This report analyses the sums paid in transfer indemnities by big-5 league teams (chapter “investments”), the clubs and championships who benefited from these investments (chapter “receipts”), as well as the net balances for both big-5 league teams and the five major European leagues themselves (chapter “net spending”). The period covered stretches from the winter 2012 transfer window to the summer 2021 one.

This report studies the changes occurred during the past five years in ten of the principal women’s leagues worldwide from the aspect of the players’ age, the percentage of expatriate footballers in teams, as well as that of full international players. It notably shows the growing influence of the major European men’s clubs in the sphere of women’s football.

This Monthly Report analyses the presence of expatriate footballers in 145 leagues from 96 national associations worldwide. On the 1st of May 2021, despite the pandemic, the number of expatriates increased by 639 in comparison to the same date in 2020: from 13,025 to 13,664. This increase in difficult circumstances confirms that the internationalisation of the footballers’ labour market is a well-established process.

This report analyses different indicators regarding the fluidity in matches played since the 1st of July 2019 in a total of 37 European competitions thanks to the data provided by InStat. The study notably reveals that the fluidity of the game depends on geographical and cultural logics.

This report presents the approach developed by the CIES Football Observatory to comparatively assess the sustainability of squads based on three elements: players’ age, the length of their stay in their employer club and the duration of their contracts. The study covers the squads of the 98 teams from the five major European championships.

This Report presents the second CIES Football Obaervatory analysis on the demographic profile of players and teams of four Latin American leagues: the Brazilian, Argentinean, Mexican and Chilean top divisions. The study comprises 2,260 footballers having played domestic league minutes during the second semester of the 2020 calendar year for one of the 80 clubs from the competitions surveyed.

This Monthly Report presents the principal results of a questionnaire survey carried out between December 2020 and January 2021 to know the opinion of fans on the professional game. It focuses on the following thematic areas: match events, scheduling, spectacle, access to the spectacle, revenues, inequalities, abuses, gender and transfers.

The 60th Monthly Report presents the methodology of the CIES Football Observatory for the comparison of the technical performance of players in a statistically objective manner and applies it to footballers in 35 domestic leagues of UEFA member associations. The data used was produced by the company InStat. It refers to the 2020/21 season (or 2020 for the summer championships).

The 59th Monthly Report presents the findings of the annual census carried out since 2009 on players present in the clubs from 31 top division European male leagues. For 2020, the sample is composed of 12,088 footballers from 479 teams. The study reveals that the pandemic strengthened the gaps in the profile of players according to the sporting and economic level of clubs.

Since the propagation of COVID, speculations on the consequences of the virus on the professional football economy have been widespread. For the first time, this report studies the real impact of the pandemic on the footballers’ transfer market. The analysis covers three areas: the volume of investments, the typology of transfers (permanent, temporary, free, paid, etc.) and the price of players.

The manner in which people live and practice football throughout the world is a good indicator of country-specific features. This Monthly Report compares 87 top divisions worldwide from the point of view of the number of yellow and red cards given by referees during matches played between the 2015/16 (or 2016) and 2019/20 (or 2020) seasons.

This Monthly Report analyses the characteristics of the coaches at the head of 1,646 teams from 110 leagues in 79 countries worldwide. The study covers three aspects: the age, the length of stay in the club managed and the origin (national/expatriate). The Report also presents the rankings of the most represented origins among expatriate coaches.