Home Advantage in European International Soccer: Which Dimension of Distance Matters?

Nils van Damme and Stijn Baert
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Nils van Damme: Ghent University

No 12143, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: We investigate whether the home advantage in soccer differs by various dimensions of distance between the (regions of the) home and away teams: geographical distance, climatic differences, cultural distance, and disparities in economic prosperity. To this end, we analyse 2,012 recent matches played in the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League. We find that when the home team plays at a higher altitude, they benefit substantially more from their home advantage. Every 100 meters of altitude difference is associated with an increase in expected probability to win the match, as the home team, by 1.1 percentage points.

Keywords: soccer; home advantage; cultural distance; UEFA Champions League; UEFA Europa League (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J44 L83 Z00 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 23 pages
Date: 2019-02
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-cul and nep-spo
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (12)

Published - revised version published in: Economics , 2019, 13 (1), 20190050

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Related works:
Journal Article: Home advantage in European international soccer: Which dimension of distance matters? (2019)
Working Paper: Home advantage in European international soccer: Which dimension of distance matters? (2019)
Working Paper: Home advantage in European international soccer: Which dimension of distance matters? (2019)
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