HSE Scientists Create Second Season Calendar for Russian Premier League
Experts from the HSE Laboratory of Sports Studies at the Faculty of Economic Sciences have developed software to create the Russian Premier League’s season calendar. According to the League's management, this approach proved effective last season when special algorithms were first used.
To compile the calendar, the scientists from HSE Laboratory of Sports Studies used specially developed software that takes into account various requirements and calculates options using different mathematical methods.
When creating the calendar, the experts accounted for the following requirements: clubs’ participation in European Cup tournaments, weather conditions in various Russian regions, and expectations of the broadcaster. In addition, the most important aspect of the calendar is how balanced the schedule is from a sporting standpoint.
The Tinkoff Russian Premier League (RPL) comprises 16 teams that play each other in a rotating system of two rounds: each team must play the other in one home match and one away. The tournament calendar shows which teams play each other in each round. Last year the Laboratory of Sports Studies experts collaborated with RPL to create the League’s calendar for the first time.
Evgeny Savin, RPL Marketing Director
‘Last season showed the effectiveness of the mathematical approach in creating a calendar, so we continued our cooperation with HSE University. The 2020/21 season will be held on a tight schedule, and we had to account for many factors to optimize the calendar. We considered a number of options and chose the most balanced ones regarding teams, fans and the broadcaster.’
Dmitry Dagayev, Head of the Laboratory of Sports Studies
‘Compared to the 2019/20 season, the search criteria for calendars have been refined. Now no team in the League plays more than 2 matches in a row with A category clubs, and we managed to reschedule key championship matches for participants in the qualification stages of European competitions. Due to the tight schedule of the competition, new circumstances emerged: more tours will be held in cold weather now.’
The HSE Laboratory for Sport Studies (LSS), which was set up within the Faculty of Economic Sciences in June 2018, is engaged in theoretical research and data analysis of the sports industry. It also holds a regular research seminar and serves as a platform for interaction between sports researchers, sports clubs and federations. The laboratory has the following objectives:
- engaging HSE students in sports industry research;
- teaching students modern methods of data analysis;
- popularizing sports research in Russia;
- creating a platform for interaction between sports researchers, sports clubs and federations;
- providing high-quality expertise used in decision making by sports clubs and federations.