Episoder
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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
Gift a Patreon subscription for Christmas: www.patreon.com/SweeperPod/gift
Part 1 is all about the biggest domestic cup shocks and upsets across the globe, starting with Spaeri. But does their association with a government entity make it less of a fairytale triumph for the fast-rising second-tier Georgians? The focus then turns to other lower-league cup triumphs in 2024, including Senegal, where the final set an almost unbelievable all-time record. The segment concludes with our stand-out cupsets of the season in Spain, Austria, Norway and Denmark, where two top-flight teams have been hit with an expensive fine for a snowball fight.
Up next in Part 2 is a whistlestop tour of the globe, with five stories from five continents. In Europe, Serie D outfit Piacenza race through three coaches in one day, while a passionate fan tries to smuggle his grandfather’s skull into a continental final in South America. A striker hoping to face Cristiano Ronaldo in the Asian Champions League joins the wrong Esteghlal in Iran, TP Mazembe get stuck at the airport for two nights ahead of an African Champions League tie and Central American Cup winners Alajuelense want a place at the FIFA Club World Cup.
For bonus episodes, extra blog posts, weekly World Football Newsletters, sneak peaks at our agenda, football shirt giveaways and access to our magnificent Discord community, join us on Patreon at patreon.com/SweeperPod for a fiver a month and support our independent journalism. There are no contracts, no sign-up fees, no minimum stays and no advertisements. The next bonus episode – featuring our favourite stories from the 2024 calendar year – will be released on Wednesday 18 December.
RUNNING ORDER:
00:00 – Intro
00:39 – A Spaeri-tale Georgian Cup triumph
06:17 – Senegal’s lower-league final
09:53 – Cupsets across the continent
17:12 – An expensive Danish snowball fight
20:28 – Africa: TP Mazembe’s airport disaster
24:28 – Europe: Piacenza’s mental 24 hours
28:51 – South America: A smuggled skull in Paraguay
31:50 – Asia: A transfer to the wrong Esteghlal
35:13 – North & Central America: Alajuelense’s CWC claim
37:46 – The 2024 Intercontinental Cup on FIFA+
Editor: Ralph Foster
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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 There was only ever going to be one starting point for our international coverage in Part 1: San Marino’s historic promotion to UEFA Nations League C! But how do we think they will fare and who do we want to see them face? Up next is the Caribbean island of Hispaniola, the home of Haiti & Dominican Republic – both of whom have qualified for the 2025 Gold Cup. But which other examples of shared island qualification for a major tournament are there? Finally in Part 1, we tell you all about Kitmas – a brilliant initiative started by our own Paul Watson.
The focus switches to club football in Part 2 as we put the Coupe de France and the participating overseas territories under the microscope. How did US Avranches fare after their 16,000 kilometre trip to Tahiti? And why are USSA Vertou in limbo at the airport ahead of their trip to Réunion? We then finish the episode with the curious case of Seventh Day Adventist Silvan Wallner – and other religious retirements from football – before examining the outsiders and underdogs at the upcoming FIFA Club World Cup.
Don’t want to wait another fortnight for your next dose of Sweeper goodness? Then join us for a bonus episode on 4 December, in which we will be discussing – amongst other things – a mad 24 hours involving three different head coaches at Italian Serie D side Piacenza and the thrilling conclusion to the Georgian title race, with the horrendously renamed Iberia 1999 in pole position. Simply sign up at www.patreon.com/SweeperPod and get a whole host of other perks such as weekly newsletters, bonus blogs and access to our chat community on Discord. Gift a Patreon subscription for Christmas: www.patreon.com/SweeperPod/gift
Make a Kitmas donation or contribution: www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/kitmas-2024
Leo Honig’s Substack newsletter: substack.com/@footballshapedRUNNING ORDER:00:00 – Intro02:17 – San Marino’s historic promotion11:53 – Hispaniola’s Gold Cup qualification18:32 – Kitmas 2024 & Christmas Patreon gifts26:03 – Coupe de France controversies34:34 – Silvan Wallner & religious retirements40:48 – FIFA+: The FIFA Club World Cup draw Editor: Ralph Foster
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Manglende episoder?
