Post by reza on Sept 22, 2017 17:13:42 GMT
Bismillah Ir Rahman Ir Rahim (In the name of God, the most beneficent, the most merciful)
In the sport of soccer there is great emphasis given to playing at home versus playing away. This impact is so profound that club and international competitions are built around the idea of home field advantage. For example, In the English Premier League there are 20 total teams. In a season a team must play 19 matches at home and 19 matches away, with each team being played twice, once at home and once away. In the European Champions League, a team plays each opponent in the group stages twice, once at home and once away. This rule continues in the knockout rounds up until the finals, in which there is only 1 game played at a predetermined stadium, often a neutral ground. (It is possible that the predetermined stadium is the home arena for one of the finalists, however this is unlikely). In the Fifa World Cup qualifiers, a match is played both home and away for each team in the group.
It is a misconception home field advantage is attributed only to the placebo effect; the belief is the home stadium and the supportive fans are a carrier for good luck and fortune. There are many other potential impacts on the performance of a team. These include, size of the stadium, atmosphere of the crowd, native weather, travel time/distance for opposing team, discomfort/intimidation/anxiety/stress.
Size: In soccer, the size of the field in the stadium is not uniform. Some fields are bigger than others. According to the Fifa rule book, issue 15/16, page 9
www.fifa.com/mm/Document/FootballDevelopment/Refereeing/02/36/01/11/LawsofthegamewebEN_Neutral.pdf
" The length of the touch line must be greater than the length of the goal line.
Length (touch line): minimum 90 m (100 yds)
maximum 120 m (130 yds)
Width (goal line): minimum 45 m (50 yds)
maximum 90 m (100 yds) "
Evidently, this lack of uniformity in field size can have a great impact on the tactics and strategy of the match. A more skillful possession based team may be unable to successfully implement their tactics if they lack the space to exercise their skill. A more physical, pressing team may be unable to bully and outrun their opponents if the opposing team has more field space thus more time to react to the pressure.
Atmosphere: At the highest level, soccer is played in massive stadiums with upwards of 80,000-100,000 spectators. The collective energy of the home crowd may impact a teams motivation and desire to win the game. A team does not want to disappoint their fans who devote time and money to support them.
Native weather: Soccer at the highest level is generally played outdoors; different regions have different climate and weather patterns. Given that the home team trains and plays often in their home stadium, they may be more accustomed/comfortable with the weather patterns thus they may be able to perform at a higher level than the visitors.
Travel Time: A team may need to spend hours travelling to the opponents stadium. Excessive transit time can fatigue a team thus hindering their performance especially if a match is played in the evening of the day of transit.
Discomfort: Often a team may be placed outside of their element/comfort zone. In order to perform any sport on the highest level, one must reduce tension and stress to increase performance. For example, athletes may be more fatigued from not sleeping on their own bed, they may be eating outside food, etc. The home team is able to better rest and mentally prepare for the upcoming match with fewer distractions and discomfort.
In summary, home field advantage cannot be solely attributed to the placebo effect. There are many factors in addition to the placebo effect which have greater impact on the performance of the teams. Namely there are factors which enhance the performance of the home team, and suppress the performance of the away team.
-Reza
The following paragraph will only refer to the home field advantage as it applies to the sport of soccer.
In the sport of soccer there is great emphasis given to playing at home versus playing away. This impact is so profound that club and international competitions are built around the idea of home field advantage. For example, In the English Premier League there are 20 total teams. In a season a team must play 19 matches at home and 19 matches away, with each team being played twice, once at home and once away. In the European Champions League, a team plays each opponent in the group stages twice, once at home and once away. This rule continues in the knockout rounds up until the finals, in which there is only 1 game played at a predetermined stadium, often a neutral ground. (It is possible that the predetermined stadium is the home arena for one of the finalists, however this is unlikely). In the Fifa World Cup qualifiers, a match is played both home and away for each team in the group.
It is a misconception home field advantage is attributed only to the placebo effect; the belief is the home stadium and the supportive fans are a carrier for good luck and fortune. There are many other potential impacts on the performance of a team. These include, size of the stadium, atmosphere of the crowd, native weather, travel time/distance for opposing team, discomfort/intimidation/anxiety/stress.
Size: In soccer, the size of the field in the stadium is not uniform. Some fields are bigger than others. According to the Fifa rule book, issue 15/16, page 9
www.fifa.com/mm/Document/FootballDevelopment/Refereeing/02/36/01/11/LawsofthegamewebEN_Neutral.pdf
" The length of the touch line must be greater than the length of the goal line.
Length (touch line): minimum 90 m (100 yds)
maximum 120 m (130 yds)
Width (goal line): minimum 45 m (50 yds)
maximum 90 m (100 yds) "
Evidently, this lack of uniformity in field size can have a great impact on the tactics and strategy of the match. A more skillful possession based team may be unable to successfully implement their tactics if they lack the space to exercise their skill. A more physical, pressing team may be unable to bully and outrun their opponents if the opposing team has more field space thus more time to react to the pressure.
Atmosphere: At the highest level, soccer is played in massive stadiums with upwards of 80,000-100,000 spectators. The collective energy of the home crowd may impact a teams motivation and desire to win the game. A team does not want to disappoint their fans who devote time and money to support them.
Native weather: Soccer at the highest level is generally played outdoors; different regions have different climate and weather patterns. Given that the home team trains and plays often in their home stadium, they may be more accustomed/comfortable with the weather patterns thus they may be able to perform at a higher level than the visitors.
Travel Time: A team may need to spend hours travelling to the opponents stadium. Excessive transit time can fatigue a team thus hindering their performance especially if a match is played in the evening of the day of transit.
Discomfort: Often a team may be placed outside of their element/comfort zone. In order to perform any sport on the highest level, one must reduce tension and stress to increase performance. For example, athletes may be more fatigued from not sleeping on their own bed, they may be eating outside food, etc. The home team is able to better rest and mentally prepare for the upcoming match with fewer distractions and discomfort.
In summary, home field advantage cannot be solely attributed to the placebo effect. There are many factors in addition to the placebo effect which have greater impact on the performance of the teams. Namely there are factors which enhance the performance of the home team, and suppress the performance of the away team.
-Reza