The management magazine strategy+business (PwC network) has published an interesting article about the chance that Iceland wins the 2018 FIFA World Cup. It also highlights a yet-to-be-published study of sports economist at Erasmus School of Economics, by Dr. Thomas Peeters.
On 14 June, 32 national soccer teams start their World Cup campaigns in Russia, including Iceland, the smallest country ever to qualify. There have been 20 World Cups since the tournament’s founding in 1930 and just eight countries sharing the victories, all either Latin American or Western European. This is not surprising given the popularity of the sport in these regions and the high level of league competition that nurtures the talent pool. But most international tournaments produce a surprise or two — Iceland beating England at the 2016 European Championships, for example — indicating that population and history are not the only ingredients for success. Managers make a difference.
In a yet-to-be-published study, economist Thomas Peeters of Erasmus School of Economics shows that importing technical know-how improves national teams, particularly if that talent comes from Western Europe or Latin America. Peeters looks at 16 years of match results, up to the year 2015, of countries that belong to FIFA, soccer’s world governing body. Controlling for GDP, climate, population size, and cultural distance (using research to measure the differences in culture and values), Peeters finds that “missionary managers” — soccer experts who take their skills from highly developed soccer nations to coach abroad — improve local talent and results.
- More information
Read the entire article here.