Premier League Football Research Articles

The home advantage and COVID-19: the crowd support effect on the english football premier league and the championship

Abstract It is well known that there is an home advantage in football (American English: soccer) where the home team wins in about 45% of the games compared to the 27% of the away team. This has mainly been attributed to the support of the home audience and is commonly denoted the crowd support effect. The COVID-19 pandemic forced many football leagues to play the games without spectators thus making it possible to analyse the effect of crowd support in football. We analyse more than 18,000 games in the two top English football leagues during the period 2001–2020 for the Premier league and the Championship with an ordinal logistic model with explanatory variables (e.g., previous team performance, a time trend, league dummy) including a pandemic dummy. We discovered that the absence of spectators has no impact on the outcome probability in the Premier League. However, it significantly reduces the probability of the home team wins in the Championship.

The Effect of Competitive Exercises Using Physical Performance Tracking Technology (GPS Playertek Plus and Polar H9) on Developing Speed in Iraqi Premier League Football Players

Football is one of the most important team sports, practiced by men and women, young and old, across various age groups. The physical development in this sport can be attributed to athletic training and modern technology, which have contributed significantly to advancing the sports field in general. Outstanding performance in football requires precise and quick physical abilities, closely tied to the competitive nature of the game. Speed is fundamental in football, making the use of technologies such as GPS tracking devices and heart rate monitors essential in both training and matches. This study aims to develop the speed of Al-Talaba SC players in Baghdad using a scientifically-based approach to improve their performance. The importance of the study lies in introducing competitive exercises with the help of global tracking technologies to enhance performance during training and develop training strategies based on scientific data. The research highlights a physical weakness in speed among the players, which calls for the use of the GPS Playertek Plus tracking device to improve speed. The scientific approach helps in analyzing data, designing competitive training sessions, and achieving optimal performance in matches. The study indicates that competitive exercises based on GPS tracking devices positively impact the development of player speed, reinforcing the importance of using these technologies in sports training, such as GPS tracking devices, to enhance player speed and design appropriate exercises for each player.

The use of positive rest in maintaining the level of creatine phosphokinases enzyme and the peak and average non-oxygen capacity of Iraqi Premier League football players during the transitional period

The importance of research has emerged through training during the transitional period and maintaining a certain level of physical and functional capabilities, highlighting the correct planning, and including the transitional period in the annual coach's curriculum until football players reach advanced levels, through various exercises that are different from the main event practiced by the player, and with moderate intensity. As for the research problem, it was focused on the fact that there is a lack of focus by the coaches on the transitional period because they believe that it is outside the training season. This is what drives the player and the coach to start from scratch at the beginning of each new football season, due to the clear decline in the level of physical and functional performance. Therefore, the researcher decided to study this problem and develop appropriate solutions to it through various training for the transitional period and its impact on maintaining the level of some physical and functional capabilities of the Iraqi Premier League players in football.

Decision-making by the administrative bodies of sports clubs participating in the Iraqi Premier League for football for the 2022-2023 season.

The research aimed to study the decision-making of the administrative bodies of sports clubs participating in the Iraqi Football Premier League for the 2022-2023 season. The researchers used the descriptive approach (survey study) to suit the nature of the research. The research community is represented by members of the administrative bodies of the sports clubs participating in the Iraqi Premier Football League for the 2022-2023 season, who number (177) members of the administrative body. The researchers used the questionnaire to collect the necessary data to achieve the goal of researching The method of applying a questionnaire aimed to identify the decision-making of the administrative bodies of sports clubs. The most important results reached by the researchers were that the level of decision-making of the administrative bodies of sports clubs in the Premier League in football was at a low level. The degree of effectiveness of decision-making by the administrative bodies of sports clubs in the Premier League in football, according to the scale magazines, was collecting data and information first, then identifying the problem, followed by choosing the appropriate alternative to solve the problem at a low level, then following up on the implementation of the decision and evaluating it, and finally identifying the available alternatives and evaluating them at a very low level.

A Questionnaire-Based Analysis of the Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Psychological Health of Key Stakeholders Within an Elite Sports Organization.

