Competitive balance remains a core component of sport economics literature and an important management consideration for league organisers. This paper analyses competitive balance in the 'big five' Asian football leagues longitudinally between 1996/97 and 2017/18.Using recognised measures of league concentration and dominance, the results display a mixed picture in respect of competitive balance across the five major leagues in Asian football. The Asian football market has seen positive growth during the last two decades while competitive balance in most of the leagues examined has remained relatively stable. Some significant differences were detected in the levels of concentration between leagues.There was also some variation in terms of some leagues being dominated by a fewer number of teams. However, these two measures of competitive balance (concentration and dominance) were not necessarily correlated with each other. In a broader governance context, questions remain over the potential for further growth in the Asian football market given the dominant market position of the European game.

Competitive balance remains a core component of sport economics literature and an important management consideration for league organisers. This paper analyses competitive balance in the 'top five' women's football leagues in Europe longitudinally between 1997/98 and 2018/19. Using recognised measures of league concentration and dominance, the results display a mixed picture in respect of competitive balance across the five major women's leagues in European football. The women's football industry has seen positive growth during the last ten years while competitive balance in most of the leagues examined has remained relatively stable. Some significant differences were detected in the levels of concentration between leagues. There was also some variation in terms of some leagues being dominated by a fewer number of teams. However, these two measures of competitive balance (concentration and dominance) were not necessarily correlated with each other. In a broader governance context, questions remain over the potential for further growth in the women's game as leagues are moving towards commercialisation of TV rights from 2021-22.

This commentary provides a rapid analysis of the impact of COVID-19 on English football's finances. The focus surrounds the distribution of wealth and financial disparity between clubs in the English football system leading to overspending and potential insolvency. We consider the impact of broadcast rights distribution, solidarity payments and parachute payments and provide strategic direction for a collective recovery. The intention is to stimulate discussion and analysis on how football governing bodies can use the COVID-19 pandemic to reset the finances of English football. Such discussion provides a more balanced, competitive suite of competitions that tackle financial inequality and put aside self-interest. We reposition the winner takes all narrative, requesting clubs to reflect on the sporting product that has led to both success and failure at an individual club level.

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PurposeThis paper analyses competitive balance in the “big five” women's football leagues in Asia longitudinally between 2010 and 2019.Design/methodology/approachCompetitive balance has been measured using recognised measures of concentration, HICB and NHICB, alongside recognised measures of dominance, i.e., identification of top teams. A time-trend analysis has been employed to identify trends of CB in the respective leagues followed by ANOVA and relevant post-hoc tests to identify difference in concentration measures. A multiple linear regression analysis has been conducted to identify the impact of external economic factors on CB.FindingsSome significant differences were detected in the levels of concentration between leagues. There was also some variation in terms of some leagues being dominated by a fewer number of teams. However, these two measures of competitive balance (concentration and dominance) were not necessarily correlated with each other. The paper also tries to find the optimum number of teams to maintain CB in the women's football leagues in Asia, but an exact figure could not be found.Research limitations/implicationsSome significant differences were detected in the levels of concentration between leagues. There was also some variation in terms of some leagues being dominated by a fewer number of teams. However, these two measures of competitive balance (concentration and dominance) were not necessarily correlated with each other. External economic factors were found to have negative impact on CB.Originality/valueThe paper is an original research and aims to add to the growing body of CB research in world through analysis of competitive balance (ACB).