Home Advantage in Soccer: Variations in its Magnitude and a Literature Review of the Inter-related Factors Associated with its Existence

Headnote

Although the existence of home advantage in soccer is well known, the causes of this advantage are unclear. Previous estimates of the magnitude of home advantage are updated. It is higher than in other sports. In England home advantage is very similar for the top four divisions of play. Below this level, the advantage is reduced but still exists even with very small crowds. It has been in existence since the start of league play in 1888, but has recently fallen to its lowest levels. It varies greatly from country to country in Europe and is highest in the Balkans. An assessment is made of the current evidence for the main factors contributing to home advantage; these include crowd support, referee bias, travel, familiarity, territoriality and other psychological effects. It is likely that home advantage results from a complex inter-relationship between all these factors, a model for which is proposed.

The existence of home advantage in competitive sport is well documented, although the precise causes are less well understood and the topic of much recent research. Courneya and Carron (1992), Nevill and Holder (1999) and Carron, Loughead and Bray (2005) provide comprehensive reviews. The purpose of this paper is to synthesize the current state of knowledge with regards to home advantage in soccer.

The first paper to consider the concept of home advantage applied exclusively to soccer was by Dowie (1982) hi which he commented on the success of countries hosting the World Cup and considered three possible causes of the advantage in soccer which he labeled fatigue, familiarity and fans. Data from the Football League in England were used, but no clear-cut conclusions were reached. It should be noted that in England the words football and soccer are synonymous. A more detailed study by Pollard ( 19 86) soon followed and this still serves as the starting point for a general review of the way in which home advantage applies specifically to soccer. Data from various competitions in England and Europe were used to assess the effects on home advantage of crowd support, travel fatigue, familiarity, referee bias, tactics and psychological factors. Wolfson and Neave (2004) also provide a review, focusing on the coaching implications of the advantage of playing at home.

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