The Sweeper

This episode is brought to you in association with FIFA+. Click below to get your free FIFA+ account and watch live club and international football from around the world: ⁠www.tinyurl.com/FIFAPlusSweeper [https://www.tinyurl.com/FIFAPlusSweeper] Europe and Africa are the focal points in a fan culture-themed Part 1. How did an American tourist on a hop-on, hop-off boat cruise in London get adopted by Southend’s away fans? What did supporters of Loto Popo in Benin spray on the away team bus during their recent match with Bani Gansé? Are WSG Tirol of Austria the worst-supported top-flight club in Europe? And how did a dog become a chanting season-ticket holder in Greece? It's over to South America in Part 2. What remarkable feat have indigenous Ecuadorian club Mushuc Runa achieved in the Copa Sudamericana? And what is the latest flamboyant outfit Barcelona coach Segundo Castillo has donned in the Copa Libertadores? How has a Bolivian player gotten away with pretending to be his deceased younger brother for so long? And what happened when a referee Kungfu-kicked a pitch-invading coach in the Copa Peru? Join The Sweeper on Patreon: patreon.com/SweeperPod [https://patreon.com/SweeperPod] Support The Sweeper on Buy Me A Coffee: buymeacoffee.com/sweeperpod [http://www.buymeacoffee.com/sweeperpod] Editor: Ralph Foster ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

In Paul’s absence, Producer Tom joins Lee to talk about their five-a-side football match on the German-Swiss border and their Alpine groundhopping challenge to watch live games in three countries in the space of seven hours – using only public transport! Join Lee and Tom to find out how they almost lost a football in international waters, why they might face repercussions from the ‘Groundhop Police’, whether they were mugged by young children in a micro-state and what happened when they dared to ask a sausage seller for a plate.   That is followed by a round-up of the best headlines from the first international window of the year. New Caledonia, Uzbekistan, Cape Verde, Sudan and Venezuela are all chasing their World Cup debuts – but who stands the best chance of making it and could a Trump travel ban stop them entering the USA? Do Australia regret joining AFC now that OFC gets an automatic World Cup qualifying berth? And what is with South American nations calling up players to make their international debuts before appearing professionally at club level?   Join us on Patreon [www.patreon.com/SweeperPod] for: -           Bonus episodes, including an interview with James Montague about his time spent with ultra groups around the world -           Blog posts about football in the likes of Africa, the Faroe Islands, Japan and Mongolia -           Access to our Discord chat community containing hundreds of Sweeper listeners -           Weekly newsletters with a FIFA+ match recommendation of the week -           And much more besides! The Blizzard: Get 10% off subscriptions to The Blizzard [https://forwardpress.imbmsubscriptions.com/sweeper10/] by entering the code 'sweeper10' at checkout.   Editor: Ralph Foster ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

This episode is brought to you in association with FIFA+. Click below to get your free FIFA+ account and watch live club and international football from around the world: ⁠www.tinyurl.com/FIFAPlusSweeper [https://www.tinyurl.com/FIFAPlusSweeper] In Part 1, the award-winning football journalist and author James Montague joins us in the studio to tell us about Neom Sports Club, the trillion-dollar team in Saudi Arabia’s second division, and their futuristic home city that will have flying cars and robots. But why do the richest club in the world play in the Saudi lower leagues? What do they want to achieve as part of their five-year plan? And how are they viewed by the rest of the country? It’s back to Europe in Part 2. There’s UEFA Conference League chat about Borac Banja Luka – the champions of Bosnia & Herzegovina who feel more Serbian than Bosnian. Elsewhere, the 2025 Faroe Islands season is under way, the world’s only country with undersea roundabouts and the same champion of its first and second tiers. And finally, there’s a incredible moment in Bulgaria as Arda hold a minute’s silence for an ex-player, who is very much alive and well. Patreon: Join us on Patreon at patreon.com/SweeperPod [https://patreon.com/SweeperPod] to listen to our bonus episode with James Montague (out on 9 April) all about his adventures with ultra groups across the world and to enter the giveaway to win one of three copies of his book 'Engulfed'. All patrons can also read Lee's new blog about African football over the international break, while members of our 'Ultra' and 'Board Member' tiers will also have exclusive access to 'A Steppe Too Far', Paul’s serialised blog about his time accidentally owning a football club in Mongolia. The Blizzard: Get 10% off subscriptions to 'The Blizzard' by entering the code 'sweeper10' at checkout: https://forwardpress.imbmsubscriptions.com/sweeper10/ [https://forwardpress.imbmsubscriptions.com/sweeper10/] Editor: Ralph Foster ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

