This Monthly Report analyses the presence of expatriate footballers in 145 leagues from 96 national associations worldwide. On the 1st of May 2021, despite the pandemic, the number of expatriates increased by 639 in comparison to the same date in 2020: from 13,025 to 13,664. This increase in difficult circumstances confirms that the internationalisation of the footballers’ labour market is a well-established process.

This report analyses different indicators regarding the fluidity in matches played since the 1st of July 2019 in a total of 37 European competitions thanks to the data provided by InStat. The study notably reveals that the fluidity of the game depends on geographical and cultural logics.

This report presents the approach developed by the CIES Football Observatory to comparatively assess the sustainability of squads based on three elements: players’ age, the length of their stay in their employer club and the duration of their contracts. The study covers the squads of the 98 teams from the five major European championships.

This Report presents the second CIES Football Obaervatory analysis on the demographic profile of players and teams of four Latin American leagues: the Brazilian, Argentinean, Mexican and Chilean top divisions. The study comprises 2,260 footballers having played domestic league minutes during the second semester of the 2020 calendar year for one of the 80 clubs from the competitions surveyed.

This Monthly Report presents the principal results of a questionnaire survey carried out between December 2020 and January 2021 to know the opinion of fans on the professional game. It focuses on the following thematic areas: match events, scheduling, spectacle, access to the spectacle, revenues, inequalities, abuses, gender and transfers.

The 60th Monthly Report presents the methodology of the CIES Football Observatory for the comparison of the technical performance of players in a statistically objective manner and applies it to footballers in 35 domestic leagues of UEFA member associations. The data used was produced by the company InStat. It refers to the 2020/21 season (or 2020 for the summer championships).

The 59th Monthly Report presents the findings of the annual census carried out since 2009 on players present in the clubs from 31 top division European male leagues. For 2020, the sample is composed of 12,088 footballers from 479 teams. The study reveals that the pandemic strengthened the gaps in the profile of players according to the sporting and economic level of clubs.

Since the propagation of COVID, speculations on the consequences of the virus on the professional football economy have been widespread. For the first time, this report studies the real impact of the pandemic on the footballers’ transfer market. The analysis covers three areas: the volume of investments, the typology of transfers (permanent, temporary, free, paid, etc.) and the price of players.

The manner in which people live and practice football throughout the world is a good indicator of country-specific features. This Monthly Report compares 87 top divisions worldwide from the point of view of the number of yellow and red cards given by referees during matches played between the 2015/16 (or 2016) and 2019/20 (or 2020) seasons.

This Monthly Report analyses the characteristics of the coaches at the head of 1,646 teams from 110 leagues in 79 countries worldwide. The study covers three aspects: the age, the length of stay in the club managed and the origin (national/expatriate). The Report also presents the rankings of the most represented origins among expatriate coaches.

The 55th Monthly Report of the CIES Football Observatory analyses the contribution of national associations worldwide from the point of view of the production of professional players. Independently of the modalities of calculation, Brazil emerges as the principle worldwide power. France and Spain complete the podium.

The 54th Monthly Report analyses the career paths of players present in March 2020 in the five major European leagues. The study focuses on the last club where the footballers played before making their debut in the big-5. It identifies clubs and countries that act as a stepping-stone for players to access the world’s wealthiest and most competitive championships.

Since 2010, the CIES Football Observatory has been at the forefront of pioneering work in developing a scientific method to estimate the transfer values of footballers based on sums previously paid for players with similar characteristics. This report goes through the variables included in the statistical model developed, reveals the predictive power of the latter and presents several applications of the approach put into place.

This Monthly Report analyses the technical performance data collected by our partners OptaPro for the 2019 regular season of the Major League Soccer (MLS) of the United States and Canada. The study shows that the style of football played in the MLS differs from that of the five major European leagues in two principal aspects: the pressing on opponents and the aerial game.

This report turns its eye exclusively to Latin America. Based on the model of the annual study carried out since 2009 for 31 European leagues, it compares four top division Latin American championships from the point of view of the demographic characteristics of players: the Brazilian Serie A, the Argentinean Superliga, the Chilean Primera División and the Mexican Liga MX. The study covers 79 clubs and 2,015 footballers

The 50th Monthly Report of the CIES Football Observatory analyses the make-up of the 42 teams having always been present within the five major European leagues over the course of the decade 2010. Although money is more than ever a key factor, squad stability stemming from good strategic planning and the ability of clubs to get the best out of the talents trained in their youth academies remain crucial success criteria even in the today’s hyper-commercial and globalised environment

The 49th Monthly Report of the CIES Football Observatory analyses clubs from 31 European top divisions from the standpoint of the demographic characteristics of their players for the period from 2009 to 2019. Particularly noticeable between 2009 and 2018, the trend in the European labour market for footballers towards less stability and a greater international mobility has declined over the past year

The 48th Monthly Report of the CIES Football Observatory analyses the evolution of the number and characteristics of footballers having played on loan for teams of the five major European championships during the last decade. It notably shows that clubs from these leagues take more and more players on loan: from 2.62 per club and season between 2009 and 2014, to 3.09 between 2014 and 2019 (+18%). In 2018/2019, footballers on loan played a record number of minutes within the big-5: 11.5%.

Since its creation in 2005, the CIES Football Observatory has been monitoring the transfer of players through information published by clubs and the media. This Monthly Report analyses the sums paid in transfer indemnities by big-5 league teams, the clubs and championships who benefited from these investments, the net balance sheets for both teams and leagues, as well as inflation observed year by year since 2010.

This Report analyses the composition of teams participating in the five of the most developed women’s professional leagues worldwide: four European leagues (Germany, Sweden, France and England), as well as the National Women’s Soccer League in the United States. It reveals that the age of players increases, international mobility grows and the concentration of the best footballers within a limited number of clubs independently of their origin pursues its course.

This Monthly Report analyses the presence of expatriate footballers in 147 leagues from 98 national associations. Brazil is clearly at the top of the rankings for countries exporting footballers, ahead of France and Argentina. The most frequented migratory route originates from Brazil and ends in Portugal (261 players). England and Italy are the chief importing countries of footballers.

The 44th Monthly Report of the CIES Football Observatory analyses match attendances in 51 national football leagues from 42 countries. The first part focuses on 26 championships. It retraces the evolution in attendances over the last fifteen years. The second part compares the attendances recorded over the last five seasons for all of the 51 leagues included in the analysis.

This Monthly Report focuses on the top English football division: the Premier League. It analyses the evolution of the origin of players fielded over the past ten years. It shows that the percentage of players having grown up in England, the “nationals”, has progressively fallen to reach a new negative record level over the current season. The proportion of goals scored by Englishmen shows a similar trend.

This 42nd Monthly Report analyses the evolution of the competitive balance in the group stages of the Champions League since the introduction of the current format in 2003/04. The different indicators analysed illustrate a clear trend towards less balance and more predictability.

The 41st CIES Football Observatory Monthly Report analyses the link between ball possession and results in 35 championships from UEFA member associations using the data used generated by the specialist InStat company. Though the link between success and possession is undeniable, it is only from a certain level that ball control allows teams to improve significantly their results. This is probably the source of the erroneous but widespread idea that possession is not a key factor for success.

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.