National Leagues Research Articles

The influence of situational constraints on in-game penalty kicks in soccer

ABSTRACT This study examined the influence of situational constraints on professional soccer players’ in-match penalty kick performance. Both pre-game and in-game situational constraints were considered. To this end, data on 7,199 penalty kicks from 5 European national leagues between 2008–2009 and 2021–2022 were collected. Hierarchal binary logistic regression analyses were conducted with nine situational factors to predict the kick outcome while controlling for three individual factors. The results revealed that penalty kicks were scored more often in the less prestigious league (Eredivisie). Furthermore, teams who were leading in the second half and players who observed a successful penalty kick from the opponent’s team scored their penalty kicks more often. Finally, players who scored a field goal earlier in the game scored less often. However, the explained variance of logistic regression models was small. The fact that players are hardly affected by situational constraints seems to indicate that there is a successful selection of who is going to take the penalty kick. The conclusion was supported by the supplemental finding that players who took more penalty kicks outperformed the other players. More research into the interplay of situational, individual, and task constraints is needed to predict the outcome of in-game penalty kicks better.

Incidence of injuries and their prevention in Czech ice hockey players.

Ice hockey is a dynamic game. We can observe collisions between the players that bring a risk of injury. There are many hockey clubs in the Czech Republic. These clubs raise great hockey players and many competing players in various levels of national leagues. The aim of this study was to map injuries in Czech hockey players and outline the situation of injury prevention and body care in ice hockey players. We used a questionnaire survey method to obtain data. We received answers from 100 male active Czech ice hockey players, playing in the top three highest men's competitions (Extraleague - 2nd league). Individual injuries were analyzed according to specific body parts, injury type, playing position, level of competition using basic statistical characteristics and relative frequency analyses, including the recovery time, injury reason and the injury statistics per 1000 sporting performances in ice hockey. We found that 81% of participants suffered injuries with the overall incidence of injuries was 17.1 per 1000 sports performances and mainly happened during the match compared to training. The most common injuries were in the head and neck area (25%), often caused by a collision with another player, a stick or puck hit, or a collision with a board. Other frequently injured parts were the knees (21%), where internal ligament injuries predominate, and the shoulders (20%), where we recorded mainly ligament injuries. There is a high risk of various injury types of ice hockey players, that are developed accidentally in all body parts mostly in the match (mostly upper part of the body and knee) or by overloading (hip/groin area). We recommend strategies to avoid or minimize the injury risk of players. The hockey clubs, coaches, and players should extensively and regularly cooperate with physiotherapists, starting from the younger age of hockey groups, to prevent injuries and use regular strengthening of crucial muscle parts, regeneration, and compensatory exercises. We endorse adequately evaluating dangerous foul actions for referees and disciplinary officials also in minor competitions.

Hip adduction and abduction strength values in elite-level male and female youth soccer players: A comparison between sexes, and across age-groups

ObjectivesTo report isometric hip adduction squeeze and abduction press strength values of elite-level youth male and female soccer players and examine if differences exist between sexes, and age-groups. DesignCross-sectional cohort study. SettingElite youth soccer academy. Participants102 soccer players (n = 64; male, n = 38 female) competing in the national youth soccer leagues from under (U) 14–19 years of age level (U-14, U-15, U-17, U-19). Main outcome measuresIsometric hip adduction and abduction strength values were measured with a ForceFrame in various testing positions. ResultsIsometric hip adduction and abduction strength values are presented. Male U-17 and U-19 players demonstrated significantly greater (p < 0.05) absolute(N) and relative (N/kg) hip adduction and abduction strength than their female counterparts, with large (η2 = 0.068–0.227) and medium-to-large (η2 = 0.049–0.234) effect size, respectively. Significant differences in absolute strength, but not relative strength, were observed for hip adduction and abduction between male age-groups (U-14, U-15, U-17, U-19), with hip abduction strength differences only existing between U-14 and U-17 groups. No significant differences in hip strength were observed between U-17 and U-19 groups for female players. ConclusionMale youth soccer players have higher absolute and relative hip adduction and abduction strength than females at the U-17 and U-19 level.

