Optimierung von Spielplänen am Beispiel der Fußball-Bundesliga-Saison 2006/07

Soccer enjoys great popularity in Germany. More than 10 Million fans surge into the stadiums each year to see the best 18 soccer clubs fighting for the German championship. The importance of a good and fair schedule which meets the demands of clubs, associations, media and fans has considerably increased in recent years. In this contribution, a binary linear optimization model specific to structure and requirements of the German major soccer league is developed and used to derive a schedule for the season 2006/07. The model is designed as a modified assignment model. Different requests are considered using constraints or appropriate quantifications in the objective function. This model can be solved to optimality using standard software tools and a PC. Considering the specific demands the resulting schedule is superior to the actual schedule for season 2006/07. Copyright Springer-Verlag 2007