The economic literature on professional sports leagues suggests supporters' utility depends on uncertainty of outcome (competitive balance) and the quality of play. Unlike soccer, where the Champions League is dominated by teams from larger countries, our analysis indicates that the ERC exhibits...

We try to better understand possible reasons for deviations between statistically-measured competitive balance (CB) and perceived CB. Moreover, we suggest answers to the following questions: are there specific dimensions of CB that are perceived to be significantly less balanced in the Danish...

Using data from 1,226 matches played over 18 seasons, we analyse match attendances in the group stages of the European Rugby Cup (ERC). We find that short-run (match) uncertainty had little effect on attendances. This finding is significant as the ERC has been replaced by a new competition which...