To examine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the psychological health of key stakeholders within an elite UK sports organization. The Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale (WEMWBS) was sent electronically to 500 employees, and 8 face-to-face interviews were conducted at an elite-level professional football club. English Premier League (EPL) Football Club. Office/stadium staff, coaching/backroom staff, players from the male U23, women's and men's senior teams. Stakeholder groups that were invited to participate in the study: office/stadium staff, coaching/backroom staff, players from the U23, women's and men's senior teams, and variables of age and gender. WEMWBS scores across the office/stadium staff, coaching/backroom staff, and player cohort. Of 122 responses (24% response rate) and 8 face-face interviews, the average WEMWBS score was 51.2 (SD ±8.4) and 14% of the cohort presented with scores suggestive of a higher risk of depression. The main findings were moderate effect size differences in WEMWBS scores with the players scoring higher than both the office/stadium staff (P = 0.01) and the coaching/backroom staff (P = 0.01). Office/stadium staff experienced greater compromising mental health effects from the COVID-19 pandemic, as compared with the coaching/backroom staff and players, respectively, suggesting that elite sports organizations should also consider providing mental health education and signposting strategies for this area of the workforce.

Tractable Ridge Regression for Paired Comparisons

ABSTRACTPaired‐comparison models, such as Bradley–Terry and Thurstone–Mosteller, are commonly used to estimate relative strengths of pairwise compared items in tournament‐style data. We discuss estimation of paired‐comparison models with a ridge penalty. A new approach is derived which combines empirical Bayes and composite likelihoods without any need to refit the model, as a convenient alternative to cross‐validation of the ridge tuning parameter. Simulation studies demonstrate much better predictive accuracy of the new approach relative to ordinary maximum likelihood. A widely used alternative, the application of a standard bias‐reducing penalty, is also found to improve appreciably the performance of maximum likelihood; but the ridge penalty, with tuning as developed here, yields greater accuracy still. The methodology is illustrated through application to 28 seasons of English Premier League football.

Professional Male Soccer Players' Perspectives of the Nutrition Culture Within an English Premier League Football Club: A Qualitative Exploration Using Bourdieu's Concepts of Habitus, Capital and Field.

Professional soccer players' self-reported dietary intakes often do not meet recommended sport nutrition guidelines. Although behaviour change models have previously explored barriers and enablers to nutritional adherence, the cultural factors influencing players' nutritional habits also warrant investigation. Accordingly, we aimed to explore players' perceptions of the nutrition culture within the professional soccer environment. An interpretivist paradigm, which emphasises that reality is subjectively and socially constructed, underpins this study. Qualitative, face-to-face semi-structured interviews (comprising open-ended questions) were conducted with purposively sampled male soccer players from the English Premier League (EPL) (five British, five migrant; mean age: 26 ± 6years; mean EPL appearances: 106 ± 129). Data were abductively analysed using thematic analysis according to Bourdieu's concepts of habitus, capital, field and doxa practices. This study revealed five key themes: (1) players' habitus, as shaped by familial, ethnic and religious backgrounds, influences their dietary habits; (2) social capital, via managers (head coaches), teammates and online influences, impact players' dietary practices; (3) the increase in both soccer clubs' and players' economic capitals has advanced nutrition provision; (4) an unequal distribution of economic capitals has led to hierarchical practice in the performance nutrition field with personalised nutrition being somewhat enacted at the higher levels; and (5) body composition measurement is a 'doxic' practice in professional soccer that warrants challenge. Soccer players' habitual nutritional practices are influenced by personal upbringing and the club context, including economic resources and social capital from managers. The performance nutrition field within professional soccer is also shaped by stakeholders' doxic beliefs surrounding the perceived optimal body composition of players, with managers exerting social capital.

Dimensions of competition anxiety based on motivation and its relationship to the motivation of sports achievement for Baghdad club youth players in the Iraqi Stars Football League

The study aims at identify some dimensions of competition anxiety and sports achievement motivation among young players of some Baghdad Premier League football clubs, and to identify simple correlation coefficients between the dimensions of sports competition anxiety and sports achievement motivation. The research sample consists of players from some Baghdad Premier League clubs, which numbered (192) players. The Data was collected using a measure of sports competition anxiety and sports achievement motivation. Many conclusions were reached, including that there is great harmony between the dimensions of sports competition anxiety and the motivation to achieve success for football players. Harmony was found between the dimensions of sports competition anxiety and the motivation to avoid failure. In the research sample, there are direct effects of physical anxiety with the two dimensions of motivation for athletic to success, and the motivation to avoid failure. The direct effects of self-confidence in the two dimensions of motivation for athletic achievement were positive with the motivation for achieving success.

