This paper analyzes the inequalities and convergence across countries using data on the top 100 players in chess and tennis. We explore the impact of time trends and exogenous global shocks on countries' representation in the top 100 players' lists in a manner akin to a natural experiment,...

Road cycling races, although won by individual riders, are a competition of teams. Riding behind other riders significantly reduces the energy required to hold a given speed. These races thus provide free-riding incentives. We introduce a game-theoretic framework of this strategic setup to...

Financial regulation in sports is usually discussed in the context of representing an instrument against “financial doping”. Notwithstanding the merits of this discussion, this paper takes the opposite perspective and analyses how market-internal financial regulation itself may...

The inception of financial fair play (FFP) regulations in 2011 prompted debates about their potential impact on competitive balance within European football. Divisive arguments emerged: some anticipated a negative influence, foreseeing a decline in competitive balance, while others posited a...

Professional sports are part of the entertainment industry; as such, its business is developed based on the perceived interest in sporting events, which in turn depends on features like: the (i) degree of competitive balance that determines the uncertainty of the outcome; the (ii) concentration...

Experts' voting behavior is conjectured to be more objective than peer voting (own group/peers) and public voters (everyone interested), who are supposedly influenced by all sorts of subjective aspects. We examine differences in voting behavior between these groups by analyzing the voting...

This study aims to analyse the determinants of sport science students' entrepreneurial intentions considering the cultural effect on these relationships. The sample comprises 764 final-year sport science students from five European countries: Lithuania, Spain, Ukraine, Serbia, and Croatia. A...

Globalisation affects not only politics and the economy, but also sport, which has become significantly more international, competitive and financially powerful. This is particularly advantageous for most consumers or spectators. Especially top athletes benefit, while not so good athletes can...

This comment addresses the opinion of the Advocate General (AG) of the European Court of Justice on the pending case European Super League versus UEFA/FIFA. It takes a critical perspective on selected aspects of the opinion’s reasoning from a (sports) economics perspective. Highlighting the...

Sporting associations that act as regulators and are also active in organizing sporting events are well-established in many sports. However, given that there is a risk that they might exploit their regulatory power to foreclose organizers of rival events, the question arises as to how far EU...

This comment addresses the opinion of the Advocate General (AG) of the European Court of Justice on the pending case European Super League versus UEFA/FIFA. It takes a critical perspective on selected aspects of the opinion’s reasoning from a (sports) economics perspective. Highlighting the...

Cover -- Half Title -- Series Information -- Title Page -- Copyright Page -- Table of Contents -- Introduction -- I.1 Saudi Sportswashing -- I.2 A System That Is Difficult to Change -- I.3 An Unprecedented Strategy to Disrupt World Sport -- I.4 Regulating International Sport -- I.5 Beyond the...

Billions of euros are invested every year by professional football clubs for the recruitment of players. How do market actors decide prices? This paper presents an econometric model unveiling the key factors coming into play in determining fees on the transfer market for professional football...

The controversy around the breakaway European Super League, set to conquer the UEFA Champions League, and the surrounding antitrust proceedings revive the academic discussion about the monopoly power of sport-internal governing bodies (like the UEFA), the justification for and limits of their...

Sports participation does not produce benefits solely on a personal level but also numerous benefits on different societal levels, as well as the level of economies. The paper represents a contribution to the exploration of factors of individuals influencing regularity in sports participation. A...