Demographic profiling of players, clubs and leagues across Europe

1. Introduction

Since 2009, the research team from the CIES Football Observatory has carried out a survey of players from clubs in 31 top divisions of UEFA member associations. The census allows us to provide an up to date demographic portrait of players, clubs and leagues across Europe through spatial and temporal comparisons. It is a one of a kind undertaking that enables us to better understand the dynamics at work in the European football players’ labour market.

Every year, the sample is composed of players present on the 1st of October in the first team squad of the clubs analysed. Moreover, they had to have already played in domestic league games during the ongoing season or, this being not the case, to have played matches in adult championships during each of the two preceding seasons (B-teams not included). The second and eventual third choice goalkeepers were considered in all cases.

For 2022, 12,281 players eligible for inclusion were active within the 477 clubs investigated: an average of 25.7 footballers per team. This is the highest value ever recorded, no doubt linked to the greater possibilities for replacement henceforth available to coaches: five substitutions as opposed to the three allowed before COVID. By team, the values range from 35 players for the Italians of AC Monza and the Croatians of HNK Rijeka to 20 for four clubs: Horsens (DEN), Maccabi Bnei Reineh (ISR), Heerenveen (NED) and Veres Rivne (UKR).

2. Player demographics

The typical portrait of a footballer active within the 31 championships analysed is that of a man aged 26, with a height of just over 182 cm, present in the first team squad of his employer club since two years and three months, playing in 42% of the cases outside of the association in which he grew up (expatriate), as well as in only 17% of cases within a club where he stayed for at least three years between 15 and 21 years of age (trained). For players having already had experience abroad, 59% of the total, the average age of first migration is 21 and a half.

Regarding the changes observed, the age and height of players remained noticeably the same throughout the period covered. The average tenure of players in the first team squad of their employer club has, on the other hand, diminished, at a relatively rapid rate between 2010 and 2017, reflecting greater player mobility, and in a less marked manner thereafter. The value measured in 2022 was the third lowest ever observed, the record low remaining that observed in 2017 (2.22 years).

The percentage of expatriates, those having grown up in another association than that of their club and having migrated abroad for football, increased steadily throughout the period: from 36.1% between 2010 and 2013 to a record high of 42.3% in 2022. Nowadays, 58.8% of players already had an experience abroad during their career, as opposed to 47.8% in 2010. In this case too, a new record has been set in 2022. The intensification of international mobility of players is also illustrated by the evolution of the average age of the first migration, which went down from 21.98 between 2010 and 2013 to a minimum of 21.52 in 2022.

The demographic profile of players takes on different forms according to the position played in. At the level of age, footballers playing in offensive positions are younger than those occupying defensive ones. Despite the numerous young third choice goalkeepers, the highest maximum value was recorded for this position (26.60 years of age), just ahead of centre backs and full backs. This result reflects the different athletic requirements and experience needed to perform at best in the different positions. The gaps are even more noticeable when it comes to height: from 189.95cm on average for goalkeepers to 177.75cm for attacking midfielders.

Generally speaking, the biggest differences measured were between goalkeepers and forwards. The former have for example the longest average tenure in the first team squad of their employer club (2.56 years), while the latter have the shortest (1.87 years). More globally, footballers playing in defensive positions have less mobility than their colleagues playing in attacking ones. As a consequence, the latter often play for a greater number of clubs over their career.

The proportion of expatriates accounts for just over a quarter among goalkeepers (27.5%), while it is almost half for forwards (49.7%). Conversely, the percentage of club-trained players is almost twice among the former (25.3%) than the latter (13.9%). These results indicate that offensive players are not only more mobile than defensive ones, but are also more easily exportable. Moreover, their migration occurs at an earlier age. The average age of the first departure abroad is indeed 20.98 years of age for forwards and 22.43 for goalkeepers.

3. League demographics

Important differences in the demographic profile of players also come to light when considering the criterion of the league to which they belong. At the level of age, approximately three years separate players of the competition with the most experienced players, the Greek Super League (27.59 years of age), and that employing the youngest footballers, the Slovenian 1. SNL (24.53 years of age). As for big-5 leagues, the values range from 25.97 years of age for the French Ligue 1 up to 27.02 for the Spanish Liga.