FINANCIAL STRENGHT ASSESMENT OF FOOTBALL CLUPS: AN INTERNATIONAL COMPARISON

The aim of this research is to evaluate the financial strengths of football clubs comparatively on an international scale. In this regard, the financial strengths of 24 football clubs from six national leagues affiliated with the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) were examined using the Piotroski F-Score method. During the analysis process, nine financial indicators under the categories of profitability, liquidity-leverage, and operational efficiency for the period 2019-2023 were calculated and scored from 0 to 9. The research concluded clubs exhibit moderate financial strength, indicating investable profile. In terms of average F-Score values, Bayern Munich and Sporting Lisbon emerged as the most successful clubs, while Lazio and AS Roma were identified as the least successful. The evaluation of the nine financial indicators revealed changes in paid-up capital, earnings quality, and cash flows from operating activities as the most successful. Conversely, return on asset, changes in leverage, and changes in gross profit margin were the least successful financial indicators.

Demand for offense: designated hitters and MLB attendance

ABSTRACT In 2022, Major League Baseball changed its rules to include the designated hitter position in both the American and National Leagues. Up until that year, designated hitters were only used by American League teams. This rule change creates an environment where half of a major sports league is given a shock to offensive production. We analyse the demand for offence by investigating how the designated hitter affects attendance and offensive production for National League teams. Our results contribute to a rich literature that analyzes how offence affects fan participation, as we provide the first evidence using causal inference that offence increases fan attendance. Using a difference-in-differences framework, we show that the offence created by a designated hitter increases attendance by about 3.5–7.9% at National League home games as a result of the rule change. Given a point estimate increase in total offence of about 4.85%, we find evidence that attendance is elastic with respect to total offence.

Female Athletes and the Menstrual Cycle in Team Sports: Current State of Play and Considerations for Future Research.

Over the past ten years there has been a dramatic rise in female sport participation and accompanying female professional national leagues across multiple sports, yet research has not followed suit. Although there are known variations between female and male physiology, training protocols in female sport are predominantly underpinned by research undertaken in male athletes. The hormonal variability experienced by women across the menstrual cycle, as well as the menstrual cycle variability between women, may contribute to the complexity of conducting rigorous physiological studies, leading to a paucity of robust sports-specific research that can be confidently applied to female athletes. Moreover, barriers exist in female sport that potentially limit the ability to conduct research, including the lack of full-time programs and limited resources. Recently, there has been increased interest in the potential effects of fluctuations in the female sex hormones, progesterone and oestrogen, on sport performance across different phases of the menstrual cycle. However, current research evaluating the menstrual cycle and physical performance (such as strength, speed, aerobic fitness, and athletes' perception of their performance) have shown inconsistent results. Additionally, methodological design across studies has shown little consistency, making it difficult to draw firm conclusions, which potentially prevents female athletes optimising their physical and sporting performance. It further impacts coaches and sports science researchers in their ability to provide appropriate training recommendations and educational opportunities. It is important to progress in female athlete research with an understanding of how the unique physiology of female athletes may influence their ability to physically perform in their respective sport, which requires representation in sports science research. This paper will provide an overview on current evidence and limitations within menstrual cycle research and provide considerations and directions for future research in this space within team sports.

