Csató, László and Petróczy, Dóra Gréta (2025) Competitive balance in the UEFA Champions League group stage: Novel measures show no evidence of decline. ANNALS OF OPERATIONS RESEARCH, 352. pp. 105-120. ISSN 0254-5330 10.1007/s10479-025-06780-9

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Abstract

Competitive balance, which refers to the level of control teams have over a sports competition, is a crucial indicator for tournament organisers. According to previous studies, competitive balance has significantly declined in the UEFA Champions League group stage over the recent decades. Our paper introduces alternative indices to investigate this issue. Two ex ante measures are based on Elo ratings, and four dynamic concentration indicators compare the final group ranking to reasonable benchmarks. Using these indices, we find no evidence of any long-run trend in the competitive balance of the UEFA Champions League group stage between the 2003/04 and 2023/24 seasons.

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:	17 Sep 2025 08:17
Last Modified:	17 Sep 2025 08:17
URI:	https://eprints.sztaki.hu/id/eprint/10967

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