Comparison of quadriceps and hamstring muscle strength ratios between dominant and non-dominant legs in Saudi under-17 and under-19 premier league football players: A cross-sectional study

Football’s global popularity is often overshadowed by frequent lower limb injuries, particularly hamstring strains, which are linked to imbalances in the strength ratio of hamstring-to-quadriceps (H/Q). Research on these factors among Saudi Premier League players, specifically in Madinah City, is limited. Our study is a cross-sectional study that assessed 42 male professional football players from Ohoud Football Club, divided into Underage 17 (UD- 17) and Under age 19 (UD-19) of age groups. The Strength of muscle for hamstrings and quadriceps, as well as the H/Q ratio, was measured using handheld dynamometers (HDD), and demographic data were analyzed using SPSSv26. Results showed that UD-19 players had significantly greater quadriceps strength on both dominants (dominant and non-dominant) sides compared to UD-17 players, with no significant differences in strength of hamstring. The ratio of hamstring to quadriceps was significantly higher in UD-17 players on the dominant side compared to UD-19 players, but statistically significant differences were not found on the non-dominant side. These results suggest that quadriceps strength develops with age and training, potentially reducing injury risk, while the strength of hamstring stabilizes earlier. Tailored training programs focusing on quadriceps strength and balanced hamstring development are recommended for improving injury prevention and performance. Future research involving larger and more diverse samples could further validate these findings and provide a deeper understanding of muscle dynamics in young football players.

From lab to field: validity and reliability of inertial measurement unit-derived gait parameters during a standardised run

ABSTRACT The aim was to assess concurrent validity and test–retest reliability of spatiotemporal gait parameters from a thoracic-placed inertial measurement unit (IMU) in lab- (Phase One) and field-based (Phase Two) conditions. Spatiotemporal gait parameters were compared (target speeds 3, 5 and 7.5 m·s−1) between a 100 Hz IMU and an optical measurement system (OptoJump Next, 1000 hz) in 14 trained individuals (Phase One). Additionally, 29 English Premier League football players performed weekly 3 × 60 m runs (5 m·s−1; observations = 1227; Phase Two). Mixed effects modelling assessed the effect of speed on agreement between systems (Phase One) and test–retest reliability (Phase Two). IMU step time showed strong agreement (<0.3%) regardless of individual or running speed. Direction of mean biases up to 40 ms for contact and flight time depended on the running speed and individual. Step time, length and frequency were most reliable (coefficient of variation = 1.3-1.4%) but confounded by running speed. Step time, length and frequency derived from a thoracic-placed IMU can be used confidently. Contact time could be used if bias is corrected for each individual. To optimise test–retest reliability, a minimum running distance of 40 m is needed to ensure 10 constant-speed steps is gathered.

Scoring goals: The impact of English Premier League football teams on local university admissions

Anecdotal evidence suggests that co-location with an English Premier League (EPL) football team can boost university recruitment. But when a town or city loses its EPL team, it also loses some of the world’s attention. We test whether the EPL limelight does in fact affect university recruitment in England and Wales. We exploit the sharp annual cutoff between survival and relegation from the EPL, comparing the admissions outcomes of universities that have clear name association either side of that discontinuity. On average, losing association with an EPL team, for just one year after its relegation, significantly reduces a university’s undergraduate year-to-year admissions growth by 4–8 percent. These findings suggest not only that the EPL generates local externalities but also that university executives should support their local teams.

Nutritional habits of professional team sport athletes: An insight into the carbohydrate, fluid, and caffeine habits of English Premier League football players during match play

ABSTRACT To better understand the in-match fuelling practices of elite football players and compare against current guidelines, we quantified the carbohydrate, fluid, and caffeine intake of players from an English Premier League club (n = 22) during 90 min of competitive match-play. Mean carbohydrate intake across match-play was 17 ± 11 g.h−1 with players demonstrating a preference towards CHO-containing fluids (58%) when compared with semi-solids (38%) and solids (14%), respectively. CHO intake was significantly lower than reported by players (17 ± 11 vs 24.8 ± 11 g.h−1, p < 0.001) during initial consultation. Fluid was ingested at a rate of 0.45 ± 0.14 L.h−1, with 54, 40 and 6% of ingested fluid coming from water, carbohydrate, and electrolyte-only solutions, respectively. The majority of players (91%) met the UEFA guidelines for fluid consumption. Of the players who consumed caffeine across match-play (55%) the average dose was 233 ± 148 mg (2.8 ± 1.1 mg.kg−1 body mass [BM]), which meets the UEFA consensus guidelines for caffeine intake. Caffeine capsules (42%) and caffeine containing fluids (30%) were the preferred format prior to the warm-up whilst caffeine gum was exclusively used prior to kick-off and during the half-time period (100%). We conclude that 81% of the total playing squad failed to meet the current UEFA CHO intake recommendations of 30–60 g.h−1, which may be attributed to the preference towards fluid-based CHOs as the chosen format of delivery.