Cricket Players Selection for National Team and Franchise League using Machine Learning Algorithms

Cricket player selection is a crucial task for both national teams and franchise leagues. Traditionally, selectors rely on their experience and knowledge to evaluate a player's physical fitness, batting, and bowling performance. However, with the advancements in machine learning algorithms, it is possible to automate and improve the selection process. In this research, a Machine Learning (ML)-based approach is proposed for cricket player selection. This approach uses a combination of physical fitness data, batting and bowling statistics, and other relevant metrics to create a comprehensive player profile. Then three ML algorithms-linear regression, support vector regression, and random forests-are employed to identify the most promising players. Data is collected on a large number of cricket players and their performance in national and franchise leagues from the two most prominent cricket websites, espncricinfo, and cricbuzz, to evaluate the proposed approach. Then the proposed approach trained and tested the ML models on this data and compared their accuracy and performance. Based on the performance scores obtained from these models, two squads are selected for the national team and one squad for each franchise league team. The results demonstrate that the proposed approach can significantly improve the selection process and identify players with high potential. Furthermore, results found that the support vector regression algorithm outperformed other ML models in terms of prediction and player selection.

The golden ratio in baseball: the influence of historical eras on winning percentages in major league baseball.

The golden section or golden ratio (61.8% or 0.618) is a mathematical phenomenon that appears in art, literature, music and nature with such ubiquity that it is thought to be a fundamental principle of aesthetic organisation. The golden ratio also manifests in sport, particularly as the proportion of wins to losses required to win a Major League Baseball championship. This study extends early work on the golden ratio in baseball by incorporating more than three decades of additional data. This study involved a historically contextualized examination of how winning percentages have changed across the seven historical eras of modern baseball, including analyses of the relative contribution of offensive and defensive statistics to championship winning teams. Data was extracted from Baseball Reference and included statistics for 398 championship winning teams from both the American and National Leagues between 1901 and 2019. Pearson correlation coefficients were computed for winning percentage with indicators of offensive and defensive performance during each era. Main and interaction effects of Era and League on winning percentage were examined using factorial ANOVA, with follow-up analyses examining whether the golden ratio was included in each factor's 95% confidence interval. Our findings suggest that winning percentages for championship teams were closest to the golden ratio during eras where the relative contribution of offense and defense was most closely balanced: the Integration Era (1942-1960) and the Expansion Era (1961-1976). Previous scholarship theorizes that the golden ratio represents an aesthetic ideal or a Gestalt archetype. If this aesthetic theory is applied to sporting competition, these results suggest that baseball may be most aesthetically appealing to fans when offense and defense is balanced in such a way as to ensure that championship teams win 61.8% of their games.

Club coefficients in the UEFA Champions League: Time for shift to an Elo-based formula

ABSTRACT One of the most popular club football tournaments, the UEFA Champions League, will see a fundamental reform from the 2024/25 season: the traditional group stage will be replaced by one league where each of the 36 teams plays eight matches. To guarantee that the opponents of the clubs are of the same strength in the new design, it is crucial to forecast the performance of the teams before the tournament as well as possible. This paper investigates whether the currently used rating of the teams, the UEFA club coefficient, can be improved by taking the games played in the national leagues into account. According to our logistic regression models, a variant of the Elo method provides a higher accuracy in terms of explanatory power in the Champions League matches. The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) is encouraged to follow the example of the FIFA World Ranking and reform the calculation of the club coefficients in order to avoid unbalanced schedules in the novel tournament format of the Champions League.

Perception of Players on the Coach Competence and Team Performance in the Kenyan National Soccer and Volleyball Leagues

Purpose: The purpose of the study examine whether perception of players on the coach competence predict team performance in the Kenyan national soccer and volleyball leagues.&#x0D; Methodology: The study adopted Cross-Sectional survey design. The target population for the study included players and in the Kenyan soccer and volleyball national leagues in the 2020/21season. The population of the study was 878 players from the 53 teams including 288 females in the 16 teams of 18 players, and 168 males in the 12 teams of 14 players and 98 females in the 07 teams of 14 players in volleyball respectively. The study included players who were consistent in the respective leagues for the immediate last five years. The coaches and players were both male and female. The study used Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS Version 22) for data analysis. Chi-Square and Fisher’s Exact test were used.&#x0D; Findings: Results above showed that soccer players perception on training and instruction had no significant effect on team ranking (P=0.000). In addition, volleyball players perception on training and instruction had no significant effect on team ranking (P=0.000). In addition, soccer players perception on democratic behaviour had no significant effect on team ranking (P=0.354). Further, volleyball players perception on democratic behaviour had no significant effect on team ranking (P=0.095). Further soccer players perception on autocratic behaviour had a significant effect on team ranking (P=0.000).&#x0D; Unique contribution to theory, policy and practice: The study focused on the Kenyan national leagues which are composed mainly of African race players. There is need to conduct a similar study in other leagues like in North Africa and middle east which consists of players mainly of Arab race, Asian continent which consists of players of Asian descent and the European and American leagues composed of players of mixed descents including the Negroid, Caucasoid and the Mongoloids

