Match attendance at Euro 96: was the crowd waving or drowning?

Abstract

This paper examines, for the first time, match attendance for football within the context of an international tournament, the European Championship staged in England in 1996. It develops the familiar demand function of economic, demographic, spatial, uncertainty of outcome determinants and exogenous match-specific factors with respect to an international championship rather than a domestic league situation. Significant determinants include match quality and sequence, distance between each participant and the host country, probability of tournament success, derby games, indigenous support together with the presence of either home team in a match. Given the importance of such international competitions for the financial probity and as showcases for the professional sport, the analysis of their key constituent features is important in maintaining their viability.