A Brief Guide to Football: Which Leagues to Watch

For years, football has captivated and thrilled both casual and hardcore fans alike. Spectators from all around the world tune into this extremely lucrative and popular sport for good reason: the combination of talent, teamwork and technique that it requires from its competitors can elicit a feverish excitement that other sports can only evoke to a certain degree. Because of this, it comes as no surprise how far football has come from its original inception.

With its widespread popularity, the sport always seems to be consistently well marketed in various forms of media, including websites like champions league tips at bettingexpert.com. Sources for information ranging from player and team rankings to match schedules are in ample supply, but it may be just a little overwhelming to go through it all for some of us. Not unlike many other sports however, football has many different tournaments held each year. Usually referred to as leagues by the enthusiasts, these tournaments can prove to be a gateway for anyone with even just a passing interest in the sport. Here are a few of the aforementioned leagues.

UEFA Champions League

The Union of European Football Associations, or UEFA for short, organises this prestigious tournament yearly. Originally founded in the mid-50s with a mere 16 teams in the tournament, the UEFA Champions League has now grown into a group of 32 teams divided into 8 groups. In the round-robin format, the victorious teams and the respective runners-up from each division proceed to the following round. This league can be considered as the starting point for competitors and serves as the qualifier for both the Super Cup and the FIFA World Cup.

UEFA Europa League

Similar to the Champions League, the Europa League is an annual tournament hosted yearly by UEFA. Born in the early 70s, and rebranded from the UEFA Cup that it was previously known as, the tournament boasts 48 teams in the group stage. With a double round-robin type of format, the competition is fierce with only the 2 top teams progressing for a chance to compete against the winner of the abovementioned Champions League at the Super Cup.

Why watch?

Casual viewers will find plenty to like with the exhilarating matches, and most of the competing teams are often very skilled in this sport that allows for very little margins of error. The more committed enthusiasts on the other hand will no doubt enjoy the deeper tactical expertise exhibited by the players of their respective teams, perhaps even earning a small profit from learning about the strengths and weaknesses of a team through betting.

Whatever the case may be, the matches in these tournaments and leagues will surely set your heart racing and provide a memorable and thrilling sport that you can’t get anywhere else.

 

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