Cheat Sheets – Bet on Under 21 & Bet on Women’s Football

BETTING ON UNDER 21

1.WHERE TO GAMBLE ON UNDER 21 FOOTBALL?

Most bookmakers offer odds on Under 21 football. Whether it be Under 21 international competitions, or in domestic leagues, bookmakers such as bet365 offer odds on a range of different markets for your U21 football betting.

2. WHAT UNDER 21 FOOTBALL MARKETS ARE AVAILABLE?

With Under 21 betting becoming more popular, bookmakers have increased the variety of markets they offer as well as the range of tournaments and competitions they offer odds on. Outright betting such as U21 European Championship betting or U21 Premier League betting (now called Premier League 2) are incredibly popular. Usual markets such as Match Winner, Both Teams To Score, Half-Time/Full-Time and so on are generally available, particularly on big clashes such as a U21 European Championships final.

As well as individual matches or outright betting, many bookmakers also offer odds on what happens behind the scenes at club and international level. England U21 manager odds, for example, can be popular amongst bettors.

3. WHO OFFER THE BEST ODDS ON U21 FOOTBALL?

Bet365 have garnered a reputation for offering extremely competitive odds and is definitely worth considering for your U21 football betting.

4. WHICH BOOKMAKERS STREAM UNDER 21 FOOTBALL?

Bet365 have a comprehensive live streaming service. This bookmaker streams a variety of different sports each day, and their range of U21 football streams is also impressive. U21 international tournaments can be streamed, along with domestic U21 football.

One of the more popular U21 football tournaments to bet on is the Under 21 European Championships. This competition has increased in popularity amongst viewers and bettors alike in recent years, with the opportunity to watch the best young European talent. U21 European Championship betting odds have become more widely available in response to this increased popularity.

Other popular U21 football betting odds are offered on competitions such as the U21 Premier League.

6. WHAT ARE THE BEST WAYS TO WIN WITH UNDER 21 FOOTBALL BETTING?

Like any sport or event, you’ll increase your chances of winning your bets by gaining a deeper knowledge of the sport you wish to bet on. Study each side, recent form, Under 21 head to head records, Under 21 player records, this will help you stay one step ahead of the bookmaker and increase the likelihood of you finding a value bet.

7. WHAT UNDER 21 FOOTBALL TEAM ARE BEST TO BET ON?

When looking for Under 21 football betting odds, the bigger the competition or side, the more odds and markets are on offer. For example, Under 21 Euro betting odds for the Final can be increased, and can also be subject to bookmaker promotions and enhanced odds. England Under 21 betting odds have gained popularity with the heightened interest in the side, particularly as the majority of players are already in the public limelight through playing club football in the Premier League.

In England, teams such as Manchester United U21’s or Manchester City EDS are very popular with bettors, and Coral are another bookmaker who offer Under 21 football betting odds in domestic football.

8. WHERE ARE THE U21 EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS BEING HELD?

The next U21 European Championships will be held in Poland in 2017. The competition will be held in June with 12 teams taking part in the tournament.

9. WHO WON THE U21 EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS?

The current U21 European Championship holders are Sweden. Sweden defeated Portugal in the 2015 final, held in the Czech Republic.

Last 12 U21 European Championship Winners

YEARHOSTWINNERSRUNNERS UP
2015CZECH REPUBLICSWEDENPORTUGAL
2013ISRAELSPAINITALY
2011DENMARKSPAINSWITZERLAND
2009SWEDENGERMANYENGLAND
2007NETHERLANDSNETHERLANDSSERBIA
2006PORTUGALNETHERLANDSUKRAINE
2004GERMANYITALYSERBIA
2002SWITZERLANDCZECH REPUBLICFRANCE
2000SLOVAKIAITALYCZECH REPUBLIC
1998ROMANIASPAINGREECE
1996SPAINITALYSPAIN
1994FRANCEITALYPORTUGAL

10. WHO ARE THE MOST SUCCESSFUL EUROPEAN U21 TEAM?

In European competition, Italy can be classed as the most successful side, winning the U21 European Championships on five occasions, finishing second twice. Spain are second in the list, winning the competition four times, followed by England and the Netherlands who have won it twice. The Soviet Union also won the competition on two occasions.

11. WHO ARE THE MOST SUCCESSFUL INTERNATIONAL U21 TEAM WORLDWIDE?

In terms of world football, where the teams competing are U20 rather than U21, Argentina are the most successful side, winning the U20 World Cup on six occasions, closely followed by Brazil.

