Boroujerdi, S.S. et al.: The comparison of competitive balances of basketball leagues Sport Science 6 (2013) 2: 44 48

Transcription

1 THE COMPARISON OF COMPETITIVE BALANCES OF BASKETBALL LEAGUES OF PORTUGAL, ITALY, TURKEY, CZECH, SLOVENIA, RUSSIA, GREECE, FRANCE AND GERMANY Saeed Sadeghi Boroujerdi 1, Tahira Ghanbari 2 and Kaveh Hasani 3 1 Department of physical education, University of Kurdistan, Sanandaj, Iran 2 Department of physical education, University of Kurdistan, Sanandaj, Iran 3 Islamic Azad University of Sanandaj, Sanandaj Branch, Iran Original scientific paper Abstract This study aims to compare the competitive balance of basketball leagues of Portugal, Italy, Turkey, Czech Republic, Slovenia, Russia, Greece, France, and Germany in This study uses secondary data obtained from the last tables of the premier leagues of the selected countries in For data analysis, the two indices of the Five-club Concentration Ratio (C5) and the C5 Index of Competitive Balance (C5ICB) are used. The more the values of these indices, the more the competitive balance in the league, and vice versa. The results indicated that, based on C5ICB index, the highest and the lowest balances were respectively: Slovenia and Russia (112), France (112.9), Greece (115.7), Portugal (117.1), Turkey (119.3), Czech Republic (120), Italy (134.4), and Germany (155.5). Thus, the leagues of Slovenia and Russia have the highest, and that of Germany, the lowest balance among the leagues investigated in this study. Keywords: competitive balance, basketball, premier league, Concentration Ratio Introduction Most sports are attractive because the results of their competitions cannot be fully predicted. That is why some organizations and government agencies try to create a set of constraints on the teams and players whereby they can maximize the amount of uncertainty in the results (Koning, 2000; Liam, 2008). The more the competitive strength of the teams that make up the league the more difficult the anticipation of matches would be, hence the league being more interesting (Michie & Oughton, 2004; Kesenne, 2006). In a perfectly balanced league, every team has an equal chance of winning a match against the other teams in the league. As a result, all teams have an equal chance of winning the championship title of the league. Competitive balance refers to the balance between the athletic ability of the teams (Sanderson & Siegfried, 2003; Haan, Koning & Witteloostuijn, 2012). The competitive balance can be divided into the following three sections (Szymanski, 2003): A) The match uncertainty which refers to the uncertainty of the result of a particular match between two teams; B) The seasonal uncertainty which refers to uncertainty of the matches in a season; C) The proficiency or dominance of a limited number of teams over the league during consecutive seasons (Szymanski, 2003). If the result of a match is predictable, people get worried compared with the time the competition is closer. Therefore, the committees of organizing sports leagues should provide favorable conditions to enhance competitive balance (Koning, 2000; Humpreys, 2002). It is obvious that sports leagues need a specific amount of competitive balance in order to survive and keep up their quality. Thus, without competitive balance, the matches are easily predicted causing them to lose their attraction (Eckard, 2001; Pivovarnik et al, 2008). The lack of competitive balance means that the number of fans (both the ones that go to the stadium and those who watch the maches on television) does not reach its maximum (Michie & Oughton, 2004). Quirk and Fort (1994) consider the excitement caused by the uncertainty of results of matches as one of the main reasons fans love team sports. To keep fans interested in a sports league, the weakness and strength of all teams of the league must be proportional to one another so that the uncertainty of the results is preserved (Quirk & Fort, 1994). The league which is not balanced cannot get the maximum revenue from audiences and viewers. Accordingly, the importance of maintaining and enhancing the competitive balance lies in the fact that it maximizes the demand for the club, league and its services (Dejonghe T. & Opstal, 2010). Brandes and Frank (2006) found out that fans would like their favorite team along with winning in an uncertain situation and concluded that if good clubs always defeat the lower clubs, most of the matches will be more dramatic than competitive. They also stated that in such circumstances, all matches would have little market value. Thus, in all kinds of sports, a degree of competitive uncertainty is necessary (Brandes, Frank, 2006). Competitive balance results in stability of the league. The unbalanced leagues are faced with risks such as bankruptcy or the threat of insolvency and creation of weak clubs (retrograde), the threat of rival leagues, development of a big gap in terms of intra-league income (between teams of League) and Interleague (among different leagues), causing teams which enter the Cup of Leagues and Cup of Premier League to gain a great income. Thus, competitive balance is also important for the stability of the league (Michie & Oughton, 2004). 44