English Premier League and English Football League academy managers’ experiences of how psychosocial skills and characteristics are identified and developed in youth academy soccer players

ABSTRACT Psychological skills and characteristics (PSCs) are vital for player development, yet there is a lack of agreement on which are important and how they should be identified and developed in academy players, creating barriers to implementation into curricula. The key stakeholder with considerable insight into PSC development is the academy manager (AM). The aims of this study were (a) explore AMs’ experiences of PSC identification and development, (b) identify challenges AMs feel affect development of PSCs. Nine AMs (i.e. Category 1; n = 3, Category 2; n = 3 and Category 3; n = 3) comprising an average coaching experience of 20.4 ± 7.4 years and time in the role of 5.2 years ±3.2 years participated in semi-structured interviews. Reflexive thematic analysis generated themes identified ideal PSC outcomes that AMs felt were important. AMs identified current practices within academies alongside challenges: transitions, need to upskill coaches, access to additional support from external partners and National Governing Bodies. There was consensus that PSCs are key drivers of progression and that embedding them into the pathway was critical to facilitating development. Academies should think carefully about design, implementation and evaluation of programmes to support player PSC development for success during and after soccer careers.

Coaching adaptive skill and expertise in Premier League football academies-paving a way forward for research and practice.

Within the domain of coach education researchers have long called for a paradigm shift, whereby the quality of coaching practice is no longer measured against a checklist of prescribed competencies. This desire to evolve coach education and development, has been aligned to the need to better identify, understand and utilise what adaptive skill and expertise looks, sounds and feels like across specific sport coaching contexts. This paper outlines a broader research plan for the Premier League to drive the progress of research informed practice, in turn shaping a coach development agenda focused on developing adaptive and skilful coaches within Academies. In turn, this is a core feature of the Premier Leagues institutional aim of developing the most skilful coaches in the world. However, in order to begin the process of initiating such a shift in the way things work, there is a need to seek first to understand, before being understood. Therefore, to demonstrate an evidence informed basis to this shift within coach education and development, we ask three questions; (1) Do we understand what the coaches with the highest level of expertise can do? (2) How should we identify coaches with expertise across different contexts? (3) What does coaching expertise research need to do? In answer to these questions, we present the lack of empirical investigation previously conducted in the sports coaching discipline to explore coaching expertise and draw on wider domains to offer possible capacities of skilful coaches who possess expertise. To identify coaches with expertise, coherent with the broader expertise literature, we suggest that this is best conducted via means of social validation. Finally, we offer a road map of investigation designed to explore expertise, formed of a mix of evidence informed methodologies which have not yet been utilised in sport coaching research.

Groin injuries in women's premier league football in Norway: A two-season prospective cohort study describing clinical and imaging characteristics.

To describe the prevalence, incidence, and burden of groin injuries in the Norwegian women's premier football league and to describe their clinical and imaging characteristics. During the 2020 and 2021 seasons, players in the Norwegian women's premier league reported groin injuries weekly, using the Oslo Sports Trauma Research Centre Questionnaire on Health Problems (OSTRC-H2). We calculated weekly prevalence, incidence, and burden of groin injuries. The team physical therapists classified the player-reported injuries based on the Doha classification system. Injuries with more than 3 days' time loss or reported in 2 consecutive weeks were eligible for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). On average, 3.9% (95% CI: 3.4-4.4) of players reported a groin injury at any time; of which 78% caused time loss. The incidence rate was 1.6 injuries/1000 h (95% CI: 1.3-2.0) and their burden was 11 days lost/1000 h. The physical therapists examined 67 of 124 player-reported groin injuries (53%). Adductor-related injury was most common (55%) followed by iliopsoas (15%) and rectus femoris-related (12%). Pubic-related injuries caused most time loss (median: 24 days, IQR: 5-133). In this study, 42 injuries were investigated with MRI; 8 (19%) showed no changes, 6 (14%) an acute musculotendinous lesion, and 32 (76%) a nonacute finding (e.g., central symphyseal disc protrusion, tendinopathies). The incidence rate and burden of groin injuries were high. Adductor-related injuries were most common, but pubic-related injuries caused most time loss. Most MRI examinations demonstrated nonacute findings.

