Comparing competitive balance for men’s and women’s leagues in European handball

Research question: this paper contributes to research concerned with gender comparison in sport, considering handball, traditionally overlooked in studies of competitive balance. Research methods: we estimate measures of concentration and dominance to analyse the competitive balance in eight European handball leagues (both female and male) in four European countries (Denmark, France, Germany and Spain) during 15 seasons. Results and Findings: the results show statistically significant differences between the female and the male handball leagues. With the exception of France, the level of concentration is higher in the female than in the male leagues. In terms of dominance, there is less difference between the genders. In terms of evolution, the indicators reflect a deterioration of the competitive balance mainly in the female leagues. Implications: the analyses suggest that different measures should be put in place to increase the competitive balance in female leagues, through the transfer of resources from the male to the female leagues. To reduce the high level of dominance, a redistribution of resources among the teams should be considered to reduce the 'drag effect'. Research contribution: this is the first time that the most important European handball leagues have been examined to test the gender gap in competitive balance, with statistically significant differences being found.