Pre-Post Practice Changes in Countermovement Vertical Jump Force-Time Metrics in Professional Male Basketball Players.

Cabarkapa, D, Cabarkapa, DV, Philipp, NM, Knezevic, OM, Mirkov, DM, and Fry, AC. Pre-post practice changes in countermovement vertical jump force-time metrics in professional male basketball players. J Strength Cond Res 37(11): e609-e612, 2023-Despite the countermovement vertical jump (CVJ) being one of the most popular noninvasive and time-efficient methods for monitoring neuromuscular status, there is a lack of scientific literature focused on examining fatigue-induced alterations in performance in elite athletes. Thus, the purpose of this study was to examine changes in force-time metrics pre-post practice in professional male basketball players. Seventeen athletes competing in first-tier and second-tier national basketball leagues in Europe participated in this study. While standing on a uniaxial force plate sampling at 1,000 Hz, each athlete completed 3 CVJs pre-practice and post-practice. The practice consisted of individual and team shooting drills, position-specific player development drills, 5-on-0 offensive actions, and 5-on-5 play, including full-court transition (∼2 hours). The findings reveal that pre-post practice changes in force-time metrics seem to be phase specific. Despite a trivial increase in eccentric mean force (920.4 ± 100.2, 929.4 ± 100.0 N), most changes were observed within the concentric phase of the CVJ. The concentric phase duration increased pre-post practice (0.233 ± 0.027, 0.242 ± 0.033 seconds), whereas concentric impulse (262.9 ± 18.8, 258.6 ± 21.6 N·s), peak velocity (2.93 ± 0.22, 2.86 ± 0.22 m·s-1), mean force (2052.4 ± 179.2, 2002.7 ± 188.2 N), mean power (3,165.5 ± 269.5, 3,030.9 ± 326.8 W), and peak power (5,523.4 ± 607.3, 5,246.6 ± 663.7 W) experienced a significant decrease. Moreover, alongside longer contraction time (0.663 ± 0.065, 0.686 ± 0.074 seconds), lower vertical jump height (41.0 ± 6.8, 38.9 ± 6.6 cm) and reactive strength index-modified (0.634 ± 0.113, 0.579 ± 0.111 m·s-1) values were observed post-practice. Overall, these findings may allow practitioners to detect fatigue-induced changes in CVJ force-time metrics in professional male basketball players that can ultimately improve the acute and longitudinal training-adaptation monitoring process.

Legend of leagues: heterogeneity in the revenue structure of European national leagues

PurposeThe environmental characteristics of international football can vary significantly from one country to another. As a result, the economic and market possibilities and the objectives of each national league are very heterogeneous. This article aims to examine the differences in revenue structures amongst European national football leagues (n = 50) and cluster them based on these structures. It also investigates which revenue structure would be more effective for similar leagues, considering the previously mentioned varying environmental characteristics of international football.Design/methodology/approachThe study utilises a theoretical framework of business modelling, applied in a unique way to league organisers of national championships. Data on sports and business aspects were collected from sources such as the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) Financial Benchmarking Reports, transfermarkt.de and related sources for the period 2015 to 2018. K-means cluster analysis, using the Euclidean distance approach, was employed to develop clusters based on revenue sources over a four-year average.FindingsThe paper presents the characteristics and year-to-year changes of nine developed clusters. Throughout the analysis, variables such as average overpayment and inequality between player values amongst leagues were prioritised. The study's practical implications can assist league organisers in enhancing the competitiveness of their leagues, supported by short case studies that provide illustrative examples.Originality/valueThe novelty of the current article lies in introducing innovative variables such as the variance of player value whilst focussing on meso-level analysis, providing a fresh contribution to the existing literature in the field for understanding revenue structures and performance in European national football leagues.

