Economics of professional football

Abstract

This dissertation contains four chapters, all with a different topic that is of interest from a sports economic perspective. More specifically, from the economic perspective of professional football. Football is the most popular sport within Europe and the data that is used in the analyses stems from English and Dutch professional football. The topics also relate to elements outside of the sports domain. For example, the effectiveness of in-season coach changes shows resemblance to managerial changes within organisations (Chapter 2). Stadium attendance demand relates to the entertainment industry and describes consumer preferences in uncertain situations (Chapter 3). Furthermore, the selection system for talent in youth professional football is comparable to other selections system, such as in school grades. Both have to deal with relative age differences between peers (Chapter 4). Finally, the effects of team heterogeneity on performance relate to organisational structures and, specifically, the formation of teams (Chapter 5).