Title
Comparing league formats with respect to match importance in Belgian football.
Abstract
Recently, most clubs in the highest Belgian football division have become convinced that the format of their league should be changed. Moreover, the TV station that broadcasts the league is pleading for a more attractive competition. However, the clubs have not been able to agree on a new league format, mainly because they have conflicting interests. In this paper, we compare the current league format, and three other formats that have been considered by the Royal Belgian Football Association. We simulate the course of each of these league formats, based on historical match results. We assume that the attractiveness of a format is determined by the importance of its games; our importance measure for a game is based on the number of teams for which this game can be decisive to reach a given goal. Furthermore, we provide an overview of how each league format aligns with the expectations and interests of each type of club.
Year
DOI
Venue
2012
10.1007/s10479-010-0764-4
Annals OR
Keywords
Field
DocType
Tournament design,Match importance,Football,Simulation,Optimization
Football,Pleading,Tournament,Advertising,League,Attractiveness,Mathematics,Marketing,Club
Journal
Volume
Issue
ISSN
194
1
0254-5330
Citations 
PageRank 
References 
6
0.58
10
Authors
3
Name
Order
Citations
PageRank
Dries R. Goossens112915.88
Jeroen Beliën264536.83
Frits C. R. Spieksma359158.84