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In Part 1 of this bonus Patreon episode, which we have released in the absence of a fresh podcast on this occasion, the Sweeper team are joined by Tom Middler and Simon Clark – Lee's co-hosts on his other podcast, 'The Other Bundesliga' – to talk about their groundhopping trip to Slovenia & Croatia. Which UEFA Conference League match did they watch? Who plays in Slovenia's 'metal derby'? And why is there a garden shed in Croatia's largest stadium? Join us to find out!
The theme in Part 2 is sh*thousery and the dark arts. What bizarre measure did River Plate resort to for their Copa Libertadores semi-final against Atlético Mineiro? Why are Como using local buses in what has been described as a declaration of war on regional rivals Monza? And how did the AFC U17 Asian Cup qualifier between Australia and Indonesia descend into farce? Plus, a bonus question: How many footballs can Paul and Lee carry?
If you like the bonus podcast, you can listen to them every fortnight – on the Wednesdays between our usual episodes – by signing up at patreon.com/SweeperPod. You can also enter our giveaways, read our weekly World Football Newsletter and our bonus blogs, and join our chat community on Discord, where hundreds of patrons are discussing world football on a daily basis. The show is also largely self-funded, so Patreon contributions are a great way to support our journalism!
RUNNING ORDER:
00:00 - Intro
01:54 - Giantkillings & Kiribati fan accounts
08:18 - A scorpion save in Slovenia
14:52 - Metal-themed football clubs
19:57 - Ultras & garden sheds in Croatia
29:47 - River Plate's potent paint
35:51 - Como's declaration of war on Monza
40:59 - AFC U17 Asian Cup controversy
43:30 - How many footballs can we carry?
Editor: Ralph Foster
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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: tinyurl.com/FIFAPlusSweeper
Click here to buy the November issue of World Soccer: https://shop.kelsey.co.uk/single-issue/world-soccer-magazine
In Part 1, the focus is on the club game in the continent The Sweeper calls home: Europe. Why did the entire Njegoš team simultaneously collapse in the Montenegrin third division? And was there any truth to the plutonium poisoning allegations? How did Ängelholms in the fourth tier of Swedish women’s football miss out on the title despite not conceding a goal? And what bizarre record did their goalkeeper end the season with? And why did Breiðablik fans stage a break-in ahead of their final-day title-decider with Víkingur Reykjavík in Iceland?
Part 2 contains a selection of stories from Africa, Asia, Central America and Oceania. Why has a second club from New Zealand, Auckland FC, joined Australia’s A-League? And why will their upcoming match against Wellington Phoenix be unique in world football? What has led TP Mazembe in DR Congo to play Nigerian goalkeeper Suleman Shaibu in attack? How did Wolues of the British Virgin Islands come to have a misspelling in their name? And how are the two clubs from war-torn Sudan playing 5,000km away in Mauritania getting on?
If you don’t want to wait until 13 November for our next episode, join us on Patreon for our bonus episodes in the in-between weeks. Simply sign up at patreon.com/SweeperPod and join us for a special pod on 6 November. We will be joined by some special guests to talk about their recent groundhops in Slovenia and Croatia, before rounding up some other stories from Russia, Uzbekistan and Eritrea. Patrons also get access to our Discord chat community, bonus blogs, weekly newsletters and entry into our shirt giveaways too.
RUNNING ORDER:
00:00 – Intro
00:43 – Montenegro’s mass collapse
07:24 – Sweden’s perfect runners-up
11:54 – Iceland’s final-day title decider
16:12 – Other summer league tales
21:03 – Kiwi club’s debut in the A-League
29:28 – An attacking keeper in DR Congo
34:14 – The Sweeper Super Sunday on FIFA+
41:15 – First Vienna game with a patron
Editor: Ralph Foster
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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: tinyurl.com/FIFAPlusSweeper
In Part 1, we take a look at one of the world’s most remote footballing outposts with Faraway Football blogger Matthew Eide, who has just returned from a once-in-a-lifetime trip to Bhutan courtesy of football kit designers Icarus. Which footballing figure flew the plane that transported him from Kathmandu to Paro? How did a 10-goal thriller have more drama after the final whistle than in the game itself? Which endangered species are Thimphu City fighting to help save? And how could YOU join the Overseas Board of a football club in Asia?
