Unlikely countries betting on Roma | OneFootball

There was a time when football loyalty was a matter of where you were born, or where your parents were born –  where you grew up, what your parents watched, or which team your city supported.

But thanks to an ever changing mobile world, those borders are long gone. Today, fandom is as much shaped by algorithms, odds, and on-demand streaming as it is by tradition. And perhaps no club illustrates this strange new world better than AS Roma.The Roman club, often overshadowed by Italian heavyweights like Juventus and Milan, has quietly become a favourite in some of the most unexpected corners of the betting world. We’re not talking about diehard fans in Trastevere or Roman expats in Toronto — but punters in places like Ireland, Scandinavia, and Eastern Europe, who are regularly backing Roma at the bookies.

Ireland

Ireland, in particular, stands out. This is a country that lives and breathes sport — but its football focus traditionally lies closer to England than Italy. And yet, Irish bettors have developed a quiet habit of wagering on Roma, especially in European competition where AS Roma Club Eire, an Irish based Roma fan club who have a banner at the Stadio Olimpico, follow the team for away matches, including Champions League games. That kind of support may be part of why Ireland backs Roma when it comes to the betting and part of it may come down to the odds — Roma are rarely short-priced favourites, so there’s usually value to be found. But it also speaks to the way Irish bookmakers like BoyleSports and Paddy Power have positioned Roma games prominently in their markets. In an age of mobile apps and 24-hour odds boosts, Roma’s unpredictable form — capable of toppling a giant one week and collapsing the next — has become a draw in its own right.That level of support, and betting, will probably only increase this season as well after Evan Ferguson joined the club from Brighton.Looking further afield, and the same pattern emerges in other corners of the globe.In Argentina and Brazil, where Serie A gets only a fraction of the attention given to Spain or England, Roma still manages to make its way onto betting slips — often as part of multi-leg accumulators. Perhaps it is because of a strong history of players from those countries representing the club, think of Cafu and Batistuta, but Roma isn’t a fan favourite in the traditional sense, but it’s a club that gamblers trust to offer just enough chaos to make things interesting.Closer to home in Poland, Romania and Ukraine, where betting has grown rapidly in the last decade, Roma’s name crops up again and again. It’s a team that appeals to a certain type of bettor: one who knows the league, understands the risks, and isn’t afraid to bet against the grain. Roma’s record in Europe — always competitive but rarely dominant — adds to their appeal as a team that can beat expectations just often enough to justify the wager.

Scandinavia

And then there’s Scandinavia, a region with some of the highest rates of sports betting per capita in the world. Even there, in football cultures more focused on Premier League powerhouses, Roma draws quiet betting interest — particularly during Europa League matches or big domestic clashes. The appeal isn’t always about loyalty. Sometimes it’s about logic: a midweek game with good value, an over/under line that looks tempting, a lineup with a new signing worth tracking.So why Roma? Why this club, from this city, in these unlikely places?Part of the answer lies in availability. Thanks to global betting platforms, almost every top-flight European game is now only a few taps away. If a punter in Dublin or Stockholm or Buenos Aires wants to bet on Roma versus Bologna on a Sunday afternoon, they can — instantly, and with live odds.But there’s more to it than access. Roma occupies a sweet spot in the betting psyche. They’re not so dominant that betting on them feels pointless, nor are they so weak that a wager seems foolish. They’re volatile — and volatility, as every bettor knows, is where the money is.There’s also something romantic about betting on Roma. The club, like the city it represents, is dramatic, inconsistent, and full of contradictions. They’re good enough to go far in Europe, but not consistent enough to win the league. They attract big names, then lose to small teams. They promise a lot, deliver some of it, and leave you wondering what could’ve been. For many punters, that makes every Roma match a story worth backing — for better or worse.It’s easy to dismiss this trend as a quirk of globalisation — another symptom of the sport’s commodification. But it’s also a reminder of how football continues to surprise us. That a club like Roma, with all its flaws and fire, can attract wagers from corners of the world with no direct tie to the Olimpico, says something about the unpredictable ways fandom — and betting — evolve.In the end, it may not matter where Roma’s supporters come from, or whether they wear the shirt. In today’s global football economy, a tap on a betting app halfway around the world is just as meaningful as a chant from the Curva Sud. And right now, Roma is being backed — loudly, and in more places than you’d expect.