Retrospective Analysis of Head and Maxillofacial Injuries: FIFA World Cup 2022 Report

Objectives: The aim of this study is to analyze the incidence, causes and consequences of head and maxillofacial injuries in the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Methods: This retrospective study, following the STROBE guideline, conducted an online investigation during the 2022 World Cup, with a specific focus on injuries resulting in player substitutions or absences of at least one match. To mitigate potential injury exaggeration, journalistic reports were prioritized over video analysis. The analysis of injuries involved the utilization of descriptive statistics, the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, and the Pearson correlation test, with a significance threshold set at p&lt;0.05. The analytical tools Microsoft Excel and RStudio were employed. Comparative insights were derived from previous FIFA World Cup data; however, injuries lacking sufficient recovery time were classified as preseason injuries, potentially introducing an element of bias to the analysis. Results: During the FIFA World Cup 2022, a comprehensive analysis revealed a total of 123 injuries leading to player substitutions or subsequent game absences, of which seven were localized in the head or maxillofacial region. Statistical analysis indicated a departure from normal data distribution, and a robust correlation was observed between the number of players in national leagues and injury incidence. Noteworthy is the participation of 42 distinct national soccer leagues in contributing players to the tournament's national squads, with no specific league demonstrating a predisposition to higher injury rates. Within the dataset, three maxillofacial injuries were identified. It is of interest that five athletes opted for facemasks as protective measures for the maxillofacial region, and remarkably, only one of them experienced an injury during the World Cup but subsequently resumed play in subsequent matches, while the remaining four athletes had sustained injuries prior to the tournament. Conclusion: The 2022 FIFA World Cup was associated with a low number of head and maxillofacial injuries, with collisions with other players being the most common cause. Despite their limited occurrence, these injuries can have severe implications. In response to the increase in concussions, FIFA implemented an improved safety protocol, which involves immediate game halts for medical assessment and allows player substitutions without affecting the team's allotted substitutions. This change has been well-received by stakeholders. Furthermore, the use of protective equipment, such as custom-made shields, is growing in popularity and has the potential to reduce injury severity and shorten recovery time. Modern technology enables the creation of comfortable and effective protective gear, enhancing player safety. Overall, the study emphasizes the importance of injury prevention strategies in sports, calling for continued advancements in protective equipment design and increased transparency in injury reporting.

Health problems occurring in national-level female soccer players are different between leagues and throughout the season: a 6-month prospective cohort study

ObjectivesThis study investigated the prevalence and severity of health problems in national-level female soccer players with respect to league and seasonality.MethodsIn a prospective cohort study, 46 female soccer players aged...

The last quarter for sustainable environment in basketball: the carbon footprint of basketball teams in Türkiye and Lithuania

Today, the sports industry is one of the most important sources of concern due to its negative environmental effects. Especially due to the intense competition schedule, teams and fans have to travel constantly. In this context, the aim of this study, which aims to fill the gap in the literature, is to calculate the carbon footprints of the teams in the Turkish and Lithuanian national basketball leagues based on their travels in the 2021–22 season. The research was limited to Turkey and Basketball national basketball league teams. In the study, the travel distances of the teams in both countries during the 2021–22 basketball season were used as a data set. In the study, the values used in the carbon footprint calculation of 2022 by the United Kingdom Government GHG Conversion Factors for Company Reporting and accepted as the IPCC carbon dioxide emission factor were used. While the carbon footprint, which is obtained by multiplying the emission factor directly by the distance covered by the vehicle type, is presented in tons; The average value calculated for each person was calculated in kg. In the sports sector, basketball is one of the most important sources of transportation-related carbon footprint due to its being one of the team sports and its intense competition schedule. According to the results of this research conducted specifically for Turkey and Lithuania, the total carbon footprint calculated for both countries is 53,029 tons. To make an assessment for both countries, in order to reduce travel based on sports; Arranging league calendars to include less travel, dissemination of green and clean energy-using (electric) vehicles, raising the awareness of club managers, developing environmental assessment policies specific to basketball federations, and increasing cooperation through awareness and training activities seem feasible for sustainable environment and basketball goals.