Part 2 is dedicated to the best stories from the international game in the October window. Why was oxygen being provided on the sidelines at Bolivia’s World Cup qualifier against Colombia? Who holds the longest ongoing winless run in international football now that Liechtenstein and Andorra have both won? Why did Turkmenistan’s government deny their national football team permission to travel to Malta? And for what unusual reason did the Turks & Caicos goalkeeper miss the CONCACAF Nations League clash with Anguilla?
If you don’t want to wait another fortnight for our next episode, join us on Patreon for our bonus podcasts in the in-between weeks at patreon.com/SweeperPod. The next patron-only episode will hit the airwaves on Wednesday 23 October. Subscribers can also read our bonus blog about our trip to Lugano, join several hundred other patrons on our Discord chat community, enter our regular shirt giveaway contests and get a sneak preview of each podcast on the weekend before it is released.
Follow Matthew Eide’s Faraway Football account:
Twitter: x.com/FarAwayFootball
Instagram: Instagram.com/farawayfootball
RUNNING ORDER:
00:00 – Intro
00:31 – Lee & Paul’s travel disasters
02:57 – A groundhop to beautiful Bhutan
18:24 – FIFA+: South America & Oceania
26:58 – A golden era for Europe's micro-states
34:57 – Country vs. club in Turkmenistan
38:36 – Poolside viewing in the Caribbean
Editor: Ralph Foster
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In Part 1, Lee reflects on his trip to watch high-flying Lugano take on Winterthur in the Swiss Super League. What’s the story behind their collaboration with MLS outfit Chicago Fire? What else has been behind the club’s rise to domestic cup winners and title challengers? And could Switzerland have its first national champion from the Italian-speaking region since 1949? We also hear from YouTuber and friend of the pod TheTimTraveller about Campione d’Italia (the exclave on the other side of Lake Lugano) and their eighth-division football team.
Next up, it’s Paul’s turn to tell the story of his visit to Welsh outfit The New Saints ahead of their UEFA Conference League clash with Fiorentina. But what about the four Welsh clubs in the English pyramid dreaming of European football? Why is Norwegian second-tier club Bryne inviting spectators to bring their tractors to matches? And why are the Vatican’s men’s and women’s teams making a trip to Berlin soon? We answer all those questions in Part 2, which includes another guest appearance from YouTuber and Away Days host Ellis Platten.
For the chance to win a Vatican national team shirt, to read our in-depth bonus blog about Lugano’s rise and to join our chat community on Discord, join us on Patreon at patreon.com/SweeperPod. You can also listen to our bonus podcast out on Wednesday 9 October, in which we talk about our visit to the Serie B match between FC Südtirol and Palermo, the Iranian ballistic missiles that made an appearance in the AFC Champions League 2 and the Romanian sporting director urging fans to abandon adult content creators.
RUNNING ORDER
00:00 – Intro
00:51 - The rise of Swiss side Lugano
10:34 - Mascots & miniature models
13:15 - Campione d'Italia with TheTimTraveller
17:25 - A stop-off at FC Südtirol
18:52 - Behind the scenes at TNS
25:00 - Alternative Welsh routes in Europe
29:21 - Tractor tickets in Norway with Ellis Platten
33:53 - The quirkiest VIP offerings in football
38:27 - Peru's Vatican-themed football club
42:12 - The Vatican's upcoming tour to Berlin
Video: Away Days at Bryne: Out on Saturday 5 October
Video: TheTimTravelleron Campione d’Italia: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n1fqinoNiZE
Editor: Ralph Foster
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This episode is brought to you in collaboration with FIFA+. Click here to get your free FIFA+ account and watch live football around the world: tinyurl.com/FIFAPlusSweeper
Part 1 covers the best international window for underdogs in living memory, with San Marino’s first-ever competitive triumph, Anguilla’s first victory since 2010 & American Samoa’s first win since 2015 among the highlights. There’s also a mention for the Turks & Caicos Islands’ 14 year-old goalie, a rare competitive away win for altitude specialists Bolivia & a presidential helicopter disruption at Guyana vs. Suriname.
