Institutional Performance and Sport: Evidence from International Football — Meshael Batarfi (Economics PhD candidate)

Abstract:

Football is a popular global game with more than 211 members in FIFA (International Federation of Association Football) from across six football confederations. The performance of these FIFA members is varied across these countries.  This study seeks to investigate the impact of macroeconomic variables on football performance (presented as a winning proportion). Using football data for 184 countries from 1950 to 2014 and applying the fixed effect methods, the results suggest that a higher level of GDP per capita may lead to better football overall performance for all the countries in the sample, collectively.  However, the association between a winning proportion and GDP per capita is only significantly positive among The Union of European Football Associations and Asian Football Confederation countries.

We find that the population size might contribute to football achievements in 184 countries and the significant result was found in The Union of European Football Associations, and The South American Football Confederation countries.