Leadership cycles, styles, and antecedent factors: the perspective of coaches and young soccer athletes from national Slovak leagues.

Building positive relationships and interactions between coaches and athletes is critical to an athlete's success. The current study aimed to overview how coaches and their young athletes perceive three elements of the Leadership Efficacy Model (philosophy, practice, and criteria). The aim was examined with four goals of analysis: the perceptions of coaches and athletes about coaches' leadership philosophy, practice, and criteria (1); the differences between athletes' and coaches' perceptions of leadership cycles (2); the differences between athletes' and coaches' perceptions of leadership styles (3); and the differences between athletes' and coaches' perceptions of leadership antecedent factors (4). The study involved 304 athletes and 20 coaches competing in the youth national leagues U15, U16, U17, and U19. Two-source data collection was applied: coaches completed the questionnaires from their point of view, and so did athletes. The coaches were paired then with their athletes to compare the answers. Coaches fulfilled Leadership Cycles Questionnaire (LEQ), Multidimensional Scale of Leadership in Sport (MSLS), and Leadership Antecedent Factors Questionnaire (LAFQ). Athletes completed the same questionnaires as the coaches did and also fulfilled the Sport Performance Perception Questionnaire (SPPQ). Athletes' age and SPPQ served as control variables. Both athletes (37.5%) and coaches (40%) perceived that the philosophy of the leadership efficacy model should be increased. Coaches evaluated their philosophy (F = 4.43; p = 0.036; η2 = 0.014), support in MSLS (F = 5.05; p = 0.025; η2 = 0.016) and active management in MSLS (F = 4.08; p = 0.044; η2 = 0.013) higher than their athletes. The athletes assessed the maturity of the team members (LAFQ dimension) (F = 13.98; p <0.001; η2 = 0.044), negative feedback in MSLS (F = 6.02; p = 0.015; η2 = 0.020), and passive management in MSLS (F = 4.95; p = 0.027; η2 = 0.016) higher than their coaches. The tendency of coaches to have a more positive perception of their leadership behavior compared to their athletes represents the coach-athlete perception gap of leadership. Future research can examine the efficacy of congruent perceptions of leadership between athletes and coaches during the sports season and the impact produced by objective performance indicators.

Competition Experience of the Coach and Team Performance in the Kenyan National Soccer and Volleyball Leagues

Purpose: The objective of the study was to establish whether past competition experiences of the coach predicted team performance in the Kenyan national soccer and volleyball leagues.&#x0D; Methodology: The study adopted Cross-Sectional survey design. The population of the study was 53 head coaches handling teams in the Kenyan national soccer and volleyball leagues. Census sampling was used to pick the 53 coaches for the study. Data collection instrument was a self-administered questionnaire for the coaches. The coaches’ questionnaire was divided into sections which captured demographics and academic background. The study used Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS Version 22) for data analysis. Chi-Square and Fisher’s Exact test was used to show whether competition experience had an effect on the team’s performance. Data was presented using tables&#x0D; Findings: For soccer, Chi square and Fisher’s Exact Test results showed that coaches past competition experience had a significant effect on team performance (χ2 =30.292≤ p 0.05 9df). The fisher’s exact test had a p value of 0.003 which was also less than 0.05 confirming that there was a significant relationship between soccer coaches’ past competition experience and team performance. For volleyball, Chi square and Fisher’s Exact Test results showed that volleyball coaches past competition experience had a significant effect on team performance (χ2 =23.910≤ p 0.05 9df). The fisher’s exact test had a p value of 0.008 which was also less than 0.05 confirming that there was a significant relationship between volleyball coaches’ past competition experience and team performance.&#x0D; Recommendations: Policy makers such as team managers, owners and other stake holders in sports to consider more experienced coaches. They should consider coaches who have long period of coaching experience as well as coaches with a long period of competition experience. This is because coaching knowledge comes from observations and experiences of other coaches. Team managers, owners and other stake holders in sports should also consider coaches with past playing experience from recognized local clubs. This will enhance team performance.&#x0D;

