Football… and “soccer” betting tips
Just to set the record straight, we’re talking about association football or soccer…
As we now have American football, Aussie Rules football, Gaelic football even rugby football (!) it’s hard to know sometimes what sport ‘football’ actually is these days.
This sport, the most popular worldwide sporting pursuit, has all manner of references going back many hundreds of years…
However, the starting point for the modern game is the formation of the Football Association (FA) in London, 1863. This body was to bring together the previously disparate teams and playing formats and consolidate the game into one coherent sport and one codified set of rules.
It was 25 years later that the Football League (1888) came into being, the oldest football competition in the world.
There were 12 teams in the first league – Accrington, Aston Villa, Blackburn Rovers, Bolton Wanderers, Burnley, Derby County, Everton, Notts County, Preston North End, Stoke City, West Bromwich Albion and Wolverhampton Wanderers.
A second division was formed in 1892, and a further expansion in the 1920’s saw a Third Division North and Third Division South further boost professional team numbers.
Later changes to the game included the first floodlit match (1956), the first football substitute (1965) and the move from two points to three points for a win (1981).
There have also been subsequent re-drafts of the league format as the Third Division and Fourth Division replaced the North and South sections in 1958, and the Premier League replaced the First Division in 1992.
League competitions have always been classed as the height of achievement in the game but cup competitions, with a knock-out format, have also been ever present in football’s history.
The first FA Cup final was played in 1871, the football League Cup was initiated in 1860 and the Football League Trophy has been contested by lower league teams since 1983.
The arrival of Sky Sports in the early 1990’s has brought a great deal of money into the English game, raised its profile around the world and brought all manner of star players to the English Premier League.
Football at international level…
Although soccer may be viewed as a British sport, and even that is open to question, the game has flourished all around the world during the last 100 years.
On the European continent the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) was formed in Basel in 1954 and still has its headquarters in Switzerland (Nyon).
UEFA oversees the running of the game in Europe and administrates the European inter-continental competitions.
Originally thee were the European Cup (started in 1955), the UEFA Cup (also begun in 1955) and the European Cup Winners Cup (first contested in 1960).
All three have changed over time with the Champions League replacing the European Cup in 1993 and the Europa League taking the place of the other two competitions in 2009, and now supplemented with the UEFA Conference League since 2021.
At international level the European Championships were first held in 1960… staged every four years, either side of the World Cup. The next tournament will be Euro 2028 hosted by the United Kingdom & the Republic of Ireland.
Aside from Europe, there are similar football federations in South America (CONMEBOL), North America (CONCACAF), Africa (CAF), Asia (AFC) and Australasia (OCF).
These organisations manage the game on each continent, all coming under the umbrella organisation which is the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA).
FIFA controls the running of the game’s major international tournaments, notably the football World Cup… the next one being 2026 World Cup held in Canada, Mexico and the USA. Whilst at a continental level, each individual body operates their own championships… like of the CAF runs the Africa Cup of Nations.
What markets are available in football betting?
Football betting will provide you with more than 100 markets for any one match.
And the nature of the game, added to advances in technology, growing audience figures and increased betting turnover… all mean that bookmakers will keep providing a seemingly limitless number of ways to bet on soccer.
Outright 90 minute results, Half-Time/Full-Time, correct score, over/under 2.5 goals, first goalscorer… these are probably the most popular markets amongst football tipsters and soccer punters.
However, football betting tips can cover the time of the first goal, both teams to score, draw no bet, either side to win to nil (without conceding a goal), to keep a clean sheet, what time the first goal will be scored, total number of goals…
The list of potential football bets is truly staggering as the layers look to cater for every conceivable outcome.
Add that onto the usual bets such as outright Premier League tips, backing teams to be relegated or win the Champions League… if you want a bet, whether before the match or in-running football tips, then this sport has them in abundance!
Why bet on football?
Seriously, why not?
For any of the above reasons… and, more to the point, because football is another sport where you can find a market to suit you.
Ones that produce big prices, high strike rates and, hopefully, big football betting profits.
Look around the net and you’ll find a huge number of sites that provide statistical data… and there are, as we’ve seen, hundreds of different football markets to play… put the two together and you’re in business!
The best advice would be to specialise. Look for certain types of bets or certain kinds of matches to focus us… build up your expertise in just one area.
And you can afford to do this, as there is so much football played worldwide that even if you just concentrate on one type of bet, say, Asian Handicaps, you will never be short of matches to play.
Football (or soccer!) may well be the world game… but it’s also the profit-making game.
With a vast range of bets, there’s no reason why everybody shouldn’t be a football backer… so if you want the perfect soccer bets, contact me today…
