Cores de uniformes e desempenho no futebol profissional

Abstract

Color not only has aesthetic value, but it can also communicate precise information that has direct implications for psychological functioning. In the context of sports, it is hypothesized that uniforms with a prevalence of certain warm colors (e.g., red) can influence competitive advantages, or play in a more violent way by wearing black uniforms. Thus, the present study sought to explore the effect of shirt colors on performance in men's professional football in the world's top leagues (Bundesliga [GER]; Campeonato Brasileiro Serie A [BRA]; LaLiga [ESP]; Premier League [ENG] and Serie A [ITA]). Match data containing specific statistics from OPTA® Sportsdata, a London-based company, were obtained through web scraping. The sample had 392 matches covered a cross-section of 60 calendar days from August 11th to October 11th, 2023, in the 2023/2024 season. The data included 98 different clubs, each playing approximately eight matches, along with 197 different hexadecimal color codes used on approximately 2.5 different shirts per club. The "color family" variable was categorized into "black", "blue", "green", "red", "white", "yellow", "combined colors" (including vertically and horizontally striped shirts), and other colors such as "brown", "khaki", "gray", "olive", "orange", and "purple". This categorization was determined by hierarchical cluster analysis. In the 2-way ANOVA test, a significant main effect with a small magnitude was observed for the "home ground" factor (F(1, 768)= 30.04, p<0.001; Eta2 (partial)= 0.04, 95%IC [0.02,1.00]) on the score obtained in the game. The main effect of the "color family" factor was not statistically significant (F(7, 768)= 1.82, p= 0.081; Eta2 (partial)= 0.02, 95%IC [0.00, 1.00]). There was no significant interaction between the factors (F(7, 768)= 1.22, p= 0.288; Eta2 (partial)= 0.01, 95% CI [0.00, 1.00]). It can be concluded that the "jersey color" factor did not modulate the competitive advantage through the score obtained in the game. The "home advantage" factor seems to be a phenomenon with a stronger casuistic load compared to uniform calorimetry in elite professional football matches. Future studies could further explore this troubling issue of uniform color mediation in Sport Science, whether it be in issues related to sport performance, refereeing, thermal comfort, consumer relations, gender, or violence.