CASTROL EDGE RANKINGS FAQ

What are the Castrol EDGE Rankings?

The Castrol EDGE Rankings are the world's first rankings system based on the actual performance of every football player across Europe's top five leagues.

How are the Castrol EDGE Rankings Calculated?

What is the Castrol Index?

The Castrol Index objectively analyses player performance, tracking every move on the field and assessing whether it has a positive or negative impact on a team's ability to score or concede a goal. At the end of each game, players are given a score out of ten.

For more details on how the Castrol Index score is calculated, please go to www.castrolfootball.com.

What is the difference between the Castrol Index and Castrol EDGE Rankings?

Which players and matches do the Castrol EDGE Rankings cover?

The Castrol EDGE Rankings ranks the world's best players, covering the performances of every player in the top five leagues in Europe: The English Premier League, Spain's La Liga, Italy's Serie A, the German Bundesliga and France's Ligue Une as well as the UEFA Champions League.

How are the tournament weightings calculated? And what are the current weightings?

Castrol Performance Analysts use more than 50,000 scores from domestic and European matches to generate a team strength rating for each club in Europe. The weightings reflect the average team strength in that tournament.

Current tournament standings in order of weighting strength are as follows:

1. UEFA Champions League Knockout stage
2. UEFA Champions League Group Stage
3. Spain La Liga Primera Division
4. England Premier league
5. Germany Bundesliga
6. Italy Serie A
7. France Ligue 1

At the end of the football season, the weightings are adjusted accordingly to reflect the strength of each domestic league.

How often will the Castrol EDGE Rankings be updated?

The Castrol EDGE Rankings are a rolling ranking system which looks at the last 12 months e.g. 1st October 2008 - 30th September 2009. The Castrol EDGE Rankings will be made available each month via www.castrolfootball.com and Castrol's global and local PR offices.

Where does the data come from to enable Castrol to create the Castrol EDGE Rankings?

Castrol's team of Performance Analysts use data provided by OPTA, Europe's leading provider of sports performance data, to create the Castrol EDGE Rankings.

Are there a minimum number of minutes a player has to play to be ranked?

All players are ranked irrespective of how many minutes they have played.

There is no minimum number of minutes a player has to play, however a player's points total is divided by the total number of minutes played in the last 12 months. Those who have played less than 2,000 minutes will still have their points total divided by 2,000*, therefore penalising players who are either injured, not selected or suspended for a considerable period of time.

*2,000 minutes is the average number of minutes played by a player who has played in at least 50% of his team's league matches. This equates to 65% of a Bundesliga season and 58% of a season in the other four leagues - excluding Champions League matches.

What if a player is transferred to another team?

If a player moves to another club in one of the five leagues measured, his performances for both clubs will contribute to his Castrol Ranking, with the appropriate weightings applied.

If a player joins a team from outside one of the five leagues, his performances only count from the moment he plays for his new club.

If a player leaves a team from one of the five leagues then he will no longer be included in the Castrol EDGE Rankings.

Surely the player who plays the most games will top the Castrol EDGE Rankings?

No, the Castrol EDGE Rankings are calculated on a per 90 minute score, measuring the quality of each player performance rather than the number of games played.

Are winning goals worth more than other goals?

No, all goals scored are of equal value.

Why does the Castrol EDGE Rankings not include other leagues such as the Brazilian Brasileiro League & the Dutch Eredivisie League?

99% of the Top 10 nominees from both the Ballon D’Or & FIFA World Player of the Year awards from 2004-2008 were playing in one of the five leagues Castrol is analysing. Additionally 81% of players who featured in the 2006 FIFA World Cup™ Quarter Finals and 91% of the 'Team of the Tournament' also played in these five leagues. Castrol may expand the Castrol EDGE Rankings to analyse more domestic leagues across the world in future, but this is dependent on getting access to consistent and 100% accurate data.

Is it possible for players that do not perform well in their domestic league but play well in the UEFA Champions League, to top the Castrol EDGE Rankings?

UEFA Champions League matches are the highest ranked games in the Castrol EDGE Rankings. A good UEFA Champions League performance is ranked higher than a good league performance. However there are fewer UEFA Champions League games, so to feature near the top of the Castrol EDGE Rankings a player must have good league and good UEFA Champions League performances.

Is it possible for players who do not play in the UEFA Champions League to top the Castrol EDGE Rankings?

Yes it is possible, if a player has consistently high performances in their domestic league.

Will it be possible for a defender to top the Castrol EDGE Rankings or will it only ever be won by strikers?

A defender could top the Castrol EDGE Rankings. The Castrol EDGE Rankings are calculated so that in each match the Castrol Index score awarded does not depend on the player’s position.

Are you giving an award to the best player each month?

The purpose of the Castrol EDGE Rankings is to determine who the best performing player is over the previous 12 months, not the best performing player of that given month. Therefore no award will be given.

The Castrol EDGE Rankings are published monthly, will there be an annual ranking noting the best player of the year?

At the end of the European domestic season Castrol will announce the final rankings standing, noting the best performing player.

Will Castrol be producing Castrol EDGE Rankings for the UEFA Euro 2012™ tournament?

The Castrol EDGE Rankings only covers the five major European leagues and the UEFA Champions League. That said, we will be running the Castrol Index at the UEFA Euro 2012™ tournament, analysing the performance of every player during the finals.

How long is Castrol's commitment to the Castrol EDGE Rankings?

Castrol is committed and passionate about football, and intends to continue the Castrol EDGE Rankings beyond 2011.