Competitive balance is a crucial issue for the whole of collective sports. The 40th Monthly Report of the CIES Football Observatory analyses this issue from a spatio-temporal perspective. The sample includes 24 European competitions over a period of ten seasons between 2008/09 and 2017/18. All of the indicators analysed illustrate a trend towards a greater imbalance in European football.

The long-term work carried out within the CIES Football Observatory focuses, in particular, on the demographic analysis of the football players’ labour market. The surveys carried out over the past decade allow us to reveal very clear trends. As illustrated in this report, the footballers’ labour market in Europe is becoming deterritorialised by a decreasing presence of club-trained players, a stronger presence of expatriate footballers and greater mobility.

This report analyses club strategies in the area of player turnover for the five major European leagues since 2005/06. It reveals that too many changes in line-ups do not constitute a good strategy for optimising results. On the contrary, high turnover levels tend to affect players’ confidence and aggravate the situation.

The 37th CIES Football Observatory Monthly Report analyses from a financial standpoint transfer operations carried out by big-5 league clubs since 2010. It notably highlights the key role played by the Premier League in the structuration of the market. During the eight-year period analysed, English top division clubs are responsible for 78.3% of the overall big-5 league deficit for transfer operations.

Football offers incredibly interesting possibilities to when it comes to data-driven analysis. This e-book regroups the Monthly Reports published by the CIES Football Observatory over the course of the 2017/18 season. Two research notes are also included. The contents mainly relate to our three key areas of expertise: the demography study of the players’ labour market, the analysis of the technical performance of both teams and players, as well as the economic study of the transfer market.

The 36th CIES Football Observatory Monthly Report analyses the composition of squads in five major women’s leagues: four European (Germany, Sweden, France and England), as well as the Women’s National Soccer League in the United States. The study notably highlights the increases in the average age of players. The number of expatriate footballers goes also up both on the pitch and in squads.

The 35th edition of the CIES Football Observatory Monthly Report analyses the presence of expatriate players in the world. The sample is composed of 12,425 expatriate footballers present on the 1st of May 2018 in 2,235 teams from 142 leagues of 93 national associations. Brazil is the most represented country (1,236 expatriates), followed by France (821) and Argentina (760). The nationals from these three associations make up 22.7% of the total number of expatriates.

The first CIES Football Observatory Monthly Report published in January 2015 studied club stability across Europe. Three years later, the thirty-fourth edition develops this issue by illustrating the value of long-term planning for football clubs. The indicator selected is the percentage of players recruited by their employer club since less than one year.

The analysis of the presence of club-trained players in squads across Europe is particularly interesting when it comes to comparing football cultures and strategies on an international level. The report covers first team squad members of clubs from 31 top division European leagues. It relies on the annual census carried out by the CIES Football Observatory on the 1st of October of every year since 2009.

The demographic analysis of squads is a key research area of the CIES Football Observatory. The 32nd edition of the Monthly Report analyses the age structure of teams in 31 top division European leagues. This allows us to show discrepancies on an international level, while also investigating the links between the age structure of teams and success.

The 31st CIES Football Observatory Monthly Report analyses transfer networks from different angles. Firstly, it studies the destinations of expatriates from the three main exporting countries: Brazil, Argentina and France. It then analyses from a historical perspective the recruitment areas of big-5 league teams. The same study is carried out at club level for Real Madrid, Manchester United, AS Rome, Bayern Munich and Paris St-Germain.

The thirtieth Monthly Report of the CIES Football Observatory analyses the profile of the 32 teams that have qualified for the final phase of the 2018 FIFA World Cup™. The study covers the thematics of age, height, country of birth and employer association of players fielded by each squad during the qualifying matches.

This Monthly Report analyses the evolution of the demographics of the European football players’ labour market since 2009. The study covers the thematics of training (club-trained players), internationalisation (expatriate footballers) and stability (players recruited during the year). The statistical indicators that have been reviewed allow to compare policies pursued by clubs in composing their squads on both a temporal and spatial level.

The analysis of pitch performances at both individual and collective level is one of the three principle fields of research of the CIES Football Observatory. The 28th edition of our Monthly Report compares 35 national competitions across Europe using the database made available by the InStat company. The sample comprises 19,544 matches played between the 1st September 2015 and the 31st August 2017.

The study of the transfer market constitutes one of the key areas of research of the CIES Football Observatory. This report analyses the paying fee transfers having taken place since 2010 which involved teams of the five major European championships: the English Premier League, the Spanish Liga, the German Bundesliga, the Italian Serie A and the French Ligue 1.

Women’s football is currently undergoing a welcome development. At the elite level, the process of professionalisation is well underway in several countries worldwide. Following in the footsteps of the CIES Football Observatory studies, this report analyses the composition of squads in five of the world’s most developed leagues (Frauen Bundesliga, Damallsvenskan, Division 1 féminine, Women’s Super League and National Women’s Soccer League). The study investigates the criteria of age, origin and international status of players.

The 25th edition of the CIES Football Observatory Monthly Report analyses the presence of expatriate footballers in 137 leagues of 93 national associations worldwide. In total, 174 national associations have at least one representative active abroad in a club included in the sample. Brazil is the most represented country in absolute terms (1,202 expatriates), followed by France (781) and Argentina (753).

The 24th edition of the CIES Football Observatory Monthly Report studies the demographic evolution of the big-5 European leagues since the 2009/10 season. The analysis focuses on the percentages of domestic league minutes played by four categories of players: club-trained, under 21s, expatriates and recent arrivals.