In 2014 the board of the European Sport Economics Association (ESEA) initiated the Best Young Researcher Paper Award, which will be announced annually during the ESEA conference. The objective of this award is to promote excellence in research conducted by prospect young researchers, and to acknowledge outstanding work in the field of sports economics. For a paper to be eligible, all authors of the research paper must be graduate students, and the young researcher must agree to present the paper at the Conference. The awards decision is made shortly before the annual conference by an Award Committee formed among experienced members of ESEA. The selection is based on the quality, originality, and clarity of the submission and its expected future impact. The award includes an official certificate and a small honorarium.
Award Winner 2023 – Adam McCarthy
(Central Bank of Ireland)
Paper Title: Advancing the Measurement of Competitive Intensity: An Examination of the German Bundesliga
Award Winners 2022 
– Kai Fischer & Benedikt Schmal
(both DICE Düsseldorf, Germany)
Paper Title: Rabbits Caught in the Headlights: Mispricing New Information in a High Stakes Environment
Award Winner 2021 – Sam Hoey (Erasmus School of Economics and Tinbergen Institute)
Paper Title: One Man’s Pain is Another Man’s Gain – Early Career Exposure and Later Labour Market Outcomes
No Award Winner in 2020 – Conference cancelled due to Covid-19 pandemic
Award Winner 2019 – Benjamin Holmes (University of Liverpool, England)
Paper Title: Predictions with Limited Paired Comparisons Data: Market Inefficiency in Mixed Martial Arts Betting
Award Winner 2018 – Jakub Mikulka (Charles University, Czech Republic)
Paper Title: The Impact of Winning and Losing Streaks on the Bettors’ Behavior
Award Winners 2017 – Radek Janhuba (CERGE-EI, Czech Republic) & Kristýna Čechová (Charles University, Czech Republic)
Paper Title: Criminals on the Field: A Study of College Football
Award Winner 2016 – Hyunwoong Pyun, West Virginia University (United States)
Paper Title: Exploring Causal Relationship between Major League Baseball Games and Crime: A Synthetic Control Analysis
Award Winner 2015 – Emelie Värja, Örebro University (Sweden)
Paper Title: Sports and Local Growth in Sweden: Is a Successful Sports Team Good for Local Economic Growth?
Award Winner 2014 – Volker Robeck, Philipps-Universität Marburg (Germany)
Paper Title: Professional Cycling and the Fight against Doping
Interview: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung