Will Sports Betting Drop – All 5 African Teams Eliminated From FIFA World Cup?

Sports betting fever surged throughout Africa during the last two weeks and that was expected as there were as many as 5 African countries who qualified for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. However, none of the 5 African teams have managed to make it past the group stage and have all been eliminated.

Will Poor Performance Of African Teams Impact Sports Betting?

Sports betting operators in Africa expected a spike in revenue during the World Cup as there are millions of football fans throughout Africa who are eager to place bets. Many of them backed the likes of Senegal, Nigeria, Tunisia, Morocco and Egypt to make it past the group stage but that did not happen.

It will now be interesting to see if sports betting revenues in Africa decline or continue to increase as the knock-out stage of the tournament begins. Should sports betting numbers drop, it will be a clear indicator that African bettors were mostly placing bets on the 5 African teams. There is a possibility that sports betting operators may not see a significant drop in revenues because football fans in Africa will back top teams like Brazil, Argentina and France.

African Nations Must Prepare Better For 2022 World Cup

Didier Drogba who represented Ivory Coast 104 times and scored 65 goals was very disappointed with the performances of African teams. He said African nations need to prepare better when it comes to playing at big tournaments and develop a structure similar to South American and European teams.

In a statement, Drogba said “I also think it is a chance for all the African teams and for the African Confederation maybe to reconsider the strategy and how we want to go forward.What do we want to do in the next World Cup? We have the potential, we have the money to develop, but we need more than that”.