nep-spo New Economics Papers
on Sports and Economics
Issue of 2025–02–03
five papers chosen by
Humberto Barreto, DePauw University


  1. Competitive Balance By Borooah, Vani
  2. The process of co-branding of the personal brand of paralympic athletes with their stakeholders in France and Canada By Daphné Perroud; Benoit Séguin; Guillaume Bodet
  3. The Broken Promises of Neoliberal Soccer: Illusion and Disillusion of the 2022 FIFA World Cup By Gilles Paché
  4. Where Did They Come From, Where Did They Go: Analysis of Formula 1 Driver Career Paths By Law, Imogen
  5. M6 Investment Challenge: The Role of Luck and Strategic Considerations By Filip Stan\v{e}k

  1. By: Borooah, Vani
    Abstract: This chapter argues that an important reason for following sport is to participate in the uncertainty of a close contest. This is particularly important for league sports in which the long-term sustainability of leagues depends upon the degree of their competitive balance. This chapter examines the issue of how competitive balance should be measured against the backdrop of four T20 cricket leagues — the Indian Premier League, The Big Bash League, the Women’s Big Bash League, and the Kia Super League — where the first two pertain to men’s, and the last two to women’s, cricket. The argument of this chapter is that insights provided by the methods of inequality analysis deepen our understanding of competitive balance and provide valuable insights into the implications of a lack of balance.
    Keywords: Competing, Close Contests, Cricket Leagues
    JEL: I3 I31 I32
    Date: 2023–10
    URL: https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:123259
  2. By: Daphné Perroud (UCBL - Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 - Université de Lyon); Benoit Séguin (HEC Montréal - HEC Montréal); Guillaume Bodet (UCBL - Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 - Université de Lyon)
    Abstract: In an era where the Paralympic Games are among the world's biggest sporting events, we can wonder about the elements that condition the professionalization and notoriety of top-level para-athletes. After conducting an initial work on the development of the brand of Paralympic athletes in France, as part of my master's degree in Sport Management at the UFR STAPS Lyon 1, this PhD research focuses on the process of co-construction of the personal brand of Paralympic athletes in France and Canada. This work is motivated, firstly, by the lack of existing studies in the literature dealing with the journey and development of Paralympic athletes, as demonstrated by Patatas et al. (2020). Secondly, it is justified by its international dimension, which offers the possibility of analyzing and comparing existing models and programs for the support of para-athletes, between two countries with different political, governmental, cultural, and societal contexts. The main aim of this research is therefore to understand how para-athletes build, or attempt to build, their personal brand, in a context, where they lack expertise in brand creation (Hodge and Walker, 2015) and may not be particularly supported on this dimension. Thus, several research questions guide this investigation : How do Paralympic athletes manage their personal brand? Is it possible to identify a process of co-construction of an athlete's personal brand? Does sponsorship contribute to the development of a Paralympic athlete's brand, and therefore contribute to this co- creation process? Through an idealist ontology, which views social reality as « shared interpretations that social actors produce and reproduce in the course of their daily lives » (Blaikie, 2007, pp. 16-17), this research is built around a qualitative methodology through semi-structured interviews. By conducting interviews (around 60 interviews) with French and Canadian Paralympic athletes, as well as stakeholders such as sponsors, institutions, and media representatives, we concentrate on various aspects (brand equity, brand governance, ...) of Paralympic sport marketing. Drawing on Dumont & Ots' (2020) theoretical framework of the social world, we analyze the status of the para-athlete and his/her place in the society and professional sport, the impact of the sports governance from each country on the development of the para-athlete's brand and his/her visibility, and the support and backing they receive in their sporting careers from the various key stakeholders identified. In line with the sport management scientific field, this research will contribute to develop the concept of co-branding and possibly brand governance in the context of Paralympic sport and will provide input for all those involved in the development of the Paralympic brand and its athletes.
    Abstract: A l'heure où les Jeux Paralympiques font partie des plus grands événements sportifs mondiaux, on peut s'interroger sur les éléments qui conditionnent la professionnalisation et la notoriété des para-athlètes de haut niveau. Après avoir réalisé un premier travail sur le développement de la marque des athlètes paralympiques en France, dans le cadre de mon master en management du sport à l'UFR STAPS Lyon 1, cette recherche doctorale porte sur le processus de co-construction de la marque personnelle des athlètes paralympiques en France et au Canada. Ce travail est motivé, d'une part, par le manque d'études existantes dans la littérature traitant du parcours et du développement des athlètes paralympiques, comme l'ont démontré Patatas et al. (2020). Deuxièmement, il est justifié par sa dimension internationale, qui offre la possibilité d'analyser et de comparer les modèles et les programmes existants pour le soutien des para-athlètes, entre deux pays ayant des contextes politiques, gouvernementaux, culturels et sociétaux différents. L'objectif principal de cette recherche est donc de comprendre comment les para-athlètes construisent, ou tentent de construire, leur marque personnelle, dans un contexte où ils manquent d'expertise en matière de création de marque (Hodge et Walker, 2015) et peuvent ne pas être particulièrement soutenus sur cette