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Summer Loving: It’s Amateur Hour! Part 3: Obscure Leagues, Obscure Statistics

Recently, I was speaking with my brother who wanted to know how I managed to do so well from betting on amateur leagues. I told him about my process and outlined how I found and used the required information. By the time I was finished, he said ‘sod it’ because the description I gave him was rather lengthy I must admit.

Alas, this is the only way you can hope to beat the bookmaker in the long-term. When they offer markets for obscure leagues, you have to assume that they have ample information on the teams and the leagues they play in. Knowledge is power, and if you don’t find the right data, you are relying on guesswork and luck; never a reliable combination.

Then there is the small matter of knowing what to do with the data. I have no evidence of this, but I am convinced that bookmakers don’t always properly analyse the information they find on summer leagues. It seems inconceivable that they would provide a market without the right statistics to hand, but you never know I suppose.

A prime example of using stats properly occurred with me a couple of years ago. It was the Macedonian women’s league (the nation is now called North Macedonia for the record) which was in the fourth or fifth match since a winter break. There was one team that performed well in the first half of the season but had been woeful since their return. 

As it happened, they faced a team of a similar standard on paper, but in reality, the opposition was far better. The bookmakers did not take recent form into account and made a mess of the odds. I profited handsomely and felt smug that detailed research bore fruit. Now I am showing you how to find data from leagues that are not immediately apparent. I hope Google Translate works on your computer!

Your First Stops

You will find the majority of your stats on two websites: Soccerway and Futbol 24. The latter enables you to check out head-to-head results between the sides pretty easily which is a big plus.

However, I always use Soccerway which is filled with fantastic stats from dozens of leagues around the world. The site has continued to add information from obscure leagues and recently included data from the Finnish Fourth Division (Kolmonen) and the Russian Fourth Division which is a huge help.

With Soccerway, you can quickly and easily look at a team’s recent form and compare it to its opponents. You can also view the league table and the home and away stats. I would estimate that Soccerway covers up to 80% of the information I seek for obscure leagues; but what about the other 20%?

The International Language of Money

As the saying goes: Where there is a will, there is a way. With obscure leagues, you need to go the extra mile to find the data you need. There have been occasions where it has taken me 20 minutes to find the information I wanted, but when you get a three-figure payoff, it works out pretty well in a ‘pounds per hour’ sense.

When in doubt, look for the country’s football federation website. Hopefully, it comes up near the top of the page in Google and gives you the option to translate into English. 

The Romanian women’s second division is a favourite of mine although unfortunately, it is NOT a summer league. That 8-0 scoreline you see was a very lucrative one for yours truly. You can toggle through the two divisions in the women’s second tier and go through each week’s scorelines. You can even get access to the third division data which occasionally comes in handy on the rare occasion a women’s cup match makes it into in-play betting.

The Latvian third tier is divided into several regions and is always good for a few high scores. The Riga league is the main one to focus on although you may see games from the others in-play now and then. It is also worthwhile for cup matches. 

The Estonian lower leagues are wonderful when you know what to look for. The above is a screenshot with the fourth, fifth, and sixth divisions available. 

Soccerway covers most of the Australian leagues, but every so often there will be games from the Brisbane Capital League 2 or wherever. I was easily able to find data for a game in the Sunshine Coast League by Googling Sunshine Coast League! You will find your information on the sportstg.com website but only after Googling the name of the league.

When I Googled Brisbane Football Federation, I clicked on this sportstg link and was directed to the page on the screenshot above. As you can see, there is virtually every league in Brisbane ready and waiting for me! You will need to check out the various Australian federations for good information on cup matches in particular. 

Bet365 often have matches from the fifth tier in Sweden. 

Annabet is your best source for this information. 

Last but not least, there is fupa.net, an essential resource for the German lower leagues. You can find data from as low as the fifth tier on Soccerway, but fupa enables you to go right down to the ninth or tenth division. To use it, you need to type in the name of the team (if not in the fifth division Oberliga or higher) and add ‘fupa’ after the name. 

You should get a list of results directing you to the team’s page on fupa. 

I was looking for a team called SV Horst-Emscher and found them near the bottom of the Westfalenliga which is the sixth division for teams in the Westphalia region. You will find this website very useful when looking at friendlies between professional German sides and amateurs in the summer. 

Final Thoughts on Obscure Stats

The above is just a sample of the kind of information that is out there when you look hard enough. If you think that it constitutes lots of hard work, you are correct! However, if you are not prepared to put in the effort, it is fair to say that you don’t want to make a profit. I find that the same people who turn their nose up at amateur leagues are the ones who bet on accumulators and seldom win.

Bookmakers hate educated punters, and there are few better equipped to take them on than summer league bettors with a penchant for finding data from obscure leagues. If you are prepared to dig deep, you might be very happy with how your summer bets perform.

Below is a short list of the resources you can use to help you fight back against the bookies. I invite you to try and find others; this research skill will stand you in good stead in the long run.  

List of Resources 

I have included links to several relevant websites, but you should Google the name of the federation and look for a translation because the links send you to pages in the language of the country. 

Romanian Football Federation (Necessary for Women’s Second and Third Divisions)

https://www.frf.ro/ (Just click on the link, hover over ‘Competitii’ on top of the screen and choose ‘Competitii Feminin.’

Latvian Football Federation (Necessary for Third Division Football, Mainly the Riga League)

https://lff.lv/ (Click on the link and choose ‘Competition’ and ‘League 2’ for the third division. 

Estonian Football Federation (Necessary for Fifth and Sixth Tier Matches, Useful for Cup Matches Mainly)

http://jalgpall.ee/ (Click on the link, then go to the top left-hand corner and click on the icon with the three vertical lines. Next, click ‘Voistlused’ and you will get a list of leagues. Click ‘Madalamad Liigad,’ and you will get the chance to see the fifth tier (in blue) and sixth tier (in purple) leagues. 

Swedish Lower Leagues on Annabet (You Can Gain Access to Swedish Division Five Matches Here; the fifth tier is called Division 3 by the way).

https://annabet.com/en/soccerstats/ (You will find data from dozens of leagues here. Go to Sweden and click on the box. You should see a long list of numerous Swedish leagues including the fifth tier which is not on Soccerway).

Fupa.net (German Lower Leagues from Division Six Downward)

www.fupa.net  – Type in the name of the team and add fupa to find out the league they are in. Google ‘German Football League System’ to ascertain which division the side is in. 

Want more articles like these? Have any suggestions/requests on us focusing on a particular market or sport for trading opportunities and strategies? Let us know in the comments below!

 

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All the best,

Jon and the Football Advisor team

TAGS > best leagues to bet on, easiest football leagues to bet on, lower league football betting