Surviving the National Lottery: Football Pools Strike Back

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Posted by admin | Posted in FootBall Talks | Posted on 25-12-2009

The concept of the football pools dates back to Liverpool, 1923 when the late Sir John Moores printed off and distributed football coupons by hand after football matches. Fixed-odds betting on football matches had actually been in existence since the 1880s when newspapers in England began to present fixed prices on football matches. However, the concept of a football pool was radically different to that presented by the newspaper and has stayed relatively unchanged since.

Essentially, whereas the newspaper carried odds on teams to win or a match to end in a draw, the football pools allowed players to predict the results of multiple matches, with their entry ‘stake’ being pooled together. Winners would then be given a share of the ‘pool’ depending on the amount of money in the pool and the number of winners.

The basic premise of the coupon was to amass 24 points from the list of games played on a Saturday. In order to do this, players selected matches that they thought would end in a ‘draw’ and mark their coupon with an ‘X’. The number of selections a player could make depended on the ‘perm’ (permutation) they wanted to play, as well as the cost of the bet. For example, an 8-from-10 perm allowed players to select 10 matches in the hope 8 of them would result in a draw. Players would hand their completed coupons and stakes to a collector or agent, who would send them on to the operator’s office for checking.

Once all the matches had been played, the pools operator would check each coupon and allocate a score to each selection, depending on result of the match. Commonly, draws were awarded 3 points, with away-team wins being awarded a point-and-a-half and home-team wins being awarded 1 point. Coupon scores would be calculated on the highest scoring combination, depending on the perm played and a dividend announced based on the total amount of the pool and the number of winning players – the more players who scored 24 points, the lower the winning payout was likely to be. Meanwhile, pools players would huddle around the TV or radio – coupon in hand – and await the football results being announced.

Football pools co-existed with high-street bookmakers, who provided much more specific betting opportunities on football matches and horse-racing. While the growth of the football pools had no adverse effect on bookmaker turnover, the easier access to gambling provided by bookmakers did not affect the football pools business either. In fact, many gamblers combined the two elements, contributing to the success and growth of both industries.

However, with the introduction of the National Lottery in 1994, the numbers of people who played football pools began to decline and threatened the pools operators’ long-term future. In fact, immediately prior to the launch of the National Lottery, there was an estimated 10 million football pools players but the introduction of the National Lottery has seen the loss of around 90 percent of football pools customers – lured away by the potential huge lottery jackpot. This is despite football pools still holding a potential payout in excess of £1 million!

In order to survive, football pools operators were forced to consolidate and regroup, which saw some of the major operators amalgamate into a single, larger entity. Furthermore, with the introduction of the internet and online gambling, football pools operators also cast their nets wider in an attempt to entice a greater range of customer.

Nowadays, the websites of football pools operators are about more than predicting the results of football matches. These sites now offer players the chance to play a range of worldwide lotteries as well the opportunity to play online bingo with other players around the country, or even test their knowledge across a range of quizzes as well as the possibility of an instant win ‘scratchcard’. This is all in addition to the game that made the football pools operators a household name to begin with, and was the source of much excitement on Saturday afternoons gone by!

Andrew Regan is an online, freelance author from Scotland. He is a keen rugby player and enjoys travelling.

SUDDEN “DEATH” OF A SOCCER (Football) PLAYER!?

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Posted by admin | Posted in FootBall Talks | Posted on 25-12-2009


Soccer player “dies” in the middle of a game. Location: Saudia Arabia. It’s been said he lived and dies at the same time. Who should we believe?

Soccer Jersey… Then and Now

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Posted by admin | Posted in FootBall Talks | Posted on 25-12-2009

Soccer uniform transformed from Victorian knickerbockers which were fastened tightly under the knee, overlapping stockings and heavy boots to jerseys and long shorts. This changed was due to social attitude transformation over time.

After world war II, the dramatic change in soccer uniform became relevant specifically in Italy and Hungary which eventually spread all over Europe then the whole world. Shorts actually even became short and top clothing became lighter.

The fabric also changed from stocky wool and cotton to synthetic fibers like nylon as well as acrylic which was a product of the industrial revolution. Soccer jersey and shorts were made mostly on these materials even nowadays.

If you search the internet, you will find how variety of soccer jerseys have grown to countless design and materials. Even you can find original ones to fake imitations from China or some other places where mass production seems to be the key of its popularity.

A soccer jersey can be seen and bought just about anywhere there are sporting garments Even in the flea market of India or Burma, you will be able to find one at a whim. The availability of these garments seems to be endless nowadays and at times you don’t even know the difference from the original with a fake one.

Of course a soccer jersey which was worn by a soccer star will be difficult to find but as with anything nowadays, the internet is a good source for anything impossible to find whether its an antique or a vintage soccer jersey.

Of course vintage garments usually are auctioned and can only be bought by fanatics or collectors who in turn can make money from other fanatics. Some are too crazy over something like a soccer jersey even to the point buying an unwashed jersey.