There’s a special announcement to kick off Part 2, as we tell the listeners all about The Sweeper Podcast’s brand-new partnership with FIFA+ and all the matches around the world that can be live-streamed in top quality for free. The episode then finishes off with some great headlines from Chile and Argentina: Huachipato’s two games in one day, Barnechea’s 45-point deduction, Talleres’ gun-wielding chairman & Banfield’s half-time coach sacking.
To enter the draw to win the San Marino-Liechtenstein match programmes & the Anguilla shirt, join us on Patreon at patreon.com/SweeperPod. There you will also be able to read our San Marino bonus blog and find our next bonus podcast on Wednesday 25 September, in which we talk about the Welsh substitute who got arrested before the final whistle, the Italian coach who scythed down an opponent & Chris Smalling’s nightmare debut for Al Fayha.
RUNNING ORDER:
00:00 – Intro
00:31 – San Marino: Local disbelief
05:00 – Anguilla: First victory in 14 years
06:42 – Turks & Caicos: 14-year-old goalie
10:21 – Bolivia: Altitude & away wins
14:18 – International window: The best ever?
16:08 – Guyana: The presidential helicopter
18:55 – FIFA+: Introducing our new partner
22:43 – Chile: Huachipato’s two games in a day
26:50 – Chile: Barnechea’s 45-point deduction
29:27 – Argentina: Talleres’ feisty chairman
32:20 – Argentina: Banfield’s half-time sacking
Editor: Ralph Foster
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Would you believe it?! San Marino, the worst team in the world by FIFA ranking (210), have ended the longest winless run in international football history (140 games dating back to April 2004) and won a competitive match for the first time in their history! The 'Titani' beat Liechtenstein 1-0 in the UEFA Nations League.
Along with other content creators, friends & listeners, Sweeper duo Lee Wingate & Paul Watson were live in Serravalle to witness this monumental moment and talk about it afterwards in a special one-off bonus pod in a local bar after the final whistle. We hope you enjoy it - and please try out our other episodes if you do!
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Part 1 is devoted to the final round of UEFA club competition qualifying & the upcoming league phase in the three tournaments. We look at the Larne, TNS, RFS & Slovan Bratislava underdog success stories, amazing social media posts involving the Smurfs and Mr. Bean, the changed format of the three club competitions and the computerised draw, plus the best European groundhops you could make to take in the league phase action.
In Part 2, we divide our time between domestic club football and the international game. A broken goal is met with the suggestion of blowtorch repair in the Icelandic top tier, Papua New Guinea’s Admiralty Islands FC relocate to the mainland for six months and the international break looms large with three standout fixtures: San Marino vs. Liechtenstein, Comoros vs. Madagascar and Guyana vs. Suriname.
If you don’t want to wait until 18 September for our next episode, then you can join us for a bonus podcast on 11 September at patreon.com/SweeperPod. You will also be able to read our blog about the 2024 Greenlandic Football Championship, enter the draw to win a B67 shirt, become part of our growing Discord community and get exclusive content from our trip to watch San Marino take on Liechtenstein in Serravalle.
RUNNING ORDER:
00:00 – Intro
03:04 – UEFA qualifiers: Upsets & underdogs
09:00 – UEFA qualifiers: Media & memes
14:13 – UEFA qualifiers: Unfamiliar formats
18:56 – UEFA qualifiers: Groundhopping guidance
24:29 – Collapsing goals in Iceland & Romania
30:56 – Papua New Guinea’s relocating islanders
36:56 – San Marino & the international break
44:12 – Patreon perks & B67 shirt giveaway
Editor: Ralph Foster
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Part 1 is devoted to the UEFA club competition qualifying rounds. There’s penalty pandemonium in Poland and theNetherlands, an amazing achievement for Armenians Noah and a trio of clubs on the verge of becoming the first representatives from Andorra, Northern Ireland & Wales to reach a continental group. There’s also a word for the biggest and shortest European away days of the summer, football’s huge carbon footprint and two clubs with close links to the political leaders of their countries: Puskás Akadémia of Hungary & Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih of Ukraine.