2 In short, "the competitive balance is thought to affect attendance of fans through its influence on winning and fans response to winning" (Sanderson & Siegfried, 2003). Berri (2004) expanded the scope of the literature with a comparison of competitive balance in college football, baseball, and basketball. Berri identified differences in competitive balance across these sports and argued that they can be largely attributed to variation in how the professional ranks impact the pool of players available to colleges (Berri, 2004). A large number of researches have been done about competitive balance. Quirk & Fort (1994) measured the longterm balance of five professional American leagues: American League (AL), National League (NL), National Basketball American (NBA), National Hockey League (NHL), and National Football League (NFL). They analyzed all five leagues and observed a dramatic imbalance (Quirk & Fort, 1994). Fort and Maxcy (2003) concluded that the NBA is the most unbalanced league of five American professional basketball leagues (Fort and Maxcy 2003). According to Goossens' researches, done on the leagues of European countries including Germany, France, Portugal, Belgium, England, and..., it became clear that in Germany and France there were no significant process for the competitive balance in their leagues. Belgium and the UK indicate a relatively linear increase (decrease of competitive balance) and Portugal was the only country to show a significant negative linear trend, and this negative trend, indicating an increase in competitive balance (Goossens, 2006). Mizak, Neral & Stair (2007) showed a dramatic decrease in competitive balance of Major League Baseball (MLB) since 1990 and America showed the highest decrease. As well, the lowest competitive balance was observed in Eastern Union of American League between 1998 and 2003 (Mizak, Neral & Stair, 2007). Haan et al (2012), in their investigations, showed that the competitive balance in the UK had decreased. They also found some weak evidence indicating that the same decrease was seen in Belgium and the Netherlands. The review of literature on the subject of competitive balance shows that several methods have been proposed to measure the competitive balance index. The formulae proposed by various researchers indicate that by considering the table of scores of all clubs of the league one can calculate this index (Michie & Oughton, 2004; Perline & Stoldt, 2007). Regarding the points mentioned, it is clear that competitive balance in every league is necessary so that by maintaining the excitement of the matches the reception of the spectators and accordingly the income of the club are increased, thereby resulting in the expansion of the scope of the financial support of the fans of teams. Thus it can be mentioned that the knowledge and control of it are essential for club managers and officials of basketball and other sports federations. In this regard, this study seeks to evaluate the concept of competitive balance in Major League Basketball during the season in the countries of Portugal, Italy, Turkey, Czech Republic, Slovenia, Russia, Greece, France, and Germany. As such, the main objective of this research is to analyze Basketball competitive balance in European countries and to compare them with one another. Methodology The present study is descriptive and the data used secondary which were obtained through analysis of valid documents and tables of basketball leagues of the countries Portugal, Italy, Turkey, Czech Republic, Slovenia, Russia, Greece, France, and Germany. The domain of research subject was the competitive balance in the professional leagues of basketball in Europe in the season and its spatial domain was the Basketball Leagues of Portugal, Italy, Turkey, Czech Republic, Slovenia, Russia, Greece, France, and Germany. Two models were used in this study: The Five-Club Concentration Ratio (C5) and the C5 Index of Competitive Balance (C5ICB). The above models were used in many researches (Feddersen, 2006; Szymanski & Leach, 2006; Brunelli, 2006; Gouget & Primault, 2006; Michie & Oughton, 2004). As these models were economic and mathematic indexes, it was not necessary to approve their validity and reliability. In a totally balanced league, C5ICB always equals 100 (Michie & Oughton, 2004). This more the value obtained from C5ICB the less the balance of the league. total points won by the top five clubs C5 ratio = total number of points won by all clubs C5 C5 Index of Competitive Balance = *100 (5/N) "N" is the number of teams in the league. If the obtained "C5" is more than the above scores, that league enjoys lower balance (Michie & Oughton, 2004). C5=0.277 in a 18-team league. Results The scores gained by the professional basketball teams in Europe are shown in Table 1; the results of the C5 and C5ICB related