By Robbie Butler

The new Republic of Ireland jersey was launched today, and for the first time since 1986, fans buying the shirt will not find a sponsor of the front. While the players never wore sponsored jerseys in competitive games, fan always had to act as walking advertisements for companies such as Opel, Eircom and Three.

The Irish were very much an outlier in this regard. Very few international teams use the jersey as a means of generating sponsorship revenue. Here is a piece I wrote in April 2019 for the Cork City match day programme on the subject and why the Republic of Ireland were an international trailblazer in this regard.

"In May 1924 the Irish Free State (today known as the Republic of Ireland) played its first international football match at the Summer Olympics in Paris, France. Bulgaria were the opponents that day, with the Boys in Green claiming a 1-0 win. Some 579 games later, the Boys in Green overcame Georgia by the same score line, in our most recent UEFA Euro 2020 Qualifier.
 
Green has always been a part of our national team. The vast majority of Ireland’s performance since 1924 have been in our national colour. It was only in 1969 that a changed strip of white became an option, as the game expanded. Gold was added to jersey from 1978, in various forms, culminating with a one-off “Kerry-style” jersey against Norway on the 1st of May 1985.
 
It was around this time that much of the evolution in football jerseys globally began to gain momentum. While international jerseys remained largely the same, Ireland did something quite different. In 1986 the Football Association of Ireland became the first national association in the world to place a sponsor on replica kits. Opel became a regular feature of Irish society and fans wearing famous jerseys from Euro ’88, Italia ’90 and USA ’94 all inadvertently acted as advertisements for the German car manufacturer.
 
This decision created an anomaly that continues to exist to this day. FIFA and UEFA prohibit the use of sponsorship on the front of jerseys in competitive games. This means that Irish fans buying the replica kit today actually buy a jersey that is obviously different to the one that players will wear during match day.
 
This has not stopped the FAI from successfully selling the right to place a company name on the front of replica Irish jerseys but does provide a rare example today of FIFA and UEFA rules preventing further commercialisation of the game. The Football League were the first to encounter this issue and the history of sponsorship deals can be traced, like most things in the sport, to England.
 
In 1976, non-league Kettering Town became the first professional club to adorn their jersey with a sponsor. They were immediately reprimanded by the FA, fined, and instructed to remove such wording from their jersey.
 
The following season, a number of Football League clubs proposed rule changes that would permit the use of sponsorship on jerseys. The proposals were accepted by the FA on the 3rd of June 1977. The rest is history. This is the reason today that we are familiar will sponsorship agreements long-since lapsed and brands such as Sharp, JVC, Candy, Holsten and Opel.
 
As many Irish fans will recall, Opel was replaced by Eircom from the start of the 2002 World Cup qualifying campaign, with the communications company subsequently replaced by “3” in 2010.  For Cork City fans this translates to brands such as Guinness, Nissan, Beamish, Clonakilty black pudding, and today UCC. Kettering Town are the architects of this.
 
If the ban of sponsorship on international jerseys is ever removed, the Republic of Ireland can rightfully claim to be the “Kettering Town” of international football."​

By David Butler

​I’m seeing more and more takes on the apparent ‘madness’ that is apparently taking place this season in the Premier League. Things are a little bit different, but not a whole lot. 

Here are some examples of the adjustments based on carrying out a quick analysis of the first 58 matches (rather than the equivalent fixture).

The gap in expected goals (xG’s) between home and away teams has decreased. For example, after 58 matches last year Home team xG was 1.66 on average, while for the away team was 1.23. This season the average home xG has fallen to 1.35 while the average away xG has creeped about it, rising to 1.40.

Second, there are later goals going in this season but not too many extra. Last season after 58 matches there was 9 goals in the 90+ minute scored and 16 goals between the 80th and 90th minute. This season there has been 15 goals in 90+ minute and 23 between the 80th and 90th minute.

Third, in the first 58 matches of last season, 13 odds favourites were defeated. This raises to 16 this season. Again, hardly a huge jump.

That’s just a few examples of the small match level differences. The league table does look somewhat ‘unusual’ at the moment but this is not uncommon after only 5-6 game weeks. At this stage last season (with fans) we had seen plenty of 'madness' – Chelsea had won 5-2 at Wolves and Norwich had beaten the Champion’s Manchester City 2-1. Leicester’s famous 0-9 win was only a few weeks away.  

The actual number of goals scored has increased and one is left wondering how much this is down to the application of the rules, stadia without fans and short pre-seasons. 

By Robbie Butler

2020 has been a very productive research year for members of the Centre for Sports Economics and Law (CSEL) at University College Cork. We have updated our "Selected Publications" tab (see above) to reflect this.

Papers are available on boxing, football (soccer) and rugby. Issues examined include incentives, labour productivity, broadcasting and demand. 

The tab also provides details and links to the full catalog of papers published by members of CSEL and others since 2004.

By Robbie Butler

There is a story in football circles that when a Premier League club was bought by an overseas investor in the late 2000s the new owners were unaware of the concept of relegation. Within a couple of seasons their new club had suffered just that - relegation. 