This episode is brought to you in association with FIFA+. Click here to get your free FIFA+ account and watch live football from around the world, including the San Marino league and cup: ⁠www.tinyurl.com/FIFAPlusSweeper [https://www.tinyurl.com/FIFAPlusSweeper] Send us an email to sweeperpod@gmail.com [sweeperpod@gmail.com] with some information about yourself and your preferences if you want us to handpick you a new football team to support. In Part 1, it’s all about Asia. Shandong Taishan have withdrawn from the AFC Champions League due to the "serious physical discomfort" of their players. But is there a more sinister explanation for their premature departure? North Korea has started its Premier League coverage 150 days late. And there is a truly petty reason why games involving three of the 20 clubs cannot be broadcast! Our final stop is in Japan, where Kawasaki Frontale’s back-up goalie has played his first game in nine years and an Okinawan club is sponsored by a local poo museum. It’s back to Europe for Part 2. With San Marino’s league and cup now on FIFA+, we put the 16-team division under the spotlight and tell some of its quirkier stories. Next up is another micro-state, Andorra, where a French YouTuber is bringing a club back from the dead in the hopes of making Europe in three years. And he’s offering YOU the chance to win a professional contract! The final story for this episode comes from Iceland, where second-tier outfit Grindavík are preparing to return home after a year of volcanic eruptions. The big question is, of course: is it safe?! Patreon: Join us on Patreon at patreon.com/SweeperPod [https://patreon.com/SweeperPod] for bonus episodes, blog content, exclusive access, membership of our chat community, quizzes, early & ad free listening and much more besides. There is also still one place available on our Sweeper 'Board Member' tier, where you can join us for Zoom calls and watch live bonus podcast recordings online. World Soccer discounts: Get 50% off the March edition of World Soccer. Visit the following link and enter the code 'SWEEPER50' at checkout: shop.kelsey.co.uk/WSCBK [https://shop.kelsey.co.uk/WSCBK] Get a six-month subscription (six issues) for £15 (reduced from £29.99): shop.kelsey.co.uk/WSCSWEEPER [https://shop.kelsey.co.uk/WSCSWEEPER] Editor: Ralph Foster ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

This episode is brought to you in association with FIFA+. Click here to get your free FIFA+ account and watch live football around the world: ⁠www.tinyurl.com/FIFAPlusSweeper [https://www.tinyurl.com/FIFAPlusSweeper]   Send us an email to sweeperpod@gmail.com [sweeperpod@gmail.com] with some information about yourself and your preferences if you want us to handpick you a new football team to support.   Some brilliant stories from Europe and Asia await you in Part 1. A Romanian coach has temporarily left his league-leading side to join a televised race across Asia. But what other football personalities have taken part in bizarre reality TV shows? A Polish team has fallen victim to an unusual theft in Turkey. But what was stolen and how did they catch the perpetrator? And a goalkeeper in Senegal becomes only the second footballer to play professionally on all six continents. Who was the first – and why did he put a kidnapped penguin in his bathtub?   Up next in Part 2 are some headlines from Asia and Oceania. Australia’s longest-standing derby awards the winner a trophy made of concrete from the motorway that connects their two cities. There’s arguably an even stranger trophy Down Under, though. The Marshall Islands have launched their ‘No Home’ kit to draw awareness to climate change. But what was unusual about their social media unveiling? And football has returned to the remote Niue Island. If you are our one listener on the tiny Pacific island, please get in contact and let us know who you are!   Join us on Patreon to get our episodes early and ad-free & for the chance to win Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Kiribati, Nauru and Niue shirts in our biggest-ever giveaway: www.patreon.com/SweeperPod [http://www.patreon.com/SweeperPod].   RUNNING ORDER: Chapter 1 – Intro Chapter 2 – A Romanian reality TV race Chapter 3 – An unusual theft in Turkey Chapter 4 – André Krul’s six-continent career Chapter 5 – Our #MyFIFA+Team initiative Chapter 6 – Australia’s motorway trophy Chapter 7 – The Marshall Islands’ vanishing kit Chapter 8 – Football’s return to Niue Island Editor: Ralph Foster ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.