Three points for a win is a standard used in many sports leagues and group tournaments, especially in association football, in which three (rather than two) points are awarded to the team winning a match, with no points to the losing team. If the game is drawn, each team receives one point. The system places additional value on wins with respect to draws such that teams with lower overall winning percentages may rank higher in tables than teams with higher overall winning percentages but more draws.
Many leagues and competitions originally awarded 2 points for a win and 1 point for a draw, before switching to the three points for a win system. The change is significant in league tables, where teams typically play 30-40 games per season. Teams that win roughly 50% of their games are the most affected by the point system. However, some league championships have been decided on the difference in draws among teams.
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"Three points for a win" is supposed to encourage more attacking play than "two points for a win", where the conventional wisdom for managers was to draw away matches and win home games. The idea is that, if the score is level near the end of a game, teams will not settle for a draw if the prospect of gaining two extra points (by playing for a late winning goal) outweighs the prospect of losing one point (by conceding a late goal to lose the match). A second rationale is that it may prevent collusion amongst teams needing only a draw to advance in a tournament or avoid relegation. Some commentators agree that it has resulted in more "positive" attacking play.[1] However, critics suggest teams with a one-goal lead late in a match become more negative to defend the lead.[2] The number of matches finishing in a draw has not been affected in England by the change to three-points-for-a-win.[3] However, the average number of goals per match in Turkey (top division football) has risen significantly by the change to three-points-for-a-win.[4]
The system was proposed for the English Football League by Jimmy Hill.[5] It was introduced in England in 1981,[2] but did not attract much use elsewhere until it was used in the 1994 World Cup finals. The change became vital quickly as it affected Paraguay, which would have finished with the most points in its group in the 1998 FIFA World Cup; it also affected New Zealand in the 2010 FIFA World Cup Group F, which was eliminated, but would have advanced on goal difference under previous point systems. In 1995, FIFA formally adopted the system,[2] and it subsequently became standard in international tournaments, as well as most national football leagues.
This lists association football leagues where the standard is three points for a win in regulation time, one point for a draw, zero for a defeat. The year given is when the relevant season started.
Some leagues have used shootout tiebreakers after drawn matches. Major League Soccer (1996–2000) used three points for a win, 1 point for a shootout win, 0 points for a shootout loss, 0 for a loss.[13] The Norwegian First Division (in 1987) used three points for a win, 2 points for a shootout win, 1 point for a shootout loss, 0 for a loss.[14]
In the National Hockey League in North America, a system described as "the three-point win" was proposed in 2004, with three points for a win in regulation time, two for a win in overtime, and one for a tie. This proposal was put on hold by the 2004–05 NHL lockout and subsequently rejected by team owners in February 2007.[15] In 2009, the Central Collegiate Hockey Association adopted a system of three points for a regulation or overtime win, two for a shootout win, one for a shootout loss, and zero for a regulation or overtime loss.[16]