Can socio-cultural predictors help explain the home advantage gap in European men’s and women’s football?

Incorporating Socio-Cultural Variables Into Calculations of Home Advantage in Women’s Sport: A New Framework

“…These factors influence the differences found between men's and women's sport and, consequently, they influence differential gender-based HA rates. 3,7 Regarding the social bonding and teamcommunity relationship in sport, Smith asserted that fans were less likely to see a women's team as being representative of the local community than a men's team. 29 Consequently, in the HA context, we can expect to see less crowd support for women's matches and less hostility toward women's opponents and referees.…”

“…The relative infancy of the English women's league, associated with the factors previously mentioned, certainly contributes to the lower effect of HA in women's versus men's football. 3 Some studies comparing the HA rates between English men's and women's football leagues evidence the presence of a HAGG by demonstrating that HA rates have been reported to be around 10% lower in women's football. 3,9 Other similar problems and challenges have been reported for women's football in countries, such as the United States, France, and some Latin countries.…”

“…3 Some studies comparing the HA rates between English men's and women's football leagues evidence the presence of a HAGG by demonstrating that HA rates have been reported to be around 10% lower in women's football. 3,9 Other similar problems and challenges have been reported for women's football in countries, such as the United States, France, and some Latin countries. 21,26,37 In addition to social and historical factors, other factors such as less media coverage and less commercialization of women's sports make women's sports much less attractive to the general public than men's sports.…”

“…1,2 This important phenomenon is known in the sports literature as home advantage (HA). 3 HA is one of the best-established phenomena in sports science, and it has been consistently associated with superior home game performances by sport teams and athletes, regardless of the type of sport, whether the sport is individual or team based, or the skill level of the athlete/team. [4][5][6] According to past research, the causes of HA are multiple and complex.…”

“…7 The studies that compared HA-related performance between genders have usually shown that the HA effect was greater in men's than in women's sports. 3,9,13 This finding was mainly attributed to differences in physical characteristics between men and women. 14 Thus, most studies have focused on biological differences between men and women, such as hormones and territoriality.…”