Last 12 FIFA U20 World Cup/FIFA World Youth Championship Winners

YEARHOSTWINNERSRUNNERS UP
2015NEW ZEALANDSERBIABRAZIL
2013TURKEYFRANCEURUGUAY
2011COLOMBIABRAZILPORTUGAL
2009EGYPTGHANABRAZIL
2007CANADAARGENTINACZECH REPUBLIC
2005NETHERLANDSARGENTINANIGERIA
2003UAEBRAZILSPAIN
2001ARGENTINAARGENTINAGHANA
1999NIGERIASPAINJAPAN
1997MALAYSIAARGENTINAURUGUAY
1995QATARARGENTINABRAZIL
1993AUSTRALIABRAZILGERMANY
1991PORTUGALPORTUGALNORWAY

12. WHO WON THE UNDER 21 PREMIER LEAGUE?

The most successful U21 Premier League side are Manchester United under 21’s. Since this particular league was introduced in 2012, United have won the league title on three occasions.

As of the 2016/2017 season, the U21 Premier League is called Premier League 2. The age limit for players has also increased, from under 21 to under 23.

U21 Premier League Winners

SEASONWINNERS
2012/13MANCHESTER UNITED
2013/14CHELSEA
2014/15MANCHESTER UNITED
2015/16MANCHESTER UNITED

13. HOW IS THE ENGLISH U21 LEAGUE ORGANISED?

In England, the U21 (now U23) system consists of two categories – the Premier League 2, or Category 1, and the Professional Development League, known as Category 2. Promotion and relegation take place between the two categories each year.

Professional Development League Winners

SEASONWINNERS
2012/13CHARLTON ATHLETIC
2013/14CREW ALEXANDRA
2014/15SWANSEA CITY
2015/16HUDDERSFIELD TOWN

14. WHAT IS THE U21 PREMIER LEAGUE CUP?

The U21 Premier League Cup, now simply known as the Premier League Cup, is a cup competition for Premier League 2 sides to compete in. Introduced in 2013, the current champions are West Ham United.

Premier League Cup Winners

SEASONWINNERS
2013/14READING
2014/15SOUTHAMPTON
2015/16WEST HAM UNITED

15. WHERE TO WATCH UNDER 21 PREMIER LEAGUE?

Under 21 Premier League football, now known as Premier League 2, can be viewed via bookmaker live streams, club websites and on television. Sky Sports show Premier League 2 matches on occasion, with BT Sport another channel who offer this service too, although these occasions tend to be when a huge clash is taking place, such as a title decider.

Many football clubs stream their U21 fixtures via their own websites.

16. WHERE CAN I FIND U21 LIVE SCORES?

With the popularity of the youth game increasing over recent seasons, live score features are readily available. Bookmaker live scores service will show you the latest live scores, under 21 fixtures and under 21 results as well as various websites.

The Premier League website will also give you the latest information you need for Under 21 football.

17. ENGLAND U21 PLAYERS WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

Many of the players who have appeared at England U21 level have gone on to make a number of appearances for the first team. James Milner holds the record for the most appearances for the England U21 football team with 46 caps, and has gone on to appear for the full national side on 61 occasions to date.

Alan Shearer, who went on to captain the full England side, is the England U21 joint leading goalscorer. Shearer scored 13 England U21 goals and shares the record with Francis Jeffers.

18. WHEN IS THE NEXT ENGLAND U21 MATCH?

All England U21 football fixtures can be found with our Smartbets fixture list.

19. WHAT DOES UNDER 21 MEAN?

Under 21 football is where youth players aged 21 and under can appear in an under 21 competition for their club or country. Depending on the rules of that particular tournament, a certain number of players can be over the age of 21, called ‘overage players’. For example, in the Premier League 2, the goalkeeper can be over the age of 21 as well as up to three outfield players.

20. IS THERE UNDER 21 FOOTBALL AT THE OLYMPICS?

Men’s football has been part of almost every Olympic Games since 1900, though the rules on professional players and age have changed. From 1996, Olympic Games rules concerning men’s football have consisted of professional players under the age of 23 can play, and each squad can have up to three over-23 players included.

WOMEN’S FOOTBALL BETTING CHEAT SHEET

Betting on Women's Football - Cheat Sheet by Smartbets

Credit: lassedesignen / Shutterstock.com


1. WHERE CAN I BET ON WOMEN’S FOOTBALL?

Most bookmakers offer women’s football betting odds. Bet365 offer a wide range of women’s football odds, including on Women’s Super League fixtures and Women’s FA Cup matches.

