Football Experts Meet at Heidelberg University

Erroneous offside decisions, psychostress during penalty shoot-outs and forecasts for the European football championship – these and other aspects of football will be among the themes of an international congress at Heidelberg University from 28 to 30 June 2012. The “4th Biennial Conference on the Economics and Psychology of Football” is bringing together about 40 researchers on football in the fields of sport sciences, psychology and economics. The focus will be on the behaviour of players, trainers, managers and fans, and particularly their judgement and decision-making processes. Organisers are the Institute of Sports and Sports Sciences (ISSW) of Heidelberg University and the Institute of Cognitive Team/Racket Sport Research of the German Sport University Cologne.

Since the World Cup in 2006 the congress has taken place every two years shortly before or during the European football championships and World Cups. “The event is meant not just for sport scientists but also for economists and psychologists who refer to football topics in their research”, explained sport psychologist Prof. Dr. Henning Plessner from the ISSW. “Studying judgemental phenomena in and about football may not only enrich our knowledge of how decisions are made in natural settings, but also provide valuable empirical tests of the validity of judgement and decision-making theories. Such a research endeavour benefits from interdisciplinary approaches and perspectives.” Scientists from 13 countries are expected to attend, including the UK, Netherlands, Sweden, and the current host countries of the EURO 2012, Poland and Ukraine.

The programme consists of three keynote lectures by international experts and discussion groups on different topics such as referee decisions or score forecasts. Economist Dr. Rob Simmons from Lancaster University (UK) will explore the question of who bears the costs of corruption. He will talk about the impact of “calciopoli” on fans and players in Italian football. Movement scientist Dr. Raôul Oudejans from the VU University Amsterdam will speak on the causes of wrong offside decisions and sport psychologist Prof. Dr. Bernd Strauß and Kathrin Staufenbiel from Münster University will elaborate on the topic of home advantage. Information is available at www.issw.uni-heidelberg.de/veranstaltungen/economics_and_psychology_of_football.

Note for the news desks
The conference, in English, will convene at the ISSW, Im Neuenheimer Feld 700, beginning Thursday, 28 June, at 3.30 pm. The programme also includes visiting the 1st league team TSG 1899 Hoffenheim. Participants and ISSW academics are also available for questions from journalists.

Contact
Prof. Dr. Henning Plessner
Institute of Sports and Sports Sciences
Phone: +49 6221 54-4644
henning.plessner@issw.uni-heidelberg.de

Communications and Marketing
Press Office, phone: +49 6221 54-2311
presse@rektorat.uni-heidelberg.de