The Strangest Football Bets Ever Made

Football betting can be fun - and exciting… and sometimes verging on the bizarre! Just look at the different football odds today - you’ll be able to place bets on everything from match results to the number of corners in a game, the options are endless. And while most bets follow the more conventional patterns, there have, from time to time, been some really weird and unconventional wagers. 

From crazy predictions to utterly odd stunts, here are some of the weirdest football bets ever made.  

Leicester City’s 5000/1 Premier League Win  

One of the most famous underdog stories in the history of football ever was when Leicester City won the 2015-2016 Premier League title - and it was literally something that no one could have seen coming. Which is precisely the reason why, at the start of the season, bookies were offering odds of 5000/1 on Leicester winning the league. 
Despite being relegation candidates the previous season, one fan decided that they’d give it a whirl… and placed a £20 bet on them to win. And boy did it pay off! His meagre £20 bet ended up earning him a very tidy payout of £100,000. To this day, it’s one of the most famous… and strangest bets in football history simply because of how unlikely it was.

The Streaker Bet

Just one year later, in 2017, a football fan decided to place a bet on himself - that he would streak onto the pitch during a match. With bookies offering odds on whether a streaker would interrupt play, he decided to put money on it happening - and then ran onto the pitch himself to guarantee a win. 

Unfortunately for him, the bookies found out it was him - not only did they refuse to pay out, but they banned him from betting again. His fine and stadium ban also probably outweighed anything he would have won, anyway!

The Octopus That Predicted Match Outcomes

During the 2010 FIFA World Cup, you may well remember Paul the Octopus, who became a worldwide sensation when he correctly managed to predict the outcome of various matches - including the final. So successful was he that lots of bettors started to place wagers based on his predictions, leading to a very unusual trend in football betting. 
It may have seemed ridiculous, but our 8-tentacled friend did have an uncanny ability to predict results - which led to some pretty solid wins for those who followed his picks. Sadly, it all got too much for Paul, who passed away peacefully later that year and left behind him a legacy of seriously strange betting-related phenomena.

Betting on a Dog to Manage a Club

Back in 2012, one of the weirdest bets ever placed involved someone betting that a dog would become the next manager of a professional football club. Some bookies are well- known for coming up with strange and outrageous bets, and they listed odds for a dog to take over as a manager. Obviously, the bet wasn’t a winner - but it just goes to show the lengths some bookies will go to when offering novelty bets - and the fact that people actually take them up on it.

Gareth Bale’s Haircut Bet

One of the oddest bets ever involved a fan who decided to put a bet on that Gareth Bale would cut his long hair before the end of the season. The Welsh winger, with his famous ponytail, decided against changing his look - and the bettor ended up losing his money.

David Moyes to Become James Bond

After Sir Alex Ferguson retired, David Moyes took over as Manchester United manager - and things got off to a rocky start. Because of this, some fans started to speculate on what his next career move might be - leading to some seriously bizarre bets. Some punters even put money on him becoming the next James Bond. Obviously, it never happened… or it would have left the bookmaker both shaken and stirred!

Betting on a Match That Had Already Happened

Last, we have a very embarrassing betting blunder - when a gambler tried to place a rather large bet on a match that had already ended - thinking he’d found a loophole. Unfortunately for him, it didn’t take long for the bookmakers to catch on and void the bet - going to show that cheaters never prosper!

So, there you have it! Some of the strangest football bets ever!