Football is never far from the headlines. England are on their way home from Brazil having disappointed a nation, but in just a month’s time thoughts will turn from international football to the domestic game and the Premier League in particular.
For some supporters, their clubs will always be more important than how England fare in tournament football. For some, international breaks are a chore and a distraction from the main event, which is how their team is doing, either at the top of the game or further down towards the bottom of the football pyramid.
While the world watches events in South America, many fans’ thoughts will turn to how their teams will do next season and, if they are supporters of a team outside the Premier League, the question of Wayne Rooney’s form in an England shirt will become a distant memory.
Now that football is often a year-round sport (the summer months of June and July are taken up with football this year) it sometimes overshadows other great sports and activities during this time of year.
For example, there are several big events happening in the world of poker during these summer months. Poker is a growing activity with many around the world now playing online; from Texas Hold’em and Omaha to Stud and Badugi, all variations of the game are growing in popularity.
However, rather than competing with football, poker is embracing the mood and joining in the summer of fun with its own competition, Football Fever, which takes place online at PokerStars throughout June, eventually finishing on July 13.
Football Fever offers new challenges every day. Those players who succeed in the initial challenge will be awarded a tournament ticket that can be used to predict an upcoming football game. Those going further in the challenge can then win cash in an All-in Shootout tournament.
Football Fever also offers a Mission Week which again leads to cash prizes and a phase tourney with $1m guaranteed. More details can be found here. By the time Football Fever comes to an end, domestic football will be almost ready to take off once again. Wimbledon will be over, the cricketing summer will be coming to an end and football will be ready to resume its place at the top of the sporting headlines.
Despite the game having centre stage throughout the whole summer, domestic football will once again throw up some intriguing questions. Do Manchester City have the strength in depth to defend the Premier League title won last year? How will Manchester United react with new manager Louis van Gaal at the helm? Will Chelsea be stronger and was last year the closest that Liverpool will get to the trophy? Arsenal led the table for much of the season but fell away later on. Having won the FA Cup, Arsene Wenger will be desperate to get the Premier League trophy back into the Emirates trophy cabinet.
Once we think of these issues it is easy to get excited about the new season even though the whole summer has been dominated by the game. The Premier League always generates great interest throughout the world and, with so many players having represented their countries in recent weeks, it will be fascinating to see how they manage the transition back with their clubs.