| Abstract: |
The authors investigate whether the home advantage in soccer differs by
various dimensions of distance between the (regions of the) home and away
teams: geographical distance, climatic differences, cultural distance, and
disparities in economic prosperity. To this end, they analyse 2,012 recent
matches played in the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League. The
authors find that when the home team plays at a higher altitude, they benefit
substantially more from their home advantage. Every 100 meters of altitude
difference is associated with an increase in expected probability to win the
match, as the home team, by 1.1 percentage points. |