When news broke yesterday of yet another attempt to launch a European Super League I was reminded of this story. It was no surprise to me that Liverpool and Manchester United were yet again driving this concept in England. I think this is less down to the fact that they are the two most successful clubs, and the most supported globally. For me, the common denominator is that they both have American owners.

The difference in the style of ownership is stark and clear to see. In one city the owners are probably regarded as liberators that have returned a club to its full glory. In the other, the very opposite is probably the view held by many supporters. And while on the pitch their competition is fierce, off the field, their co-operation is clear to see. 

The establishment of a European Super League could be a further Americanization of European football. While details are still emerging, one thing this new league could do is remove the threat of relegation. This would effectively "close" the league and make it operate more like the NFL, MLB, MBA or MLS.

This is the crucial difference between US and European sports leagues and shifts the bargaining power from players and supporters towards owners. The  European super league would likely become an monopsony (own buyer of talent) and not punish entrants with the threat of relegation. The recently failed 'Project Big Picture', whilst not eliminating relegation, had argued that it should be reduced to just 2 teams in season in the EPL. 

To remove relegation would undermine 140 years of league football in England. Promotion and relegation are part of the fabric of the game. As it is in football leagues right across Europe. 

Take Luton Town for example. Since 2004-05 the club has enjoyed 4 promotions but has also experienced 3 relegations. The table to the right explains this.

At the start of the 2005/06 season Luton played in the 2nd highest tier of English Football (The Championship). The club then experienced three successive relegations, to League One, League Two, and in 2008/09 the Conference Premier Division (outside of the Football League). 

However, over the course of the past decade, the club has managed to make it back to the second tier of English football, just one tier away from the English Premier League. The revenue and resources that are on offer from reaching the Premier League are motivation enough to keep clubs like Luton Town dreaming.

I am sure this was as strong as ever during the years 2009-2013 when the club wasn't even playing in the Football League. 

If Luton ever reach the ELP, what a turn around that will be. A European Super League - without promotion or relegation - would limit the possibilities of most clubs.  While great for the lucky few, it would kill the dream for most. That's not European football and it never has been.

By John Considine

The changing circumstances of the last few months seem to have changed some of the attitutes to sports broadcasting.  It is only a couple of years ago that it seemed like the sky was falling in because SKY were coming in to broadcasting GAA games.

The national broadcaster gave plenty of airtime to those who complained bitterly about the filthy foreign money corrupting the values of our national pastimes.  Many of those complaining had financial connections to the same national broadcaster.  Some have since moved on!

The politicians got in on the act and invited the governing body in front of them to answer questions.  Some heat was generated.  No light.

Most of the outpourings related to some "pensioner" who gave sterling service to the GAA.  It was Maude Flanders' stuff - "Will somebody please think of the children".

In the coming weeks there will be plenty of pay-per-view offereings on GAA games.  There is little complaining.  Soon we will get to find out how many people will electronically transfer the viewing fee rather than hand over cash at the turnstiles.  I, for one, am delighted with this new service.

By Daragh O'Leary

There was recent delight in Dundalk (and probably the rest of the country) when the League of Ireland side, Dundalk FC, were drawn in the same Europa League group as current FA Cup champions Arsenal. The COVID-19 restrictions obviously mean no fans can attend the games but there is obviously a certain value in a League of Ireland side getting to play against some of Europe’s top players. That is something which is brilliant about the Europa League competition, it provides a stage for smaller European clubs to play against larger ones without them being completely dwarfed by the opposition.

That being said, obviously one would still have to favour Arsenal to win both games but at least Dundalk may still be able to contest in these games more so than if they had to play in the Champions League against Bayern Munich for example. This is the beauty of second tier European cup competitions, they allow teams to play and contest at a level which is suited to their ability. Which is why I’ve always been slightly annoyed at a certain aspect of the Europa League competition, teams that come in third place in the Champions League Group Stage are entered into the Europa League round of 32.
​
I’ve always found it annoying that a team playing in a higher tiered competition could just get entered into a lower tier competition when the former doesn’t work out for them. Not many would deem it acceptable for example if halfway through last year’s Premier League season Norwich City were to be put into the Championship rather than the Premiership because they were performing poorly. The introduction of Champions League teams to the Europa League competition makes it much more difficult for the teams in the Europa League to advance to the later stages of the competition. This is evident when we look at the percentage of finalists in the Europa League from 2000-2020 who came from the Champions League.

​When one considers the financial awards associated with the later stages of the competition (€8,500,000 for winners and €4,500,000 for runners up) it seems that this aspect from the Europa League hinders the potential opportunities for growth which it should provide to Europe’s second tier teams. The prize money, which a lot of the time goes to Champions League losers, should allow second tier teams to pursue investment to strengthen and build their teams with the hopes of reaching the higher levels of European football they are surly aiming for. 

By David Butler

Much has been made in the media of Ireland’s new approach under Stephen Kenny. It must be remembered however the players have, to a large extent, stayed the same.

