One Australian football competition that’s sure to get bookmakers and punters excited is the A-league. The premier club competition saw its inaugural season in 2005, shortly after being established the previous year.
That first kick-off was welcomed by sports fans and punters alike, given that the competition filled the gap that was left when the National Soccer League came to an end. It has a similar structure to many other national competitions, in that it has a regular season and a final series.
The A-league regular season never fails to see strong support, but it pales in comparison to the sports betting frenzy unleashed by the competition’s finals series’ Grand Final that determines the champions.
Online bookmakers provide punters with a fine range of betting options. The options can be grouped as match betting, championship betting, and medals betting.
A Closer Look at the A-League
The A-league is comprised of 10 teams; nine of which are from Australia, and one is from New Zealand. Matches have been played in 27 different stadia; Adelaide Oval and Hindmarsh Stadium among them.
The teams that make up the league include:
- Adelaide United based at Coopers Stadium, Adelaide, South Australia
- Brisbane Roar based at Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane, Queensland
- Central Coast Mariners based at Central Coast Stadium, Gosford, New South Wales
- Melbourne City based at AAMI Park, Melbourne, Victoria
- Melbourne Victory based at AAMI Park and Etihad Stadium, Melbourne, Victoria
- Newcastle Jets based at McDonald Jones Stadium, Newcastle, New South Wales
- Perth Glory based at nib Stadium, Perth, Western Australia
- Sydney FC based at Allianz Stadium, Sydney, New South Wales
- Western Sydney Wanderers based at Spotless Stadium and ANZ Stadium, Sydney, New South Wales
- Wellington Phoenix based at Westpac Stadium, Wellington, New Zealand
Australian A-League Champions and Rivals
11 seasons have been played, and have seen several teams have been crowned the champions on more than one occasion. The 2015-2016 champions are Adelaide United, while Sydney FC, Melbourne Victory, Newcastle Jets, Brisbane Roar, and Central Coast Mariners are past champions.
When betting on Australia’s A-league, punters and sports fans keep a lookout for matches played between traditional league rivals.
Betting on matches between Melbourne Victory and Sydney FC known as the Big Blue, Adelaide United and Melbourne Victory known as the Original Derby, Central Coast Mariners and Newcastle Jets known as the F3 Derby, Melbourne City and Melbourne Victory known as the Melbourne Derby, and Sydney FC and Western Sydney Wanderers known as Sydney Derby adds another layer of excitement and winning opportunities to the series.
Types of Australian A-League Football Bets
When it comes to the A-league, most Australian online soccer betting bookmakers tend to focus on match and futures markets
The match markets usually see punters offered head-to-head betting, which is betting on the outcomes of matches. Examples of such bets you could place include away wins, home wins, and draws.
Other popular bet types in match markets include half-time and full-time double result bets, correct score bets, and exotic bets such as betting on the first player to score a goal.
Among the types of futures bets you can place on Australian A-league football are medals bets, which is when punters bet on the winners of the Johnny Warren and Joe Marston medals, and, of course, the ever-popular championship bets.
Packed with action and excitement, A-league online sports betting markets are among the top choices of punters with a passion for Australian football.