /club. Second stage comprised of an initial analysis that consisted of statistical calculations (averages per game and per season) and comparisons between Žalgiris Kaunas and their opponents while a discussion and concluding analysis – as a third stage – was drawn by interpretation of data. Similar to findings from literature, playing at home in front of full capacity crowd was beneficial for Žalgiris Kaunas as their performances improved for the statistical categories previously mentioned, alongside with being victorious in 11 out of the 19 home games that were scrutinised for the purpose of the research. Keywords: home court advantage, basketball performance indicators, basketball analytics, attendance, Žalgiris Kaunas

Social pressure in the stadiums: Do agents change behavior without crowd support?

Abstract Social pressure may have relevant consequences in many contexts but it is hard to evaluate it empirically. In this paper we exploit a natural experiment in soccer to provide clear evidence of its effects. We aim to study how social pressure from the crowd in a stadium affects both players and referees. While in normal matches crowd support may be correlated to a host of variables affecting the outcome of interest, we exploit the fact that after the health emergency for the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, soccer matches in top European Leagues have been allowed only behind closed doors, that is, without spectators in the stadiums. We use data of first and second division of five major European Leagues (Germany, Spain, England, Italy and Portugal) for the last 10 seasons and compare – using a differences-in-differences analysis – several outcomes (determined by players’ performance and referees’ decisions) of matches played with crowd support to the same outcomes when matches were played without crowd. We find considerable effects of the pressure from the crowd: while with the support of the crowd a considerable home advantage emerges in various measures of performance (points, goals, shots, etc.), this advantage is almost halved when matches are played behind closed doors. Similar effects are found for the behavior of referees: decisions of fouls, yellow cards, red cards and penalties that tend to favor home teams in normal matches, are much more balanced without the crowd pressing on referees. The evidence we provide strongly supports the idea that social pressure has intense effects on agents’ behavior.

The Effect of Crowd Support on Home-Field Advantage: Evidence from European Football

The Effect of Crowd Support on Home-Field Advantage: Evidence from European Football