Home advantage in football in Brazil: differences between teams and the effects of distance traveled

Resumo

Objective:  The objective of the study was to quantify home advantage in football in Brazil by focusing on differences
between teams, and on the effect of distance traveled.
Sample:  The sample data comprised the results of all 2326 games played between teams of the First Division (series A)
of the Brazilian national league for the five seasons between 2003 and 2007.
Methods:  Home advantage was quantified after controlling forteam ability and then compared between teams making
use of standard parametric statistical methods. An  ordinal logistic regression analysis was used to assess and quantify
the effect of distance traveled by the away team onthe result of a game.
Results:  Paysandu from Belém was found to have the highest home advantage with 75% of its total points being won
from home games compared with the league average of65% (p < .05). Mean home advantage for teams from the north,
north-east and south of Brazil were higher than from the central region (p <.05). Distance traveled bythe away team had
a small but significant effect on the result of a game (p < .01) amounting to an expected .115 of a goal in favor of the
home team per 1000km traveled.
Conclusion: It was concluded that team differences in home advantage exist in Brazil with teams in the north andsouth
generally having increased home advantage. Travel effects, and possibly climatic conditions, are plausible explanations
that need further research.