to the professional basketball leagues in European countries are as well indicated in Table 2 and Figures 1 and 2. According to Table 2, the maximum value of C5 related to the basketball leagues of Slovenia and Russia was 0.56, representing the minimum balance, and the lowest C5 was related to the French basketball league, which represents the highest balance. The highest values of C5ICB was related to the Czech and Turkish Basketball Leagues, representing the lowest balance and the lowest C5ICB was related to Slovenia and Russia, which represents the highest balance. Basketball leagues of Europe from the lowest to the highest were respectively: Slovenia and the Russian League, Portugal League, League of Greece, Germany and the Czech Republic league, Italian league, League of Turkey, and French league. 45

3 Table 1: The Scores Gained by the teams of Professional Basketball League of Europe Row Slovenia Russia France Greece Portugal Turkey Czech Italy Germany 1 st nd rd th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th Table 2: the values of C5 and C5ICB of Professional Basketball League of Europe Row Name of Slovenia Russia France Greece Portugal Turkey Czech Italy Germany C C5ICB Figure 2 also indicates that based on C5 index, the competitive balance of professional Discussion and Conclusion Figure 1: The C5ICB of Professional Basketball League of Europe Figure 1 shows that based on C5ICB index, the competitive balance of the professional basketball league of Europe from the lowest to the highest were respectively: German League, Italian League, League of Czech Republic, Turkish League, Portuguese League, Greek League, French League, League of Slovenia, and Russian League. The results of the C5 and C5ICB indices of the leagues of Portugal, Italy, Turkey, Czech, Slovenia, Russia, Greece, France, and Germany are shown in Figures 1 and 2. Based on C5ICB, the competitive balance of the professional basketball league of Europe from the lowest to the highest were respectively: German League (18 teams), Italian League (17 teams), League of Czech Republic (14 teams), Turkish League (16 teams), Portuguese League (12 teams), Greek League (13 teams), French League (16 teams), League of Slovenia (10 teams), and Russian League (10 teams). In this study, the C5ICB index is used as the main index. Because C5 index is not sensitive to the number of teams, reliance on the results of this index is misleading in some cases, while C5ICB index is sensitive to changes of the number of teams. The values of C5ICB index of the leagues of Germany, Italy, and Czech are bigger than others, and this means a lack of competitive balance of these leagues. Germany was the most unbalanced league at that time and did not have an acceptable competitive balance. 46

4 Despite the fact that Germany has a certain discipline in managerial work, it had the lowest competitive balance in C5ICB index. The old history of some ball sports like football and volleyball in Germany and Italy has caused the basketball league to be one of the unbalanced leagues of these two countries. In these two countries, people showed a lot of interest in sports such as soccer from the very beginning of their formations and made every effort to become stars in such sports, hence not paying much attention to a sport like basketball. One of the main reasons for the weakness of Germany is also related to World War II. While the country has endured 50 years of economic sanctions, it has resulted in stagnation of the political-athletic system of the country. Thus, many sports in this country have not developed much yet. The competitive balance in MLB has declined in recent years and the reception of it has declined too. As a result, their income resources are faced with danger. Liam, in his research, has announced the reduction of 2,400 fans per game. With an increase in the number of fans of a team in the stadium, that team's chances of success increase. Evidence indicates that most fans go to the stadium to see the host team win. (Liam, 2008). By increasing the competitive balance, the attraction of matches and league increases, and accordingly, the reception of the matches (either by going to the stadium and through television) increases. Among the reasons for the success of a team, the following points can be noted: A) Having quality players; B) Stability in club management.; C) Using highly qualified technical staff; D) Financial support by the cub's sponsor; E) Enjoying the presence of the audience and fans. Though fans prefer their favorite team to win all the games, they too are in favor of tight and beautiful matches, hence preferring the rise in competitive balance (Pivovarnik et al, 2008). Chang and Sanders (2009), in their study of the impact of pool revenue sharing upon competitive balance, found out that the share of total investment income reduces the competitive balance in the league. This policy is to the interest of teams in terms of democracy, yet undesirable for the players. The attraction of a match, in