Evaluation of Goalkeepers’ Performance via Grey Relational Analysis Method: Example of Africa Cup of Nations

Abstract

Aim: The aim of the study is to evaluate goalkeeper performances via the gray relational analysis method. Materials and Method: The sample of the study consisted of 21 goalkeepers competing in the African Cup of Nations (AFCON) 2023. Data was obtained from the official website of the Confederation of African Football and Transfermarkt. Performance indicators were determined as “save percentage”, “claimed crosses” and “passing accuracy”. The data were evaluated by the grey relational analysis method among the quantitative research methods. Results: In order to obtain the findings of the study, six steps of the grey relational analysis method were applied respectively. These are "preparation of the data set and generation of the decision matrix", "normalization of the data", "generation of the reference series", "generation of the absolute value table", "generation of the grey relational coefficient matrix", "calculation and ranking of the grey relational degrees". According to the analysis results, the highest performance value was calculated as 0,7654, while the lowest performance value was calculated as 0.3949. Conclusion: According to the results of the research, Ronwen Williams (South Africa), who won the Golden Glove Award and was selected for the team of the tournament at the Africa Cup of Nations, was determined as the goalkeeper with the highest performance.