LE3 .A278 2021

2021

MacLean, Stephen

Acadia University

Bachelor of Business Administration

Honours

Business Administration

Business

Today’s football landscape is molded by the multi-million-euro transfers of players from club to club. We see football clubs today spending over €200 million for a single player to boost their chances of winning games and therefore championships; however, current research lacks analysis as to what factors impact this transfer. It has appeared, in the past, that football teams have held biases over the years towards favouring certain nationalities and positions. South American and European players are often at the forefront of the most expensive transfers in the world. In terms of player position, attackers dominate in terms of transfer fees paid. This paper aims to examine whether these biases are validated by statistical analysis and what role nationality and player position have in determining transfer fees. Through a quantitative approach to data collection and analysis using multiple regression models, 40 variables were analyzed over 3 primary categories: 1. Player Characteristics, 2. Player Performance and 3. Player Achievements. The results of the Ordinary Least Squares regressions did not show any statistically significant findings for the impact of nationality on transfer fees; however, results did show that a premium is paid for an attacking player compared to midfielders and defenders. There were also statistically significant, positive relationships found between 1. attacking players making key passes and 2. registering assists and their transfer value. Similarly, goals scored by defenders significantly increased their transfer value. This research could lead to football managers and sporting directors reducing errors in the transfer window and give a better understanding of the breakdown of the fees they are paying for players.

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https://scholar.acadiau.ca/islandora/object/theses:3576