But then some just wanted a simple soccer jersey just so they have a uniform for their local school soccer team. Most of the times, they make their own design and create their own logos. Perhaps from the time soccer was uniformed in terms of garments up to the present, countless designs have been made.

The teams who have won international level competitions are the one who have institutionalized the classic soccer jersey. Most of all, the one who are considered vintage are the soccer jerseys worn by the most popular soccer stars.

You search the internet for vintage soccer jerseys and you will find listing of all popular jerseys either according to teams or some would have individual listings. The older and more popular the soccer player is, the more expensive the garment become.

You can also find imitations available online. These are usually cheap and were produced en masse by some garment factory. Perhaps this is alright as everyone may have the opportunity to wear a soccer jersey even if it is fake.

If you want to find out more about soccer jerseys , please visit football shirts Website for more information

Watch Soccer Online Live – Learn How to Watch Soccer Online

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Posted by admin | Posted in FootBall Talks | Posted on 25-12-2009

The internet world has been steadily enhancing ever since it was first brought to life in the late eighties. There are now so many things that you can do online that it should not amaze you that you can now watch soccer live online as well. For those of you who are sports lovers or are just plain sick of fighting over the TV remote the ability to watch soccer live online may make your life easier. In fact, while the idea of being able to watch soccer live online may not necessarily excite you at first, learning that you can watch over 3000 other channels as well as soccer live may. Start watching Live Soccer at http://watchsocceronline.net

If you are intrigued now than you may want to listen up because it is actually quite easy to watch soccer live online as well as a plethora of other channels once you know. For those who want to get started now, you start to watch soccer live online quicker than you can read through the rest of this paragraph if you head over to the website and sign up now. In fact, all you need to do to watch soccer live online now is to sign up for the service by visiting http://watchsocceronline.net.

You do not have to worry about downloading any additional hardware past the original software that you need to watch soccer live online and you also do not have to worry about paying any additional fees. This is because for one low fee you can watch soccer live online for unlimited hours as well as any other channels you like as long as you have an internet connection. This in itself offers a world of new options since you no longer have to worry about where you are if you want to catch the big game or anything else on television.

Since you can now watch soccer live online you can catch all your favorite teams playing even while you are traveling, if you are studying abroad where a channel is not offered, or if you lost the rights for the television remote at your own home. You now have unlimited options once you decide to subscribe and watch soccer live online and plenty of ways that you can kill time while you are bored at the airport or at work since you can open the desktop window and watch soccer live online any time you want!

In fact, to prove how versatile the program can be, and how it can be amazing to watch soccer live online, some people have even found the service helpful during hospital stays since they never have to worry about missing their favorite programs! People from all over the world are quickly learning how great it can be to watch soccer live online at their convenience instead of worrying about making it home on time to claim the television for the night. Head on over to the website and sign up so you can join them and start discovering how many ways you also will benefit once you have the ability to watch soccer live online. Watch Soccer matches Now from http://watchsocceronline.net

Football Credit Card

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Posted by admin | Posted in FootBall Talks | Posted on 25-12-2009

Being a football fan is all about showing moral support, shouting at the telly, showing pride and wearing your teams colour.  Now fans are offered the chance to go on to the next level and not just support their club with pride but also help their much-loved football club financiall (without costing a penny) and build loyalty between you the fan and the football club.

This new incentive is the official football club credit card.  Many professional footballers, along with thousands of fans around the UK already own their own super cool football credit card and you can too – absolutely free!!  When you first apply for your football credit card, the credit card issuer, (most cards issued by MBNA Europe Bank Limited), makes an initial contribution to the football club for each account opened and used for the first time.  After that, every time you use your football club credit card to make a card purchase the football club recieves more valuable contribution based on the amount you spend.  Your club will continue to recieve financial contributions from the card issuer based on how often you use your football club credit card.  As you can imagine, this means a lot to the football clubs, and it won’t cost you a penny extra. These valuable contributions will go towards the football clubs Youth Development Academies, Schemes and Programmes.  This will help bring in young talented home grown players through the clubs youth teams into professional level.  You are in effect, helping to build the long term future of your favourite football club.

You can apply online and there is a wide range of football credit card from top UK football clubs. The Official Football Credit Cards are themed with each team’s colours and logo, there is now a football credit card available for almost every single Premiership Team, with more being introduced all the time.

All of these football credit cards feature introductory interest FREE offers on balance transfers and purchases and have APRs that rival those available on standard credit cards, making supporting your team in this way even more beneficial.  One of the major bonuses associated with football credit cards is the fantastic reward schemes that many football clubs offer their credit card holders as a means of thanking their fans for their support. The reward schemes available vary greatly between teams with some offering the opportunity to earn reward points each time you spend, while others offer discounts or cashback on season ticket purchases, interest bonuses based on your teams performance or run special ‘money can’t buy’ prize drawers for their card holders.

Take your support to the next level with the your football clubs credit card.  Apply now, don’t miss out.

Mo Raja