Have you perused the Football Specials Betting section at sites like bet365 Sport? No? Well, if you haven’t, then this guide will be the perfect antidote to that!

In this guide, we’ll give you the lowdown of what we mean by Football Specials Betting, how these bets differ from your standard football bets and most usefully of all, some great strategies you can employ to make better-judged football specials betting choices to land more winners!

Well, that’s the plan anyway!

For this article, we’ve used examples of football specials betting markets found at bet365. However, you will find plenty of other bookmakers offer the same, if not very similar markets.

But to enjoy the benefits of these markets, you’ll need to be a bet365 customer and you can sign up today using the latest welcome offer we have outlined below!

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So, if you are signed up and ready to begin, let’s first identify what makes a Football Specials Betting market and how it differs from your standard football bet.

What Is A Football Specials Betting Market?

A football specials betting market is a market that is not typically based on standard football markets, or one that may only be available at certain times of the year, for specific teams or players, or for specific rewards or occurrences within the game.

That may sound a little vague, but it has to be so as depending on which bookmaker you join, a football specials betting market can vary from predicting which club a player may, or may not, be transferred to by a stated date, to predicting which player will win a major award (such as the Balon d’Or or the PFA Player of the Year award, to betting on which manager will be in charge of a stated club, or which manager will be sacked next in a stated division!

What makes these football specials betting markets is that they are not based on competitions, matches or performances in these competitions or matches. They can be based more on the outcome of a vote (as in player awards), transfer decisions by a team, or a managerial decision by a board of directors upon whether to sack, or appoint a manager.

Of course, these markets can emerge due to various factors throughout the season. Football Transfer specials tend to be more prevalent near the end of a season (when the summer transfer window is about to open) and also during the months of December and January, when the winter transfer window is open.

Football Specials betting markets on managers being sacked, or appointed to a new job at another club, are generally available throughout the year, especially for teams struggling or who have underperformed compared to their usual standards.

However, special bets on player awards tend to be made at the time when the awards are announced, at the end of the season for the PFA Player of the Year award in England and in December for the Ballon d’Or award.

Other bookmakers may offer other Football Specials Betting markets, but for the purposes of this post, we are going to focus on:

• Football Transfer Specials.
• Player Award Specials.
• Football Manager Specials.

Football Specials Betting – Football Transfer Specials

Football Transfer Specials are bets on which club a stated player will be at, on a stated date. The date is typically after the close of the summer or winter transfer window, depending on the time of year.

For example, for football specials betting options based in the summer transfer window, the date used for the resolution of the bet will be after the summer transfer market closes. This is usually sometime in early September.

Alternatively, for the winter transfer window, which typically runs in January, the date set for resolving bets made on these markets during the winter window is usually an early February date.

The players listed in the football specials betting markets for transfers tend to be those who have been linked with a transfer in relatively recent times, or who are believed to be of interest to one or more clubs with a view to making that player a signing in the current window.

It can also include players who are out of contract in the summer and who have not yet signed a pre-contract agreement with another club.

This football specials betting market aims to pick the club the player will be at on the stated date. This can include his current club, but odds will also be offered for the clubs that market experts believe are most likely to sign the player if a bid is accepted.

Is it possible to employ strategies for these particular football specials betting markets? We believe it is and we’ll give you guidance on how to do that below!

Top Strategies for Football Transfer Specials

• Follow the transfer news from reliable sources, such as Sky Sports, BBC Websites, reliable X accounts, club sites.
• Follow the social media accounts of players linked with transfers. Often they will remove all traces of them being with their current club ahead of a transfer.
• Players are targeted by clubs with specific needs. If a team has a World Class goalkeeper and poor strikers, then they are likely to target a striker rather than a goalkeeper. Players that address a team needs are more likely realistic transfer targets.
• Football agents and transfer can be a good source of information. Fabrizio Romano is a good example.
• Keep an eye out for players coming to the end of their contract (especially those aged 30+) as well as those younger who are in the final two years or fewer of their contract. Teams may need to cash in or risk losing these players on free transfers.

Football Specials Betting – Player Awards Specials

In this example, we have used the Balon d’Or award for 2025 as an example, but it should be noted to contextualise this, that the odds and options shown represent only the four months from January to April 2025.

Formerly, the Balon d’Or was an annual award, but that has changed in recent times meaning that the award is now based on a football season (August to May) rather than a calendar year.

The announcement of the winner takes place in October each year, rather than December, and is voted for by 100 respected journalists from around the world.

As you can see, Barcelona wingers Raphinha and Lamine Yamal, along with striker Robert Lewandowski, are amongst the front-runners for this award, along with Paris St Germain winger Ousmane Dembele, Liverpool’s Mo Salah and Inter Milan’s Lautaro Martinez.

This award is voted for by a combination of 100 respected football writers around the globe, one each from the top 100-ranked nations in the FIFA rankings.

While this section refers to the Balon d’Or award, sometimes player specials may be available for the PFA Players Player of the Year award or similar.

However, currently, most bookmakers feel that it is odds-on that one specific player (Liverpool’s Egyptian winger Mo Salah) is such a huge favourite to win this award that they are not offering markets on this award at the time of writing.

Let’s now take a look at some of the strategies you can employ when betting on this particular football specials betting market.

Top Strategies for Player Award Specials

• Follow the performances of players across the top leagues and competitions around the world.
• Players who play for teams that win major trophies, both at club level and international level, tend to attract more votes than players who may have had great seasons but played at the club that failed to win the major honours.
• Look for players who win their domestic league and top international competitions, such as the Champions League, Copa Libertadores, European Championship, Copa América, and World Cup.
• Some popular players will attract votes regardless of how well or poorly they have played in a season, such as Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo.

Football Specials Betting – Football Manager Specials

Being sacked is part and parcel of life for a football manager, and every season many managers across the top leagues in the world will be sacked, and several will also be sacked at the end of a disappointing season.

Our final football specials betting market is based on which managers face the chop, specifically, who will be the next manager of a stated club, on a stated date. Much like the betting market for football transfers.

Of course, for some clubs, a new manager is inevitable as they will have already sacked their previous manager. For other markets, there may be a manager under intense pressure to hold on to their job, and the bookmaker may offer odds on whether that manager will still be there by a set date, or if a new manager will be appointed in their place in the meantime.

In the screenshot above, Southampton have sacked their manager recently and have installed an interim manager to see the team through to the end of the season. As such, a new manager appointment is certain for the Saints, although who that will be is open to conjecture, as you can see from the wide choice of potential replacements priced up by bet365.

For Tottenham, a poor season means Ange Postecoglou is under pressure in his position as Tottenham manager and there is speculation he may be sacked at the end of the season. Although he may hang on to his job too, especially if Spurs can win the Europa League. As such, the odds on this market for Next Tottenham manager also include Postecoglou, as well as his mooted replacements.

So, is it possible to strategise for who will be the next manager of a stated team, on a stated date? Let’s take a look at some of the strategies we suggest for this football specials betting market!

Top Strategies for Football Manager Specials

• Keep abreast of the latest news regarding manager speculation using reliable resources (BBC, Sky Sports, Bet365 News)
• Look for prices shortening on options named in the markets.
• The earlier you can place a bet, the better the odds on a manager you are likely to get.
• Look for links between prospective managers and the club, such as being a former player, or even a former manager of the club.

Don’t forget, you can play the 6 Scores football game free throughout the season at bet365, alongside all these exciting football specials betting markets!