Proliferation of the popularity is resulting into more bookmakers who open their markets to international and local rink hockey competitions.
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Rink hockey (or roller hockey) is another form of hockey played without freezing cold temperatures and ice. Therefore, teams comprised of 5 members each glide on wheels and do not get injured due to excessive charges from opponents.
Rink hockey has its highest popularity in Latin America.
Numerous international tournaments have pitted Africans, Americans, Asians and Europeans against each other, yet rink hockey has had to overcome many obstacles on its way to becoming a popular game on global scale.
This has been an approach that has been adopted by many organizations in the recent past to make their rinks more fan friendly and this involves using different colors that can improve ball visibility. And why not? This is very good news for hockey fans as well as those who are into gambling on roller hockey.
The Latin countries have attained the highest level of popularity in rink hockey followed by Argentina, Italy, Portugal and Spain while Angola and Mozambique in African nations that speak Portuguese are also passionate about this sport.
Argentina, Italy, Portugal and Spain have taken all but seven of the 120 medals awarded at the 40 world championships of rink hockey.
What are the most popular rink hockey competitions?
Every two years, the Rink Hockey World Championship is organized by the Federation International de Roller Sports.
The tournament was initially held in Stuttgart, Germany in 1936, before shifting to odd numbered years in 1991, and it will be taking place again in 2013 at Luanda city from the Angolan capital. Spain are aiming to win their fifth consecutive world title when they arrive in Angola for the World Rink Hockey Championship.
Spain and Portugal have both won a combined total of 15 Rink Hockey World Championship titles but this has been dominated by the biggest Iberian country in recent years.
Fans of rink hockey hope that soon their favourite game will be included in the full program of the Olympic games.
In the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona, Rink Hockey was among the three sports displayed. Argentina got gold, Spain silver and Italy bronze as they competed against eleven other countries including Angola, Australia, Brazil, Germany, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Portugal Switzerland and United States.
Portugal, the topmost contender for victory in Barcelona 1992 Olympic Games, came to this event as the winner of last year’s world championship but Portugal failed in two consecutive matches during the semi-final round of six games and later it went down to Italy with a 3-2 score line in the bronze medal match.
There are over 60 countries that have rink hockey as their favourite sport, but it is not a full Olympic Games sport for this reason.
The fact is that rink hockey was included by the International Olympic Committee as a demonstration sport at the Barcelona 1992 Olympic Games just because it was very popular in Catalonia, of which Barcelona is the capital.
It’s been a long hard way for rink hockey to get into the Olympic Games, which hasn’t had any demonstration sports since 1992. Yet, while it strives to be part of the Olympics mainstay, its major international tournaments are European and world championships.
There are rink hockey leagues in most countries worldwide, with the majority of tournaments situated in Europe and some parts of South America. Match betting is done by certain bookmakers especially the ones that target Mediterranean European countries on particular club competitions.
Punters are able to place bets for the three strongest rink hockey leagues in the world, which are the top Italian, Portuguese and Spanish divisions and also world or European championships. Many international games have no value given that there are many big favorites among them.
Italy’s Lega Nazionale Hockey Serie A1 has 14 sides. That team, Hockey Novara, has been the champion of the league 32 times – a record that is 13 more than any other team – making them the side to beat, but only until early 2000s.
Spain’s OK Liga consists of 16 teams and Barcelona has won more than half of their championships. Rink hockey is a sport mainly for Catalans; however, in the northwestern part of Spain there are several strong teams from Galicia.
In Portugal, 1a Divisao is dominated by two traditional powerhouses- Benfica and Porto. The team from Lisbon has triumphed over its Palestinian counterpart in the title race on 21 occasions, that gives them a one-match advantage.
The finest domestic competition in the sport of rink hockey is not subject to debate. Spanish teams have won 42 out of 47 European League titles, Portuguese sides have won four, and Italian teams one. Therefore, when it comes to rink hockey betting, most bookmakers concentrate on the OK Liga, which in return generates the highest odds possible.
Whether you’d like to place a bet on one of Europe’s most highly contested rink hockey leagues or predict the victor of the Rink Hockey World Championship, it’s time for you to join our best rated betting platform and compare with others their latest odds.