As regards height, no league has players with an average height of less than 180cm. The Greek Super League is also in an extreme position. Indeed, it is the only championship alongside the Israeli Ligat Ha’al where clubs employ players whose average height is under 181cm. At the other end of the scale, only one competition, the German Bundesliga, has footballers measuring over 184,02cm on average. The record low for the five major championships was, on the other hand, observed in the Spanish Liga: 181.24cm, the third lowest value overall.

The differences between championships in terms of the average length of stay of players in the employer clubs are also very marked. Clubs in three of the five major leagues have the most stable squads: the English Premier League with a player average tenure of 3.10 years, the German Bundesliga (3.01 years) and the Spanish Liga (2.93 years). The other competitions are quite far behind, with a minimum of 1.79 years for Cyprus. The top divisions of Serbian and Belarus make up the rest of the podium for leagues where clubs have the least stable squads.

The increase in the presence of expatriate in clubs is a general phenomenon. However, their proportion still varies strongly between leagues. As usual, in 2022 also, the maximum value was measured in Cyprus (74.0%). Expatriates make up the majority of squads in seven other leagues, with the Italian Serie A having the highest value for the big-5 (61.7%). At the opposite end, in large part due to the ongoing conflict, we find the Ukrainian top division (7.9%). It is the only championship where the proportion of expatriates is less than one-fifth.

The decrease in club-trained players is also a well-established trend. Nevertheless, here also, differences between championships remain. Indeed, the values range from 27.0% in the Danish Superliga to only 8.4% in the Italian Serie A. The maximum value for the big-5 was measured in the Spanish Liga: 21.7%, the eighth highest recorded value. The Turkish Süper Lig and the first Cypriot division are also part of the domestic competitions where the percentage of footballers having stayed for at least three seasons between 15 and 21 years of age in their employer club is less than 10%.

4. Club demographics

As for leagues, clubs are strongly differentiated when it comes to the demographic composition of their squads. The maximum and minimum values vary considerably for all the indicators. With regard to age, for example, the Slovakians of MŠK Žilina bring together players with an average age of almost ten years less than the Cypriots from Anorthosis: 21.09 years of age as opposed to 30.32. The differences can also be considerable between clubs from the same competition as, for example, in the French Ligue 1 (5.41 years of age).

Regarding height, Volos, from Greece, is the team with the shortest players overall (177.35cm), while the one with the tallest is Germany’s FC Köln (186.15cm), followed by two other Bundesliga teams: Mainz and Stuttgart.

Many competitive teams have the highest values for average player tenure, which reflects squad planning strategies that are more oriented towards the long-term, thanks also to greater financial possibilities. The highest value was recorded for Real Madrid (5.08 years), while the Cypriots from Karmiotissa are to be found at the other extreme (1.12 years).

Out of the 477 teams analysed, 171 were made up of a majority of footballers imported from abroad, with a maximum of 91.3% for the Cypriots from Pafos (21 players out of 23). At the other end of the scale, only ten teams, including the Basques Athletic Club, had no expatriates in their club.

The number of teams without any club-trained player is, on the other hand, greater: thirty clubs, including four from the big-5 (Getafe, Cremonese, Salernitana and Brentford). Only eight teams are made up of a majority of players from their youth academy, including two from the big-5 (Real Sociedad and Athletic Club) and one participating in the Champions League (Shakhtar Donetsk).

5. Conclusion

Carried out each year using the same methodology, the demographic analysis of squads allows us to follow the evolution of the football players’ labour market. In 2022, new records were set with regard to the percentage of expatriate footballers (42.3% despite the sharp decline observed in Ukraine) and, negatively, for the proportion of club-trained players (17.0%). In both cases, the trend reversal observed following the pandemic was short-lived.

A new record for the percentage of expatriate players was notably broken in the Italian Serie A (61.7%) and the French Ligue 1 (41.9%). In the latter championship, the rate of club-trained players in squads reached an historic low (14.3%). This is the corollary of a new trend where player trading gains momentum over player training. With regard to Italy, the high percentage of expatriate players and the low proportion of club-trained ones (just 8.4%) reflect the lack of importance given to training in the country.

The top position of the Champions League title holder, Real Madrid, in the rankings of the most stable clubs also deserves to be highlighted. On average, Real Madrid players have an average tenure of 5.08 years in the first team squad. The fact that many other top-level clubs (Liverpool, RB Leipzig, Athletic Club, Bayern Munich, Manchester City, etc.) feature high in this table shows the importance of long-term planning for optimum results.