Competitive balance in male and female leagues: approximation to the Spanish case

Zambom-Ferraresi, Fabíola ; García Cebrián, Lucía Isabel (Universidad de Zaragoza) ; Lera-López, Fernando

Resumen: The fans are the biggest part of the success of sports contests. The competitive equilibrium reflects uncertainty about the outcomes of professional sporting, which attracts the fans’ interest. Thus, the competitive balance (CB) is one of the main issues in sports economics. The objective of this paper is to analyse and compare the CB of male (Liga Santander) and female (Liga Iberdrola) top division leagues of Spanish football. In particular, we consider two aspects of CB: the level of concentration and the level of dominance of a sample composed of six seasons (from 2012/13 to 2017/18). For the concentration analysis, the Herfindahl-Hirschman Index (HHI), the ideal HHI competitive balance and deviated HHI (dHHI) are calculated. To analyse the dominance level, the HHI of dominance (HHID) in terms of titles won and top 4 are calculated. The results indicate that Liga Santander (male) is more balanced than the Liga Iberdrola (female). However, these findings do not imply that Liga Santander is balanced. In relation to dominance in terms of titles won, Liga Iberdrola is much better than Liga Santander. However, in terms of the top 4 dominance, both leagues have presented the same results. In this sense, both leagues’ decision makers must act to improve the competitive balance. In spite of the recent increase of media and attendance in the Liga Iberdrola, the lack of CB could be a serious handicap to it becoming a professional league.

Idioma: Inglés

DOI: 10.7752/jpes.2018.s3196

Año: 2018

Publicado en: Journal of Physical Education and Sport 18, Supl. 3 (2018), 1323-1329
ISSN: 2247-8051

Factor impacto SCIMAGO: 0.318 - Sports Science (Q3) - Physical Therapy, Sports Therapy and Rehabilitation (Q3)

Financiación: info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/DGA/ESF/COMPETE
Financiación: info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/MINECO/ECO2016-77-P
Financiación: info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/MINECO/ECO2017-86305-C4-4-R

Tipo y forma: Article (Published version)

Área (Departamento): Área Organización de Empresas (Dpto. Direcc.Organiza.Empresas)