Wladimir Andreff

Walter C. Neale 50 Years After Beyond Competitive Balance, the League Standing Effect Tested With French Football Data

In 1964, Neale suggested, in addition to competitive balance, a league standing effect that was never tested per se with empirical data. A model that explains fan attendance in the French football Ligue 1 over 2008-2011 is presented. It takes on-board point difference with the closest competitor chasing a different sporting stake, and positive and negative changes regarding the different sporting stakes. Econometric testing exhibits a negative impact of point difference (i.e., a positive impact of the possibilities of changes), a positive impact of positive changes, and no significant impact of negative changes.

Economic prediction of sport performances from the Beijing Olympics to the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa: the notion of surprising sporting outcomes

An econometric model with very significant explanatory variables of Olympic Games medal wins is emended in such a way as to explain the qualification of national football teams to the semi-finals of the FIFA World Cup. It is shown that this model is not able to predict 100% of semi-finalists of the next Cup.