ABBA penalties refer to a new penalty shootout format that was trialed in football competitions such as the Community Shield, EFL Cup, EFL trophy, and playoffs. The ABBA system is designed to be fairer on the team taking the second penalty, as it is based on the format used in tennis tie-breaks, with the team taking the first kick in each pair of kicks alternating, so AB BA AB BA and so on instead of AB AB AB AB etc. ). The idea behind the change is to take away the unfair disadvantage the team that takes the second penalty supposedly has when they have to kick to stay in the game. The hypothesis is that the player taking the second kick in the pair is under greater mental pressure. The ABBA system was introduced to reduce the potential first-mover advantage, and it mirrors the serving sequence in a tennis tiebreak).