Whose interests? Which solidarity? Challenges of developing a European Super League

ABSTRACT Since the 1990s, rumours of a European Super League (ESL), comprised of the major clubs from England, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain, have mounted. According to these rumours, this new league would break away from the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). Many clubs would operate outside the current European federative system, abandoning their national leagues and football federations. An ESL thus conceived would present a menacing alternative to the UEFA Champions League (UCL) and, depending on the format of the ESL, national competitions such as leagues and cups. In this article, we draw on literature in the fields of philosophy and sport law to identify legal and ethical challenges that would result from creating an ESL. Our goal is not to provide exhaustive analyses of the identified challenges. Rather, we aim to examine the challenges to uncover intersections among sport law, sport ethics, and European football.

How the UEFA Champions League divided Europe and harmed competitive balance within domestic leagues

ABSTRACT By fulfilling the gaps in the competitive balance literature in the sports industry and referring to Resource Dependence Theory, we analysed the mutually dependent relationship between UEFA and elite European football clubs, and precisely, elite clubs’ attempt to establish European Super League. Then, we examined the competitive balance within the top five European leagues and the UEFA Champions League and how unprecedented hegemony has occurred such that Juventus, Bayern Munich, PSG, Manchester City, and Barcelona won at least half of their national league titles in the last decade. Findings suggested that firstly participation rules and revenue distribution policies applied by UEFA in the Champions League may have harmed the competitive balance within national leagues. Secondly, increasing financial differences due to UEFA’s policies might also increase the power asymmetry between the top five and semi-periphery countries. Finally, we discussed what UEFA and football federations should do to eliminate these competitive disadvantages.

Carbon Footprint Stemming from Ice Sports on the Turkey and Lithuanian Scale

The aim of this study is to calculate the average carbon footprint per capita from the transportation of the Ice Hockey League in Turkey and Lithuania in the 2021–2022 season. In addition, we identified the opinions of team managers of the national hockey leagues in Turkey and Lithuania regarding the problems and possible solutions related to the sustainable environment and persons’ right to a clean and safe environment in the sport sector. In this study, which was limited to the Turkish Ice Hockey Intercity Super League and the Lithuanian National Ice Hockey League in the 2021–2022 Season, eight teams from Turkey and five teams from Lithuania took part in the research. The type of vehicle used by each team and the total traveled distance were used for the collection of data. Interviews were conducted using a semi-structured interview format seeking to identify problems and solutions proposed by sports managers regarding environmental sustainability and the implementation of persons’ right to a clean and safe environment in the sport sector. Five managers from Turkey and two managers from Lithuania were randomly selected for the research. The average carbon footprint per person was calculated as 88.23 kg/CO2-e due to the travels of the Ice Hockey Super League teams participating in the 2021–2022 Season matches in Turkey. The average carbon footprint per capita was calculated as 0.5229 kg/CO2-e, as Ice Hockey Super League teams in the 2021–2022 Season traveled to participate in matches organized in Lithuania. For solving the above-mentioned problems, the sports experts offered recommendations such as energy saving, less waste generation and reducing water consumption in order to achieve the environmental protection goals of the sports leaders. Since both teams often travel due to the intense league schedules, the Ice Hockey Super League goal should be to reduce carbon emissions, especially those related to transportation. Energy conservation policies should also be implemented, and environmentally friendly practices should be emphasized.