ABSTRACT
This chapter describes similarities and differences in the tactical behavior of women’s and men’s teams in football. In order to avoid gender bias in the evaluation of football matches, the central idea is to compare not video data but, rather, position data of women and men from different matches. We applied classical sports science variables to individual, group, and team tactical behavior, on the one hand, and new sports informatics analysis methods based on artificial neural networks on the other. Practice-relevant results can be obtained for the interpretation of game strategies, the objectivity of analysts, and football training for both genders. The aim is to further develop and professionalize women’s football in the field of tactical behavior. In addition, the profile of women’s football is to be sharpened by objectifying the comparisons of the tactical performance of women’s and men’s teams. Finally, a tactically appealing football game will further increase the attractiveness of women’s football and, thus, strengthen the role model character of the teams and players.
