Home vs. Away or Away vs. Home? How to Tell Which Team is the Home Team

Have you ever looked at a listing for a sporting event on TV or online and been confused about which team is playing at home? For years, it seemed like TV networks, newspapers, etc. all listed the home team a certain way. Some put the home team first in a horizontal listing. 

• Home team vs. Away team

Others would list the home team on the bottom of a vertical listing. This would appear like the example below.

• Away team
• Home team

Over the last few years, it seems that the sports media industry has no consistency when it comes to listing home and visiting teams. It seems like there are no clear-cut rules as to how a listing is to appear. The bottom line is that it can be very confusing trying to decipher which team is the home team and which is the visitors. But we are hoping to clear up some of that confusion with this article.

A Matter of Geography

Part of the confusion as to which team is the home or away team is related to where one is viewing a sports listing. If you are watching TV in the U.S., a listing for an upcoming game will show the home team differently than if you see that same listing in France or England.

In the U.S., Canada, and Japan, the home team is listed second. That means in a horizontal listing like the one above the home team would be the second one listed. Let’s say it’s an NFL game coming up in Week 18. Whether it’s a listing on a popular website or one you see on the ticker on the bottom of your favorite sports TV show, the second team listed is the home team.

• Pittsburgh vs. Baltimore
• Cleveland-Cincinnati
• Tampa Bay @ Carolina

Notice that some forms of media may list the two teams with a hyphen between them while others use “vs.” the abbreviation for versus. Some will even use the @ symbol, which is a clear indication that the second team listed is the home team. 

All listings in the U.S. Canada, and Japan always list the home team second. In every other country in the world, the home team appears first in a sporting event listing. Now, like most rules, there are exceptions.

The Thing with Soccer

While most sports in the U.S. list the visiting team first and the home team second, soccer is just the opposite. Look up the Major League Soccer schedule, for example, on ESPN or any other sports website. The home team is listed first.

• Inter Miami CF vs. Real Salt Lake

In this listing, Inter Miami CF is the home team. Keep in mind that soccer is the world’s game. It is an international sport and in other countries around the world games are listed with the home team first. The U.S. follows that custom here. Well, most media do it that way, but like anything there are exceptions. It’s possible that you might find a soccer listing in the U.S. with a home team listed second.

Confused? Well, you probably will be at some point. Just remember, when you’re looking at sports listings here in the U.S., the away team is listed first and the home team second. The only time the home team is listed first is in a soccer match listing. Got it?