Use of players: South America stands out

Issue number 357 of the CIES Football Observatory Weekly Post ranks teams from 84 top divisions worldwide according to the number of players fielded in domestic league matches during the last 365 days.

The figures greatly vary from only 21 players at the Finnish side Inter Turku up to 61 for four clubs: Club Aurora (BOL), Colo Colo (CHI), EC Juventude (BRA) and Royal AM (RSA).

At the level of the five major European leagues, Genoa Calcio fielded the most players in domestic league matches since the 15th November 2020: 50 footballers.

Two English clubs also engaged in European Cup competitions are at the opposite end of the table: Manchester City and West Ham United (25 players).

Among the 14 big-5 league teams who fielded less than 30 players notably are Spanish champions Atlético Madrid (26 players) and European champions Chelsea FC (29).

Per league, the average number of players fielded per team stretches from 25.7 in the Faroe Islands up to 48.4 in Honduras.

In the big-5, the extreme values were recorded in the English Premier League (31.0) and the Italian Serie A (37.7).

Per Confederation, the figures vary from 35.3 at AFC level up to 43.5 in the CONMEBOL. 

Click here to access the Post.

About the CIES Football Observatory

The CIES Football Observatory is a research group created in 2005 within the Swiss-based Centre International d’Étude du Sport (CIES). It specialises in the statistical analysis of football, in particular in the areas of demographics, transfer values and performance. Click here for more information.

About the CIES

The International Centre for Sports Studies (CIES) is an independent study centre located in Neuchâtel, Switzerland. It was created in 1995 as a joint venture between the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), the University of Neuchâtel, the City and State of Neuchatel. Click here for more information.

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