This book presents accounts of economic and psychological analyses of association football (or “soccer” as it is popularly known in the USA). As football is widely accepted to be the world’s most popular sport, the case for scientific investigation of its characteristics is self-evident. As the contributions to this book demonstrate, the game of football offers an ideal opportunity to empirically investigate a wide range of broad issues, for example: behavioural decision-making; judgmental forecasting; motivation; game-theoretic models of strategic choice; competition and labour markets. Are teams more likely to concede a goal after having just scored? Does the team going first in a penalty shoot-out have an advantage? Should goal-keepers dive or stay put for penalty kicks? Do referees make decisions consistently? Why do fans like their teams? What factors influence the career of footballers? How well can experts predict football matches? How accurate are prediction markets? How does the stock-market react to match outcomes? These questions and others are addressed in this book. A particular focus is the investigation of popular conceptions—and misconceptions—about football. Of interest to psychologists, behavioural economists and football enthusiasts with an analytic approach to understanding the game, this book brings together contributions from a range of academic disciplines and will stimulate further research into football and the intriguing insights into behaviour it offers. See feature article in The Independent, October 8th, 2008: http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/news-and-comment/fact-or-fiction-form-in-football-954440.html Listen to interview with Patric Andersson on Swedish National Radio http://www.sr.se/cgi-bin/P1/program/index.asp?ProgramID=1302 Read Chris Charles’s blog on BBC website: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/chrischarles/2008/10/lies_damned_lies_and_statictic.html

Our view of football will never be the same again... Written by a world-respected football historian, this football history/gift title reveals the global game's greatest myths and untruths. Football has been completely mythologized and many of the things football fans think they know about football and its history turn out not to be true. We want to believe the myths, and so they become accepted. So much football writing is not properly researched, and so the myths get repeated... again and again and again. Backed up by the highest level of academic research yet written in an accessible, mass-market style, the book will explore the truth behind many accepted myths. For example, did you know: - The Germans took football to Brazil, not the English - Rugby and not football could quite easily have been the world's leading sport - There are gay professional players ....and always have been! - Goalkeepers should not dive for penalties - Football hooliganism did not begin in England - Shirt colours do make a difference - Cambridge and not Sheffield is the home of the oldest football club in the world - Arsenal should not be in the Premier League... they cheated to be there - The Dynamo Kiev team were not executed after beating a German SS team in 1941 - England did not win the World Cup fairly in 1966 ... but not in the way you think! Written by Kevin Moore, the founding director of the National Football Museum (the world's leading football museum), this thoroughly researched and authoritative book will debunk more than 50 of the greatest myths surrounding football.

In 15 Sports Myths and Why They're Wrong, authors Rodney Fort and Jason Winfree apply sharp economic analysis to bust some of the most widespread urban legends about college and professional athletics. Each chapter takes apart a common misconception, showing how the assumptions behind it fail to add up. Fort and Winfree reveal how these myths perpetuate themselves and, ultimately, how they serve a handful of powerful parties—such as franchise owners, reporters, and players—at the expense of the larger community of sports fans. From the idea that team owners and managers are inept to the notion that revenue-generating college sports pay for athletics that don't attract fans (and their cash), 15 Sports Myths and Why They're Wrong strips down pervasive accounts of how our favorite games function, allowing us to look at them in a new, more informed way. Fort and Winfree argue that substituting the intuitive appeal of emotionally charged myths with rigorous, informed explanations weakens the power of these tall tales and their tight hold on the sports we love. Readers will emerge with a clearer picture of the forces at work within the sports world and a better understanding of why these myths matter—and are worthy of a takedown.

A 2022 Choice Reviews Outstanding Academic Title Dispels the myths surrounding head impacts in youth sports and empowers parents to make informed decisions about sports participation “They’re just little kids, they don’t hit that hard or that much.” “Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) only happens to former NFL players.” “Youth sports are safer than ever.” These are all myths which, if believed, put young, rapidly maturing brains at risk each season. In The Brain on Youth Sports: The Science, the Myths, and the Future, Julie M. Stamm dissects the issue of repetitive brain trauma in youth sports and their health consequences, explaining the science behind impacts to the head in an easy-to-understand approach. Stamm counters the myths, weak arguments, and propaganda surrounding the youth sports industry, providing guidance for those deciding whether their child should play certain high-risk sports as well as for those hoping to make youth sports as safe as possible. Stamm, a former three-sport athlete herself, understands the many wonderful benefits that come from playing youth sports and believes all children should have the opportunity to compete—without the risk of long-term consequences.

We've all been hearing rumors about sacking America's beloved game of football—and it's time someone spoke out against the witch hunt. In The War on Football: Saving America's Game, Dan Flynn debunks the haters and tells us why America needs football.

Sports Myths uses economic principles to bust fifteen college and professional urban legends that continuously rear their heads, but that fall apart under analytical scrutiny.

Think Again! False Facts Attacked and Myths Busted by Clive Gifford takes readers on a wild ride through history, science, the natural world and the human body in search of-the TRUTH! Conspiracy theories, popular trivia, old wives' tales, common misconceptions, misinterpretations and other fallacies are explored to untruth exactly why they are wrong, and how and why they were adopted as fact in the first place. Thoroughly entertaining with fun typography, fast-paced text, light and fascinating side-stories, and lively, photo-montaged illustrations, this big huge compendium of curriculum-led subjects appeals to today's technological-savvy children. Fully detailing each myth and error, along with its historical or scientific background, each falsehood is debunked, and then a full explanation of its true facts are presented.