Survey of the major world sports rating systems

Abstract

Using a common framework, this paper presents a survey of the major world sports rating systems (WSRSs) in skiing (sponsored by the International Skiing Federation (FIS)), men's tennis (Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP)), women's tennis (Women's Tennis Association (WTA)), soccer (Federation of International Football Associations (FIFA)) and golf (Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews). These systems are not otherwise available in the literature. Each of the WSRSs has three phases: first, the observed results are weighted to provide points for each competition; second, these points are combined to provide a seasonal value; third, the seasonal values are combined to provide a rating. The final result or placement (and not the score or time) is the most important factor in determining points for a given competition. In skiing, men's tennis and women's tennis, the rating is calculated from results over one season, while three seasons are used in golf and six seasons are used in soccer. In cross-country skiing and men's tennis, the seasonal value is calculated from the sum of the best values from that season's competitions. In alpine skiing and women's tennis, the sum of all values from that season's competitions is used. In golf and soccer, an averaging process is used. Besides potentially encouraging more entries, a 'best' system and one using all values also generates simple integer ratings rather than decimal ratings as are obtained with an averaging system. The simplest system is that of FIS in skiing, where one table of points is used for all alpine and cross-country disciplines. In contrast, considering that soccer (as a sport) prides itself on the simplicity of the game, it is surprising that FIFA's system is so complex, It is also surprising in soccer that a 'friendly' (often a pick-up exhibition used for player development) counts two-thirds as much as does a World Cup final played before a worldwide TV audience. It is hoped that this survey will serve as a valuable resource for those studying sports rating systems.

Research on the Prediction of the likely Winners of the Euro 2008 Football Tournament

“…For a detailed calculation methodology and history of this ranking, see the official web site of FIFA's world ranking at www.fifa.com. Stefani (1997) pointed out that, considering football prides itself on the simplicity of the game, it is so complex and needs to reconsider its multiplying factors since a friendly game (often regarded as a means to select the final squad for major international tournaments) counts two-thirds as much as world cup matches.…”

Diagrammatic perturbation methods in networks and sports ranking combinatorics

“…1 are the only possible MVRs of a some paired comparison. Then the mean ranks of the three objects (1,2,3) are {1 + 2 + 1, 2 + 1 + 3, 3 + 3 + 2}/3 = {1.33, 2, 2.67}, from which we obtain the final standings {1, 2, 3}. Although this looks identical to Fig.…”

“…Three objects (1,2,3) are depicted as labeled nodes, and the rest of the system as a gray box. An arrow points from the winner to the loser in a paired comparison.…”

“…It is well known that many sports, including soccer, tennis, and American collegiate football, maintain an official ranking of teams or players based on their performances in those matches. These rankings are then often used to seed tournaments [1].…”

Intrinsic classes in the Union of European Football Associations soccer team ranking

“…• Stefani 1997 pioneering survey of the major world sports rating systems, including soccer through FIFA 1 rules, is first to be noted [20] [22]; such a theme being reconsidered by…”