With the 2018 World Cup Final amassing over three billion viewers and the UEFA Champions League in Kyiv the same year watched in over 200 countries, and many other footballing events racking up billions of viewers combined, it’s no secret that football (or soccer) is the most popular sport in the world.
These, coupled with its presence in every continent, mean punters have several opportunities to make wagers. If you are a punter looking to back the winner, you need all your ducks in a row. The first step is finding the right bookie, so you can choose a platform that guarantees customer safety while offering the best odds.
Once you’ve picked the right site, you’ll need to decide how to fund your betting account. Many players are choosing to explore the convenience of crypto payments for your bets which are fast, secure, and accessible globally (source: https://www.outlookindia.com/outlook-spotlight/best-crypto-betting-sites-news-333928). Whether you’re wagering on local leagues or international matches, cryptocurrency provides a universal solution. However, classic options like debit cards are still popular – they are accepted by almost all sites and tend to make players eligible for promotions and bonuses.
But, choosing a bookmaker is only half the puzzle; you must place your bets on the right matches in the right league. The following are some of the best leagues to bet on, as they can be easier to predict.
UEFA Champions League
Founded: 1995, Rebranded 1992
Number of teams: 32
Season: September to May
The UEFA Champions League is the pinnacle of club football. It invites European teams to contest for bragging rights and huge sums of money. While some teams get automatic qualification to the league, others do so by contesting in the playoffs. This gap in quality between teams at the group stages can mean easy pickings for people looking to place a bet.
New Zealand National League
Founded: 2021
Number of teams: 10
Season: March to December
The most important thing in any football match is the goals; in the New Zealand National League, they score many goals! With 192 out of 254 games played having over 2.5 goal tally, it makes your job easier when placing a bet—and the games a lot more exciting to watch.
While it might previously have been unheard of for British fans to bet on football from so far afield, it’s getting easier than ever before. That’s especially true when looking to new sites that need to stand out in a competitive market. So with the newest sites in the UK offering odds on more leagues from around the world, you’re sure to find a range of markets on the New Zealand National League just like you would on any European league.
French Ligue 1
Founded: 1930
Number of teams: 18
Season: August to May
The French Ligue 1, officially Ligue 1 UberEats for sponsorship reasons, is the French premier league and is currently dominated by Paris Saint-Germain. The current holders have won the league a record 11 times, failing to win the league only twice (in the 2016-2017 and 2020-2021 seasons) since the 2012-2013 season.
PSG’s winning streak, coupled with state-backed ownership, means other teams are relatively underdeveloped, and there’s very little competition, making the French Ligue 1 a low-hanging fruit for people looking for a winning streak of their own.
England Premier League
Founded: 1992
Number of teams: 20
Season: August to May
The England Premier League, officially known as The Football Association Premier League Limited, is the very zenith of English Club Football. It is one of the most popular leagues in the world, featuring bigwigs like Manchester United, Liverpool, and Arsenal, to name a few.
It is one of the more competitive leagues on this list, with any of the big six comfortably making a claim for the championship every season. The other teams in the league have been improving, and the gap between the upper, middle, and lower-table teams is gradually disappearing.
The competition stiffening certainly makes choosing a winner more difficult, but it also means that the odds are generally higher, so a successful analysis of the teams can pay off. More interest in the EPL translates to bookmakers having more betting options and offers for EPL matches compared to other leagues on this list, too.
Pro tip: To help you choose the best bet to place, check previous fixtures and compare the head-to-head meetings of teams playing in the matches you want to bet on.
Turkey Süper Lig
Founded: 1959
Number of teams: 20
Season: August to June
The Süper Lig, officially called the Treyendol Süper Lig, is Turkey’s top-flight football league. Galatasaray, the reigning champion, also has the most championships, winning 23 titles. However, this does not mean the league is without competition, as clubs like Fenerbahçe, Beşiktaş, Trabzonspor, İstanbul Başakşehir, and Bursaspor have won the league at least once in the last decade.
The average number of goals scored per game in the last season was 3.05, up from 2.81 in 2021-22. Both teams have scored in 58% of games in the last two seasons, making both this market and over 2.5 goals attractive bets in the Süper Lig.
