These days, more than half of all matches in soccer leagues go on for more than 100 minutes. New data shows that 52.4% of league games exceed 100 minutes. This metric varies considerably from league to league. For example, the Middle East has the highest and Finland the lowest.
The CIES Football Observatory analyzed the length of matches played so far this season among the top 70 leagues from across the globe. It rated those leagues accordingly.
The 2022 World Cup promised prolonged and more precise extra time for matches. Consequently, the worldwide average match duration has risen to beyond 100 minutes for the first time.
Soccer leagues differ in hitting 100 minutes per game
Games in Saudi Arabia‘s top two leagues are the longest in the world. Both of those competitions average games over 106 minutes. All of the games in Saudi Arabia’s second division have surpassed the 100-minute mark this season.
In comparison, just 6.7% of games in Switzerland’s second tier go beyond the 100-minute mark. This highlights a distinct approach from match officials.
Only around 10% of games in the Veikkausliiga of Finland have gone over the 100-minute mark this season. The league also has the lowest average amount of overtime played per game in the globe at only 6 minutes.
Breaking down Europe’s top five leagues
When compared to the other top five leagues in Europe, the Spanish LaLiga matches often go somewhat longer than 103 minutes. Every game had an average of 13 minutes and 3 seconds lost to injuries.
For reference, 84%of La Liga games go above the century mark. Just 70% of matches in the English Premier League and the Italian Serie A do so.
As a group, the top five leagues all play matches that are longer than 100 minutes on average. The Bundesliga in Germany has the shortest average game time at 100 minutes and 21 seconds, just seven seconds longer than the French Ligue 1.
PHOTO: IMAGO / Foto2press
