Football
 How long will football managers stay with their team, and does talent matter? Marc West investigates how mathematical power laws can shed light on predicting managers' tenure in this article aimed at general readers and advanced students. |
 If your team scores first in a football match, how likely is it to win? And are maths and sportsmanship at odds on whether players should ever commit a professional foul? John Haigh shows us how to use probability to find the answers in this article aimed at general readers and older students, and explains the implications for the rules of the game. |
 What tactics should a soccer player use when taking a penalty kick? And what can the goalkeeper do to foil his plans? John Haigh uses Game Theory to find the answers in this article aimed at general readers and older students. |
 These 10 questions encourage students to explore mathematical modelling in the context of several different sports including track and field athletics, shooting, football, tennis, basketball and gymnastics. This activity is designed to be accessible to A-level mechanics students (Key Stage 5). |
 This activity follows on from Charting Success and encourages students to consider and analyse representations of data from the world of sport, to make sense of the stories they tell, and to analyse whether the right representation has been chosen for the purpose. It is aimed at secondary students (Key Stages 3 and 4). |
 Four sporty brainteasers in the context of fencing, hockey, football and international medal tables. This activity challenges students to be resourceful, to think logically and to work systematically, and is designed to be accessible to secondary maths students at Key Stages 3 and 4. |
 Decide which charts and graphs represent the number of goals two football teams scored in fifteen matches. This data handling activity is designed to get children talking meaningfully about mathematics, presenting and justifying arguments, and is aimed at primary school pupils at Key Stage 2. |
 What makes a perfect football? Anyone who plays or watches the game can tell you that the ball must be round, retain its shape, be bouncy but not too lively and, most importantly, be capable of impressive speeds. This last point is all down to the ball's surface, and Ken Bray explores how mathematics contributes to understanding this ultimate goal in ball design. |
 Sports statisticians, trainers and competitors create graphs, charts and diagrams to help them to analyse performance, inform training programmes or improve motivation. This activity encourages students to consider and analyse representations of data from a number of sports, and to discuss whether the right representation has been chosen for the purpose. It is aimed at secondary students (Key Stages 3 and 4). |
 The Olympic and Paralympic Games are a global celebration of excellence, determination and effort. Much of the media coverage, though, tends to focus on each country's tally of gold medals. This article by Rob Eastaway and John Haigh explores some of the mathematical questions raised by Olympic success. How well did Britain really do in 2008 in Beijing, with nineteen golds? Are some gold medals worth more than others? And are there even some sports the Olympics should drop? |