addition to the competitive balance, is dependent upon factors such as the number of star players, stadiums quality, quality of services provided before, during, and after match, and. Thus, analysis and comparison of each of these factors in the leagues studied requires further research. Finally, it is worth mentioning that there has never been a research done on the competitive balance of the professional basketball League of Europe in recent years. Thus, the results of this research cannot be compared to other researches, hence the obvious necessity of doing further research and studies in this area. References Chang, Y.M., & Sanders, S. (2009). Pool revenue sharing, team investments, and competitive balance in professional sports: A theoretical analysis", Journal of Sport Economics, 10(4), Berri, D.J. (2004). Is there a short supply of tall people in the college game? In J. Fizel & R. Fort (Ed.), Economics of College Sports. Westport, CT: Praeger Publishers, (pp ). Brandes, L., & Frank, E. (2006). How fans may improve competitive balance: an empirical analysis of the German bundesliga. /working paper/, 41, Brunelli, M. (2006). The impact of UEFA Champions League upon domestic championships: the Italian serie A, Nyon, May 2 nd 2006, UEFA, (pp ). Dejonghe, T., & Opstal. W.V. (2010). Competitive balance between national leagues in European football after The Bosman Case. Rivista di Diritto ed Economia dello Sport, 6(2), Available at: Eckard, E.W. (2001). Free Agency, Competitive Balance, and Diminishing Returns to Pennant Contention. Economic Inquiry, 39(3) Fort. R., & Maxcy. J. (2003). Competitive Balance in Sports Leagues: An Introduction. Journal of Sports Economics, 4(2), Feddersen, A. (2006). Economic consequences of the UEFA champions league for national championships; the case of Germany, Nyon, May 2nd, UEFA, (pp ). Goossens, K. (2006). Competitive Balance In European Football: Comparison By Adapting Measures: National Measures Of Seasonal Imbalance And Top 3, Rivista di Diritto ed Economia dello Sport, 2(2), A. et: football.pdf. Gouget,J.J., & Primault, D. (2006). The economic impact of the UEFA Champions League on the French football championship, Nyon, May 2 nd, UEFA, (pp ). Haan, M.A., Koning, R.H., & Witteloostuijn, A.V., (2012). The effects of institutional change in European soccer. Jahrbücher fur Nationalokonomie und Statistik, 232(2), Humpreys, B. (2002). Alternative Measures of Competitive Balance in Sports Leagues. Journal of Sports Economics, 3(2), Kesenne, S. (2006). Competitive balance in team sports and the impact of revenue sharing. 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5 Michie, J., & Oughton, C. (2004). Competitive Balance in Football: Trends and Effects: Football Governance Research Centre, Research Paper No. 2. Birkbeck: University of London. Football gov. research centre. Mizak, D., Neral, J., & Stair, A. (2007). The adjusted churn: an index of competitive balance for sports leagues based on changes in team standings over time. Economics Bulletin, 26(3), 1-7. Perline, M., & Stoldt, C. (2007). Competitive Balance in Men s and Women s Basketball: The Cast of the Missouri Valley Conference. The sport Journal, 10(4), Pivovarnik, T.P., Lamb, R.P., Zuber, R.A. & Gander, J.M. (2008). Competitive balance and fan interest in the national football league. Journal of economics and economic education research, 9(2), Quirk, J., & Fort, R.D. (1994). Pay Dirt: The Business of Professional Team Sports. Journal of Political Economy, 102(1), Sanderson, A.R., & Siegfried, J.J. (2003). Thinking about Competitive Balance. /Unpublished manuscript/. Vanderbilt University. Szymanski. S. (2003). The Economic Design of Sporting Contests. Journal of Economic Literature, 41(4), Szymanski, S., & Leach, S. (2006). Report on the English top division , Nyon, May 2 nd, UEFA, (pp ). USPOREDBA NATJECATELJSKE RAVNOTEŽE KOŠARKAŠKIH LIGA PORTUGALA, ITALIJE, TURSKE, ČEŠKE, SLOVENIJE, RUSIJE, GRČKE, FRANCUSKE I NJEMAČKE Sažetak Ova studija ima za cilj usporedbu natjecateljskih košarkaških liga Portugala, Italije, Turske, Češke, Slovenije, Rusije, Grčke, Francuske i Njemačke Istraživanje koristi sekundarno prikupljene podatke iz završnih tablica premijer liga odabranih država Za analizu podataka, korištena su dva indikatora, Koncentracijski indeks 5-klubova (C5) i Indeks natjecateljske ravnoteže (C5ICB). Što je viša razina ovih indikatora, viša je i natjecateljska ravnoteža i obrnuto. Rezultati su pokazali da su na temelju C5ICB indeksa rangovi bili respektivno: Slovenija i Rusija (112), Francuska (112.9), Grčka (115.7), Portugal (117.1), Turska (119.3), Češka (120), Italija (134.4) i Njemačka (155.5). Tako, lige Slovenije i Rusije imaju najviši, a Njemačke najniži indeks ravnoteže od analiziranih liga. Ključne riječi: natjecateljska ravnoteža, košarka, premijer lige, indeks koncentracije Received: November 19, 2012 Accepted: December 10, 2013 Correspondence to: Kaveh Hasani, MSc. Islamic Azad University of Sanandaj Sanandaj Branch, Iran Phone: kaveh.hhh@gmail.com 48