Csató, László and Ilyin, Sergey (2025) Misaligned incentives in sports: A mathematical analysis of the post-2024 UEFA Champions League qualification. IMA JOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT MATHEMATICS, 36 (3). pp. 579-591. ISSN 1471-678X 10.1093/imaman/dpaf016

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Abstract

Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) declares that it is committed to respecting the fundamental values of sports. However, the qualification rules of the post-2024 UEFA Champions League are shown to be unfair: a game with misaligned incentives was narrowly avoided in the 2023/24 German Bundesliga. We develop a mathematical model to reveal how incentives for losing can be reduced or eliminated. Since UEFA repeatedly commits the same theoretical mistake in designing the qualification system of its competitions, governing bodies in sports are called to work more closely together with the scientific community.

Item Type:	Article
Subjects:	Q Science > QA Mathematics and Computer Science > QA75 Electronic computers. Computer science / számítástechnika, számítógéptudomány
Divisions:	Research Laboratory on Engineering & Management Intelligence > Research Group of Operations Research and Decision Systems
SWORD Depositor:	MTMT Injector
Depositing User:	MTMT Injector
Date Deposited:	11 Jul 2025 06:18
Last Modified:	11 Jul 2025 06:18
URI:	https://eprints.sztaki.hu/id/eprint/10934

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