Track: Operations Research

Abstract

Football is played by approximately 250 million people, and draws approximately 1.3 billion in audiences worldwide, making it the most popular sport in the world. Being a competitive sport, football teams are naturally interested in improving the performance of its players, improving its standing in their respective regions, and gaining a competitive edge over opponents. This paper analyzed the offensive and defensive efficiencies of Southeast Asian football teams that competed in the AFF Suzuki Cup 2018. This was achieved by mathematical optimization method, in particular Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA), to compute for the frontiers of offensive and defensive production. The results from DEA yielded some interesting findings. First, the researchers found that on average, the offensive efficiency of the teams is greater than their defensive efficiency. Second, the researchers also found the teams to be more efficient at home than when playing away.  Third, the researchers found that the best strategy to produce points and goals for SEA football teams in the AFF is to improve the defense when playing at home, and to improve the offense when playing away from home.