Football is one of the biggest betting markets around, bringing in thousands of punters from around the world. This is especially true when big football events are happening throughout the year. What are the biggest football events out there when it comes to betting specifically?
FIFA World Cup
While it doesn’t happen every year, rather happening every four years, the FIFA World Cup is the biggest prize in world for football currently. As such, as you can imagine the betting scene around this event is immense.
Traditionally, 32 different teams are split into 8 groups, with the top 2 from each group advancing. At this point, it becomes a straight knockout tournament. However the World Cup is aiming to expand in the future, to allow 48 different teams to compete. Because of this, they will need to restructure the tournament in order to allow everybody to compete fairly.
The very first World Cup took place in 1930 and was won by Uruguay, and throughout its whole history only 8 teams have won. Brazil has won the most five, and currently Argentina are the champions, having beaten France in the 2022 final.
The Summer Olympics
Again, this event only comes around every four years, but when it does it is a huge betting event for football. That is thanks to the event bringing in both men’s and women’s football, so there are more opportunities to bet on what happens on the pitch.
Like the World Cup, the competition is moved to a different location every time, with this year’s Olympics being said to be held in Paris.
With the men’s competition in the, there are several restrictions in place. This includes that squads have to be made up of players that are under the age of 23, with only three exceptions. The Summer Olympics are especially important to the women’s football teams, as it is the biggest competition to them only second to the women’s world cup.
If you are thinking of betting on the Summer Olympics, it’s worth knowing that Hungary and Great Britain are the most successful men’s teams, having one three gold medals each. When it comes to women’s football, the USA have the most successful team with four gold medals.
UEFA Champion’s League
The Champions League is the top prize in European football, and something that every European team strives for. Held annually, it is held between the best teams from the top divisions on the continents. The number of teams each country can enter will vary, depending on UEFA’s ranking of their leagues. Typically, the Premier League comes in at the top end, allowing 4 teams to be entered each year.
The tournament will start in September, with knockout stages being in February, and the final being held in May. With so many matches happening, there are lots of betting opportunities for those looking to get a slice of the action. Typically you will find that bookmakers offering Champions League betting entice customers with ‘odds boosts’ and special offers on particular teams/players.
For those looking for a safe bet, Real Madrid has clocked up the most wins, with 14 wins currently under their belts. For those wanting to bet on an English club, Liverpool have 6 wins currently, with their most recent being in 2019.
Women’s World Cup
As mentioned earlier, the women’s World Cup is the biggest prize in women’s football. Like the men’s World Cup, this is held every four years with the first being held in 1991. The most recent women’s World Cup in 2023 was the first to feature 32 teams, and use the same format as the men’s.
Just like in the Summer Olympics, the USA team are the most successful in the history of the World Cup. They have won 4 tournaments during the history of competition, with Germany coming behind them with 2 wins.
FA Cup
Again, for those who are looking for a safe bet on the FA Cup, they want to take a look at Arsenal. This club have won 14 times in the tournament history, with the most recent win in the 2019/2020 season.
These are just some of the biggest football betting events of the year. Football fans have a lot to be excited about in the coming year, and there’s lots to enjoy in the sport. You can also make things more exciting by having a flutter on the outcome of your favourite events, so keep an eye on your favourites to win to see whether it’s time to make that bet.
