Are relatively older soccer players more frequent and valuable than their relatively younger peers? A study of the major American leagues

Aim: The purpose was to analyze the Relative Age Effect (RAE) on players' representativeness in Top American soccer leagues, and analyze the RAE on players' market value in the above-mentioned leagues. Methods: The date of birth and perceived market value from 3494 male elite soccer athletes who participated in the 2022 season of the Argentinian (Superliga), Brazilian (Série A), Colombian (Liga Dimayor I), Mexican (Liga MX), and US American (MLS) soccer leagues were collected. The occurrence of the RAE among players was assessed in each of the leagues through a comparsion of the incidence of athletes born in each quarter and the frequency expected for each quarter. Results: The examinations of the players' birth quarters revealed a disparity in birth distribution across all leagues when compared to the expected values. Conclusion: Results also indicated that market values did not differ based on the players’ quarter of birth in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Mexico and USA.