UK Fans Wait for Copa America Centenario

With the Premier League and the FA Cup wrapping up in the UK, British football fans are looking forward to the Copa America Centenario, the oldest confederation tournament in the world. This 100th anniversary edition of Copa America will be played across major cities in the United States starting in June, and will feature all national teams from CONMEBOL in South America plus the best from CONCACAF. As usual, the tournament favorites are Brazil and Argentina, but football analysts are paying close attention to up-and-coming national teams such as Jamaica, Costa Rica and Peru.

Leicester City's Fairy Tale Season Inspires Underdog Betting

Bookmakers who gave 5,000 to 1 odds to Leicester City on winning the Premier League have accidentally started a new trend in sports betting. Seasoned punters and casual bettors are now very interested in the handsome payouts that underdog betting can deliver from time to time. In the case of Leicester City, major London bookmakers are going through the painful process of paying out on an unlikely outcome of an outright wager, which may explain the flurry of bets against Manchester United in the FA Cup final. In Costa Rica, home to many offshore sportsbooks, many casual bettors placed their money on Crystal Palace despite the odds looking much better for Man Utd.

The Stage is Set for UEFA Champions League Final

British football fans will have to wait a little longer for their professional clubs to return to the glory of the UEFA Champions and Europa Leagues. With Liverpool's recent loss to Sevilla in the Europa League and Manchester City's inability to overcome Atletico de Madrid at the UEFA Champions, the endless debate about the merits of the Premier League and La Liga Española are being easily settled in 2016, which has been one of the best years for Spanish football at the professional club level. While fans wait for the final match between Real Madrid and Atletico de Madrid in Milan, the UEFA just announced that five Spanish clubs have already qualified the next Champions League: Atletico, Barcelona, Real Madrid, Sevilla, and Villareal.

Football in China Needs More Passion

The People's Republic of China is undergoing a football boom thanks to lots of interest coming from the upper rungs of the political and business spheres, but there is one element that is still proving elusive: passion. A recent report by the AFP on the development of professional football in China reveals that a national love of football is lacking, and this may be related to the way it is being approached. Unlike basketball and ping-pong, two activities that are very popular and China, football is not being grown organically; it is rather being developed by business giants with deep pockets who would like to gain a nice spot within the sole Communist party. Participation by children, the cornerstone of football passion in nations such as the United Kingdom, Brazil, the Netherlands, etc., is not being encouraged the right way. Thankfully, grassroots organizations are beginning to promote the formation of amateur clubs at the community level and instilling football culture with friendly tournaments and sports camps.

(Photo via Abir Anwar)