Why are stadiums empty in Portugal? An examination of costs associated with being a fan of Premier League football in Portugal

ABSTRACT The goal of our work was to understand the costs that football fans of Portugal’s Premier League incur and whether those costs are detrimental to their stadium attendance. To that end, a questionnaire was developed and answered by 249 fans of 11 of the 18 clubs in the Premier League’s 2021–2022 season. Data regarding fans’ willingness to pay and their preferences as consumers were collected and analysed. Among our results, a considerable number of fans were not members of their preferred clubs, despite wanting to be, because they could not afford the fixed membership fees. The primary reasons for their decisions not to attend matches in stadiums were the ticket costs, the time at which matches are held, and their physical distance to and from stadiums. Our data also revealed that membership fees and the features that clubs offer are outdated, for today’s fans seek newer, more exciting perks of being club members.

A musculoskeletal multifactorial individualised programme for hamstring muscle injury risk reduction in professional football: results of a prospective cohort study

ObjectiveTo test whether a musculoskeletal multifactorial and individualised hamstring muscle injury (HMI) risk reduction programme could reduce HMI risk in professional football.MethodsWe conducted a prospective cohort study in Finnish premier...

Scoring Goals: The Impact of English Premier League Football Teams on Local University Admissions

Scoring Goals: The Impact of English Premier League Football Teams on Local University Admissions

The Mediating Role of Brand Image in the Relationship Between Fan Engagement and Fans' Attitudinal and Behavioral Loyalty

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the mediating role of brand image in the relationship between fan engagement and fans' attitudinal and behavioral loyalty. Methodology: In this correlational study, the statistical population consisted of fans of the Iranian Premier Football League. Among them, four teams (Persepolis, Esteghlal, Tractor, and Sepahan) were selected as the top four teams of the 2019-2020 season. Given the unlimited size of the statistical population, stratified random sampling was employed, and the sample size was determined to be 258 individuals. Data were collected using the Fan Engagement with Brand Questionnaire by Desar (2017), the Team Brand by Bauer et al. (2008), and Fan Loyalty, including Attitudinal Loyalty and Behavioral Loyalty (Gladden &amp; Funk, 2001; Stevens &amp; Rosenberger, 2012; Wang et al., 2011). Pearson correlation coefficient and structural equation modeling were used for data analysis. Findings: Fan engagement influences the team’s brand image, and brand image affects both attitudinal loyalty and behavioral loyalty. This study also demonstrated that brand image plays a mediating role in the relationship between fan engagement with the brand and fans' attitudinal and behavioral loyalty. Conclusion: The present study contributes to filling the gap in sports marketing literature by providing a better understanding of what contributes to fan loyalty for professional football teams in the Iranian Premier League. Building on existing sports marketing literature, the model developed in this study enables sports managers to comprehensively measure the relationships between fan engagement, team brand image, attitudinal loyalty, and behavioral loyalty.

PREDIKSI HASIL PERTANDINGAN SEPAK BOLA LIGA PREMIER INGGRIS DENGAN ARTIFICIAL NEURAL NETWORK BACKPROPAGATION

This study aims to enhance the accuracy of predicting English Premier League football match outcomes by utilizing a partially updated Artificial Neural Network (ANN) model based on match outcome data from the period 2017 to 2021. In this research, various statistical features such as the number of goals scored in the first half and the number of shots on target were incorporated as inputs to the ANN model. The match outcome data was normalized to improve the model's performance. The ANN model employed multiple hidden layers with ReLU (Rectified Linear Unit) activation functions and was trained using the Backpropagation algorithm. Throughout the training process, the model was periodically updated to reflect changes in match patterns over time. The research findings reveal that the ANN model with partial updates can predict football match outcomes with an accuracy of 77.89% in the final iteration, with a Mean Squared Error (MSE) of 0.769 and a Mean Absolute Error (MAE) of 0.689. Additionally, the prediction results are visualized in the form of a distribution graph comparing actual match outcomes with the predictions from the final iteration, providing a visual representation of the model's performance. This study makes a significant contribution to the development of modeling techniques for forecasting football match outcomes and underscores the importance of partial updates in adapting to changes in match patterns over time, offering potential for improvements in football match analysis and prediction in the future