For big matches, such as Women’s Football World Cup matches or Women’s Football Olympic games, many bookmakers offer odds on Match Winners, Group Winners and Outright Winner markets, as well as betting favourites such as total goals, both teams to score and Asian Handicap. BetVictor, Coral and Ladbrokes can offer comprehensive women’s football betting markets, along with others such as Betfred, 10bet, bwin and 188bet.

2. WHO OFFERS THE BEST ODDS ON WOMEN’S FOOTBALL?

Bet365 offer a range of odds on women’s football matches. As well as the match result market, bet365 also offer Asian Handicap, Goal Line and Total Goals Over/Under markets on a range of women’s football. Women’s football betting odds are very competitive.

3. WHICH BOOKMAKERS STREAM WOMEN’S FOOTBALL?

Bet365 have a fantastic array of live streams and women’s football is no different. Not just on international women’s football matches, bet365 offer live streaming to their customers on leagues from all over the world, including women’s football from countries such as Israel and Romania.

The most popular women’s football tournament to bet on is the Women’s World Cup. The most widely watched women’s football competition, the Women’s World Cup is also commonly bet on, with bookmakers offering a range of specials when the women’s most prestigious tournament takes place.

The English Women’s Super League is gaining popularity, and with it the range of women’s football betting markets is increasing. As the women’s game continues to grow, so will the variety of women’s football markets on offer.

5. WHAT ARE THE BEST WAYS TO WIN WHEN BETTING ON WOMEN’S FOOTBALL?

When it comes to betting on women’s football, apply the same methods when betting as you would do on the men’s game. Study teams, players, form, fixtures and so on, keep up to date with the latest happenings in the women’s game to strengthen your chances of making profit when betting. You can usually find some betting tips on Women’s Football on Bettingexpert.

6. WHAT WOMEN’S FOOTBALL TEAMS ARE BEST TO BET ON?

You can bet on any women’s football game bookmakers are offering odds on. Generally, William Hill and bet365 offer the most comprehensive range of markets on women’s football. The most successful sides in women’s football, such as USA and Germany on the international scene and Manchester City Women and Chelsea Ladies in English domestic football, are sometimes the best sides to bet on, simply because these sides tend to play in the more high profile matches or competitions and as such a wider range of markets are available.

7. WHAT YEAR DID WOMEN’S FOOTBALL START?

Women’s football has existed for as long as the men’s game. The first recorded women’s football match in England took place in 1895, though Scotland recorded a women’s football match taking place in 1892. There were a number of women’s football teams around this time, with Dick Kerr’s Ladies, based in Preston, one of the more famous.

8. WHO FUNDS WOMEN’S FOOTBALL?

In England, women’s football is funded by Sport England, the FA, the Premier League and the Football League Trust, along with investment from the Football Foundation and funds from individual clubs.

9. WHEN WAS THE FIRST WOMEN’S FOOTBALL WORLD CUP?

The first Women’s Football World Cup was held in 1991. First known as the Women’s World Championship, the first competition was held in China and was won by the USA. The next Women’s World Cup will be held in 2019 in France.

10. WHO WON THE WOMEN’S FOOTBALL WORLD CUP?

The United States are the current Women’s Football World Cup Champions, beating Japan 5-2 in the 2015 World Cup Final held in Canada.

Previous Women’s World Cup Winners

YEARHOSTWINNERSRUNNERS UP
2015CANADAUSAJAPAN
2011GERMANYJAPANUSA
2007CHINAGERMANYBRAZIL
2003USAGERMANYSWEDEN
1999USAUSACHINA
1995SWEDENNORWAYGERMANY
1991CHINAUSANORWAY

11. WHEN WAS WOMEN’S FOOTBALL INTRODUCED TO THE OLYMPICS?

Women’s football was first played at the Olympics at Atlanta 1996. The inaugural Women’s Football Olympic Gold Medal winners were the USA, after defeating China 2-1 in the Gold Medal game.

12. WHO WON THE WOMEN’S FOOTBALL OLYMPICS 2016?

Germany are the current Women’s Football Olympic Champions, beating Sweden in the Gold Medal game at Rio De Janeiro.

Previous Women’s Football Olympic Champions

YEARHOSTGOLDSILVERBRONZE
2016RIOGERMANYSWEDENCANADA
2012LONDONUSAJAPANCANADA
2008BEIJINGUSABRAZILGERMANY
2004ATHENSUSASWEDENCANADA
2000SYDNEYNORWAYUSAGERMANY
1996ATLANTAUSACHINANORWAY

13. WHEN WAS THE FIRST WOMEN’S FOOTBALL LEAGUE INTRODUCED?

Japan was the first country to have a semi-professional Women’s Football League. The L. League was introduced in 1989 and still exists today.

