A Relative Age Effect (RAE) analysis of top European football clubs segmented by ownership models

AbstractThe aim of this paper is to analyse the Relative Age Effect (RAE) on European elite football teams segmented by type of ownership. The study presents the RAE incidence in the Academy of the UEFA top 10 ranking clubs near the conclusion of the 2020–21 season. The sample (n = 746) comprises players aged 17 to 23 years of age. The frequency of the players’ date of birth adjusting to a Poisson regression was used in order to confirm the presence of RAE. The existence of RAE in the whole sample was verified (p