A Review of Competitive Balance in European Football Leagues before and after Financial Fair Play Regulations

Girish Ramchandani (), Daniel Plumley, Adam Davis and Rob Wilson
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Girish Ramchandani: Sport Industry Research Centre and Sheffield Business School, Sheffield Hallam University, Sheffield S1 1WB, UK
Daniel Plumley: Sport Industry Research Centre and Sheffield Business School, Sheffield Hallam University, Sheffield S1 1WB, UK
Adam Davis: Sport Industry Research Centre and Sheffield Business School, Sheffield Hallam University, Sheffield S1 1WB, UK
Rob Wilson: Sport Industry Research Centre and Sheffield Business School, Sheffield Hallam University, Sheffield S1 1WB, UK

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 5, 1-15

Abstract: This paper analyses competitive balance in 24 top-division domestic football leagues in Europe before and after the implementation of UEFA’s Financial Fair Play (FFP) regulations. Our analysis covers 22 seasons between 2000/01 and 2021/22 and utilises indicators of overall league concentration and dominance. Seven of the 24 leagues examined have seen a statistically significant worsening of league concentration post-FFP, fourteen leagues experienced a decline in the number of top-four finishers and thirteen saw a reduction in the number of unique title winners. The weight of evidence indicates that FFP has adversely affected competitive balance in several European football leagues.

Keywords: competitive balance; financial fair play; European football; competition (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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