dimension. Ainsi, plusieurs questions de recherche guident cette investigation : Comment les athlètes paralympiques gèrent-ils leur marque personnelle ? Est-il possible d'identifier un processus de co-construction de la marque personnelle d'un athlète ? Le sponsoring contribue-t-il au développement d'un athlète paralympique ? A travers une ontologie idéaliste, qui considère la réalité sociale comme « des interprétations partagées que les acteurs sociaux produisent et reproduisent au cours de leur vie quotidienne » (Blaikie, 2007, pp. 16-17), cette recherche s'articule autour d'une méthodologie qualitative par le biais d'entretiens semi-structurés. En menant des entretiens (environ 60 entretiens) avec des athlètes paralympiques français et canadiens, ainsi qu'avec des parties prenantes telles que des sponsors, des institutions et des représentants des médias, nous nous concentrons sur divers aspects (capital de marque, gouvernance de la marque, ...) du marketing du sport paralympique. En nous appuyant sur le cadre théorique du monde social de Dumont & Ots (2020), nous analysons le statut du para-athlète et sa place dans la société et le sport professionnel, l'impact de la gouvernance sportive de chaque pays sur le développement de la marque du para-athlète et sa visibilité, ainsi que le soutien et l'appui qu'il reçoit dans sa carrière sportive de la part des différentes parties prenantes clés identifiées. En accord avec le domaine scientifique de la gestion du sport, cette recherche contribuera à développer le concept de co-branding et éventuellement de gouvernance de la marque dans le contexte du sport paralympique et fournira des informations à toutes les personnes impliquées dans le développement de la marque paralympique et de ses athlètes.
    Keywords: Stakeholders, Co-branding, Brand equity, Personal branding, Sponsoring, Marque personnelle, Capital marque, Image de marque, Paralympique, Parties prenantes
    Date: 2024–12–12
    URL: https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-04857995
  3. By: Gilles Paché (CERGAM - Centre d'Études et de Recherche en Gestion d'Aix-Marseille - AMU - Aix Marseille Université - UTLN - Université de Toulon)
    Abstract: The 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar attracted over 3.4 million spectators and more than a million international visitors. However, the tournament required a colossal investment of 220 billion US dollars for facilities whose future use remains uncertain. It also highlighted the excesses of neoliberal soccer, dominated by financial interests. Since the World Cup was awarded in December 2010, controversies have emerged, particularly regarding the working conditions of migrant workers, which have led to several thousand deaths. There have been widespread denunciations of labor and civil rights violations, and the banning of the "One Love" armband has illustrated FIFA's censorship. Environmental criticisms were also significant, questioning the event's claimed carbon neutrality. Extravagant spending on stadium construction and hotel infrastructures, often seen as unnecessary luxury after the tournament, has been highlighted. Qatar has not fulfilled its promises to dismantle and repurpose the stadiums, which remain underused. The 2022 FIFA World Cup exposed the tensions between sporting values and economic realities and underscored the need for a thorough analysis of the long-term impact of mega-sporting events.
    Keywords: economy of waste, FIFA World Cup, Georges Bataille, neoliberalism, Qatar, soccer
    Date: 2024–10
    URL: https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-04870808
  4. By: Law, Imogen
    Abstract: This study examines the career trajectories of Formula 1 drivers, focusing on their pathways through junior series, F1 careers, and post-F1 activities. Data was collected from multiple sources and analysed in RStudio to identify trends in feeder series participation, career duration, and post-F1 race involvement. The results reveal a significant lengthening of driver careers across all phases, with increasingly structured pre-F1 development pathways, longer F1 tenures, and diverse post-F1 career trajectories driven by engagement in endurance racing, geographic influences, and evolving motorsport opportunities. Notably, while pre-F1 feeder series have become more standardised, post-F1 career paths remain highly varied, reflecting the interplay between individual strategy and the expanding global motorsport ecosystem. Future improvements could involve integrating performance metrics, team data, and qualitative insights, while the analysis can be utilized by teams, sponsors, and organizers to refine talent development, optimise partnerships, and promote sustainable career opportunities in motorsport. Keywords: Formula 1, Career Progression, Motorsport, Talent Pathways, Driver Development
    Date: 2025–01–15
    URL: https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:osfxxx:e4pwh
  5. By: Filip Stan\v{e}k
    Abstract: This article investigates the influence of luck and strategic considerations on performance of teams participating in the M6 investment challenge. We find that there is insufficient evidence to suggest that the extreme Sharpe ratios observed are beyond what one would expect by chance, given the number of teams, and thus not necessarily indicative of the possibility of consistently attaining abnormal returns. Furthermore, we introduce a stylized model of the competition to derive and analyze a portfolio strategy optimized for attaining the top rank. The results demonstrate that the task of achieving the top rank is not necessarily identical to that of attaining the best investment returns in expectation. It is possible to improve one's chances of winning, even without the ability to attain abnormal returns, by choosing portfolio weights adversarially based on the current competition ranking. Empirical analysis of submitted portfolio weights aligns with this finding.
    Date: 2024–11
    URL: https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2412.04490

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