In England, the first national Women’s Football League was introduced in 1991. First known as the Women’s Football Association National League, the competition became known as the FA Women’s Premier League in 1994 before the introduction of the FA Women’s Super League (WSL) in 2011. A second division, known as WSL 2, was introduced in 2014.

Women’s Super League Winners

YEARWINNERSRUNNERS UP
2011ARSENALBIRMINGHAM CITY
2012ARSENALBIRMINGHAM CITY
2013LIVERPOOLBRISTOL ACADEMY
2014LIVERPOOLCHELSEA
2015CHELSEAMANCHESTER CITY
2016MANCHESTER CITYCHELSEA

14. WHO ARE THE BEST WOMEN FOOTBALL PLAYERS?

As with the men’s game, this question can be fairly subjective. Some of the best women football players have won the FIFA Women’s World Player Of The Year award, or Ballon d’Or, introduced for women’s football in 2001. American Mia Hamm won the first award, with German Birgit Prinz winning the award for three successive years from 2003 to 2005. Brazilian Marta has won the award the most times, winning for five consecutive years between 2006 and 2010.

Last Five FIFA Women World Player Of The Year Award Winners

YEARFIRST PLACESECOND PLACE
2011HOMARE SAWA (JAP)MARTA (BRA)
2012ABBY WAMBACH (USA)MARTA (BRA)
2013NADINE ANGERER (GER)ABBY WAMBACH (USA)
2014NADINE KESSLER (GER)MARTA (BRA)
2015CARLI LLOYD (USA)CELIA SASIC (GER)

15. WHERE TO WATCH WOMEN’S FOOTBALL?

Women’s football is broadcast on a variety of channels. The BBC, BT Sport and British Eurosport are the main Women’s football broadcasters. The BBC show international matches along with the FA Women’s Cup. BT Sport broadcast the WSL and the WSL Continental Cup, with British Eurosport showing international matches along with the UEFA Women’s Champions League.

At one time, women’s football was just as popular, if not more so, than men’s football. In the early days of women’s football, women’s football matches attracted higher crowds than most men’s games. 25,000 spectators saw the first ever women’s international match in 1920, Dick Kerr’s Ladies v France XI, and 53,000 people watched Dick Kerr’s Ladies play St Helen’s Ladies that same year.

However, in 1921, the Football Association banned women’s football teams from playing at stadiums that allowed spectators to watch, a ban that wasn’t lifted until 1971. As such, the popularity of the women’s game drastically reduced.

17. HOW MANY WOMEN’S FOOTBALL CLUBS ARE THERE?

There are a huge amount of women’s football clubs worldwide. In England, there are ten levels in the women’s football system, with 90 teams in total taking part in these divisions.

Women’s football is played at club level in 29 countries across the world. There are more countries that don’t have a women’s football league, but do have a women’s international football side.

18. WHO IS THE ENGLAND WOMEN’S FOOTBALL CAPTAIN?

The current England Women’s football captain is Steph Houghton. Houghton, who was given an MBE award in 2016, was given the England women’s captaincy in 2014, seven years after making her international debut.

19. WHEN DOES THE WOMEN’S FOOTBALL SEASON START?

Most women’s football leagues have their season running from September to May. In England, the women’s football season began in March. However, from the 2017/2018 season, the Women’s Super League will take place from September to May, with a winter break from mid December to mid January.

20. HOW MANY SPECTATORS WATCH WOMEN’S FOOTBALL?

There has been almost a 50% rise in match attendances for women’s football in England over the last two years. In 2016, Manchester City Women had the highest average crowd of 1500 spectators. The 2015 and 2016 Women’s FA Cup Finals were watched by crowds of over 30,000. For the 2015 Women’s World Cup, there was a televised audience of over 2 million in England.

21. ARE WOMEN’S FOOTBALL NETS SMALLER?

A common myth in women’s football, the size of the nets are the same in women’s football as they are in men’s.

22. WHO IS NUMBER ONE IN WOMEN’S FOOTBALL RANKINGS?

As of August 2016, USA are number one in the FIFA Women’s Rankings.

RANKINGNATION
1USA
2Germany
3France
4Canada
5England
6Sweden
7Australia
8Japan
9Korea DPR
10Brazil