Rules that changed the history of football: One victory = 3 points
Previously, a victory awarded only 2 points. But now, the reward for winning is 3 points.
Winning a game gives you three points, drawing one point and losing gives you nothing. But it was not always like this. In fact, during much of the 20th century, football around the world awarded two points for a victory. But everything began to change when, at the start of the 1981-82 English season, it was decided to award the winner three points instead of two.
But what was the goal of implementing this new rule? The idea of the English Football Association was to create a better football show. What was thought was that an additional point for a victory would lead the teams to take a more offensive attitude, that is, there would be more goals. This would generate more people in the stadiums, more people watching the game on television, more publicity, and therefore more money.
Liverpool was the first league champions to use the 3-point-for-a-win system.
This was a decision that was made after the 1980-81 season, as it was the worst stadium attendance season since the end of World War II. This is why Jack Dunnett (president of the English League) and Bert Millichip (F.A. employee) decided to carry out this new "experiment". But in any scientific method, after experimentation, an analysis of the results must be carried out to determine if the new "theory" is true or not, which never happened. This new format was firmly established, despite not obtaining the expected results.
-Between 1950 and 1960, 3.42 goals per game were scored.
-Between 1960 and 1970, 3.14 goals per game were scored.
-Between 1970 and 1981, 2.53 goals per game were scored.
-------------------One victory = 3 points---------------------
-Between 1981 and 1992, 2.6 goals per game were scored.
-Between 1992 and 2000, 2.59 goals per game were scored.
-Between 2000 and 2010, 2.59 goals per game were scored.
-Between 2010 and 2020, 2.74 goals per game were scored.
Despite this, FIFA liked this new rule and for this reason, the 1994 World Cup was the first to implement the 3-point system. And then FIFA imposed this new rule on the leagues of every country in the world.
The 1994 World Cup was the first to use the 3-point system.
In 2009, Digger and Geyer published a paper on the effects of this rule in the Bundesliga in the "Journal of Sports Economics" and determined that it did not increase the number of goals but it did decrease 0-0 draws. Another analysis was made by Palacios-Huerta in his book "Beautiful Game Theory", where he analyzed the Spanish League and determined that the ties decreased and that there were more shots on goal and more corner kicks. But, the number of fouls increased. In the final conclusion, he explained that this rule did not increase the goals but it did help to reduce the draws. The author explains that it is preferable to take risks and try to win the match to get a great reward (3 points). Before the reward for winning was 2 points and that was not enough for the teams, so they took less risk and settled for a tie.
The book "Beautiful Game Theory" analyzed the results of this experiment in the Spanish League
The teams seek to win and are not satisfied with the draw
However, these analyzes are taking into account the main leagues in the world. To truly determine if this new rule changed football, FIFA should conduct a comprehensive analysis taking into account all the leagues in the world.
Continue Reading: Rules That Changed Football History: Yellow And Red Cards
Esta nota habla de:
