Home advantage in women’s football Comparison of Europe and America
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Abstract
This study aims to investigate the home advantage in women’s football leagues. Additionally, the difference between Europe and America was examined. The sample of the study is first-tier women's football leagues of England, Germany, Spain, France, and the United States. Variables of the study are stadium attendance (crowd support), goals scored and conceded (secondary performance outcomes), and number of wins, draws, and losses (tertiary performance outcomes). Related data were obtained from Two Circles, Soccer Stadium Digest, and Sports Reference. The analyses used in the study are Spearman’s correlation analysis, the GLM mediation model, the Mann-Whitney U test, and the GLM moderated mediation test. The findings showed a significant relationship of stadium attendance with goals conceded, the number of wins, and the number of losses. Moreover, the number of goals conceded has a full mediation role in the effect of stadium attendance on the number of losses. In terms of regional differences; stadium attendance and the number of goals conceded are differentiated significantly. Lastly, the moderated mediation model was supported which means there was a strong mediation for Europe and no mediation for America. Consequently, this study supports the game location framework and a framework for home advantage in women’s sports.
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