On the fairness of single round-robin tournaments: Evidence from European football
Why football's uneven home-away schedules don't unfairly tilt league outcomes
Single round-robin football tournaments give some teams more home games than others, which theory suggests is unfair. But analysis of European leagues shows this scheduling imbalance has no meaningful effect on final points, despite team strength being the dominant factor—suggesting either the problem is overblown or how experts measure home-field advantage needs rethinking.
Most sports leagues spend resources and complexity adopting double round-robin formats to eliminate this perceived unfairness. If the problem doesn't actually matter on the field, leagues could simplify their schedules and cut administrative costs without affecting competitive integrity. This also suggests the football analytics community should reconsider how they model home advantage in rating systems.