Many people have become crazy about football betting in recent years. Some even say it is pointless to watch a football match without betting on it.

I never bet on football, because it would make matches less interesting. It only spoils the fun caring only about whether you have bet on a 'win', 'loss', or 'draw'. To me, watching my favourite teams playing football is already fun. Moreover, gambling can lead to too many terrible consequences. If you really want to play a little game while watching a football match, I have a suggestion - Fantasy Football.

Fantasy Football lets you become the manager of a football team. You 'buy' 11 players with a limited budget for a week. After deciding who to buy, you can go and enjoy watching them play. After a match finishes, Fantasy Football will total the players' marks according to their performances in English Premier League matches. For example, a goal scores 7 marks, a goal-assist pass scores 4 marks; a shot on target scores 3 marks, and a goalkeeper scores 2 marks for a save. In this way, each player in your team accumulates his own marks earned from Premier League matches. Then, you can compare your total marks with those of your friends to test your judgement.

Of course, really good players like C. Ronaldo, Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard cost a bit more on the Fantasy Football market. Also, if a player is getting better, his price will go up. So it's not that easy to pick a team on a limited budget.

Many Fantasy Football games allow users to build social groups that they can invite their friends to join.

There are various kinds of Fantasy Football games on the web. While the marking schemes may differ, the basic concept is the same. Sometimes I find it more exciting than football betting.

By Jansen

*Translation from Chinese article.