The table compares a variety of in-play measures for Kenny’s first four games to two matches toward the end of the McCarthy era and three matches at the end of Martin O’Neill reign. These are competitive games. They’re not cherry-picked. Rather, this is where data (second-hand OPTA) is available. 

By Robbie Butler,

In the summer of 2017 I was asked to contribute to the Cork City FC match day programme. With University College Cork as the main sponsors of the club it was a nice fit and a chance to engage with the wider community in Cork.

I decided to touch on the general issue of championship uncertainty and the unique place that the League of Ireland holds when it comes to competitive balance. Within the article, which appeared in the match-day programme on the 9th of July 2017, I said the following:

"Often league success has been followed by a period of gradual decline, ending in financial distress and in some cases even relegation. The cycle of champions to relegation could take less than a decade to be complete. This rarely happens in other European leagues where followers will probably know Bayern Munich have just won their fifth consecutive league title, Juventus secured a sixth Seria A title, while Celtic have also been crowned champions for the past six seasons, and finished the current campaign unbeaten."

This may now become all too true for Cork City [again]. It has not taken a decade, but rather three years. The club remains bottom of the Premier Division in Ireland, and while relegation is still very much avoidable, less than 3 years ago the club won a historic league and cup double.

How can you go from double winners to relegation candidates in less than 36 months?

​In few (of any) other European league does a team that wins the domestic double face relegation 3 years afterwards.  And it is not the first time. Why does it happen here?

I have previously explored the issue here and here. One of the figures in the links is presented again below. It demonstrates how quickly League of Ireland champions can go into a spiral of decline 1 to 4 years post winning the league. ​Cork City's decline is even more rapid.

The rate of decline is even more apparent when compared to other European league winners from 2017 - the last time Cork City were champions.

The official UEFA 2017 Roll of Honour lists the league and cup champions that year for each nation member.

Should Cork City be relegated, the League of Ireland will be the only UEFA member where the 2017 league champions are no longer in the top division of their national league. This is an ongoing problem, and on which seems to be uniquely Irish. There is a need for the entire competition structure of the League of Ireland to be changed.

​As I have said previously, the removal of promotion and relegation would be the first positive step in helping what was once infamously called "the problem child" of Irish football.

By John Considine

From the beginning, the “About” tab on this site, The Economics of Sport, says “it is an analysis of issues in sport from those with an economic perspective”.  Those words were designed to convey the space in which we were operating and to avoid debates about whether or not the material was sports economics.  The philosopher David Papineau took a similar approach: “After struggling for a while, I made a decision.  Instead of writing about one of the topics philosophers of sport are supposed to write about, I resolved to write about something that interested me.  If it didn’t count as philosophy of sport, that would be just too bad”.  Those words come from Knowing the Score: How Sport teaches us about philosophy (and philosophy about sport).
 
Reading the book was like revisiting so many posts on this site.  A few posts addressed the definition of sport.  Papineau is closer to the posts that emphasis physical activity (one of our contributors talked about changing one’s footwear).  He is somewhat critical of the approach taken by the philosopher Bernard Suits.  Suits perspective has been supported in posts on this site.  Papineau does an excellent job of discussing sports people and who they represent.  A variety of opinions and perspectives have been expressed on this site.  More may follow as one contributor, was delighted to see England win a World Cup in cricket last year, has strong views on the “Irish captaincy”.
 
One of the five sections of the book is devoted to “Rules”.  It opens with a discussion of Thierry Henry’s handball in a game against Ireland.  That topic, and subsequent events, got some coverage here.  As does Trevor Chappell’s underarm bowling.  And, the 1994 Caribbean Cup.  And, situations where one is expected to foul an opponent.  It would seems sports fans from different disciplines are drawn to the same topics and examples.
 
The first section of the book is called “Focus”.  Here Papineau strays a little into what might be formally the area of psychologists.  Plenty of us economist do likewise.  Both philosophers and economists are like kids playing ball on a neighbour's lawn.  The positioning of this material at the start of the book probably reflects a judgement call on what gets the most readers interested.

There is a coherence and depth to this book that cannot be achieved on a website.  There is also a breath of experience that can only come from a lifetime of interest in sport (I did a bibliographic web search to confirm that the author had the time for such experience).  Reading the book is like being in the company of sage relaying their life experiences and lessons.

I’m slow to follow Matthew Syed’s advice to readers “A book that every sports fan should read and every sports writer should absorb”.  It might be a useful companion for those who have dredged the depths of statistical relationships to understand sports.  As the trainers of AI machines have discovered, the data on which the machines are being trained can surface biases in our society that we want to remove.  If you want to ponder the sporting world then this book is a great place to start.  I wish I had read it when it was published three years ago.

By David Butler

Last weekend saw ALOT of goals go in and with it a good start for the penalty taker strategy. Several penalty takers scored outside of the normal penalty scenario.

In terms of penalties, Jorginho and Bruno Fernandes both stepped up at odds of 7/2 and 15/8 anytime goal scorers. Outside of these two, many other penalty takers scored in-play such as Kane, Maupay and Wilson.

So far, a profit of €11.74