In Part 2, we turn our attentions to continental competitions in Africa, Asia & the Caribbean. We hear about Djiboutian club Arta Solar 7 in the CAF Champions League preliminaries and their takeover by a solar power company, find out whether Paul Watson will abscond to the Maldives to take charge of AFC Challenge League participants Maziya and learn why Haitian club America des Cayes did not turn up in Curacao for the CFU Caribbean Shield. There are also shirt giveaways for Village Superstars of St. Kitts & Nevis & the Chagos Islands national team.
As per usual, you can join us for our next bonus episode if you don’t want to wait until Wednesday 4 September for another pod. That episode will be out on Wednesday 28 August and will take in some stories from the Nordic nations, including a collapsed goal and a blow torch in Iceland, an island club triumphing in the Danish Cup and the Swedish club with the most youth teams in Europe. We will also be sharing our own personal football bucket lists and telling you about an upcoming Q&A session for patrons on our Discord server.
RUNNING ORDER:
00:00 – Intro
00:51 – UEFA qualifiers: Penalty pandemonium
07:32 – UEFA qualifiers: History-making hopefuls
11:11 – UEFA qualifiers: Epic away days
15:51 – UEFA qualifiers: Supportive statesmen
21:02 – San Marino & Nauru competition winners
22:38 – Africa: The space and weapons derbies
30:34 – Asia: Coaching vacancy in the Maldives
36:48 – Caribbean: America des Cayes' no-show
39:35 – St. Kitts & Nevis and Chagos Islands giveaways
Join Sangalo's mailing list at the bottom of the homepage to enter the Village Superstars shirt competition: www.sangalo.com.
Get yourself a Surprise Shirts mystery box at www.surpriseshirts.co.uk.
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In Part 1, we bring you all the top stories from around the football world: Maikeli Lomu, an American with Tongan heritage, has sold his pottery studio in Utah and relocated to his ancestral homeland in pursuit of a World Cup dream. The 2024 edition of the Greenlandic Football Championship – the shortest season in world football at one week – is taking place on Disko Island off the west coast. And the FA Cup preliminary rounds are serving up some great stories, including the earliest goals in the history of the world’s oldest club competition.
Then in Part 2 we turn our attentions to the men’s and women’s football tournaments at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris: the chaos and controversy between Argentina & Morocco, Canada’s spying scandal, the 6-5 thriller between Australia & Zambia, and the Malawian footballer-sprinter racing the 100 metres. There is also a selection of great listener emails, a competition to accompany the Sweeper team to San Marino vs. Liechtenstein in the UEFA Nations League and a giveaway for a limited-edition Nauru national team shirt.
If you don’t want to hang on until Wednesday 21 August for another dose of world football goodness, then sign up to our Patreon at patreon.com/SweeperPod to get the bonus episodes. In the episode set for release on Wednesday 14 August, we talk about Japan legend Keisuke Honda’s one-match contract with Paro FC of Bhutan, Kuwaiti club Kazma’s phantom pre-season friendly, Libertad de Pirayu of Paraguay's trophy that disappeared from an open-top bus parade and Partick Thistle’s failed substitution due to accidentally cropped team sheet.
RUNNING ORDER
00:00 - Intro
00:32 - The Football Cliches Quiz
02:01 - Tongan World Cup dreams
07:18 - The FA Cup preliminary rounds
13:25 - Disko Island in Greenland
18:53 - San Marino & Nauru competitions
24:24 - Olympics: Opening game outrage
28:45 - Olympics: Drone debacles
32:06 - Olympics: Goals galore
36:28 - Olympics: Sprinting strikers
38:51 - Listener emails
Editor: Ralph Foster
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In Part 1, we round up all the latest highlights from the UEFA club competition qualifying rounds. We talk about two villages of under 1,000 people in the Faroes & San Marino that claimed big European wins, the Slovenian keeper that went on a René Higuita-style dribble against Connah’s Quay Nomads of Wales and FC Copenhagen’s upcoming trip to face ‘pub team’ Bruno’s Magpies at a stadium overlooking the African coastline.
That is followed in Part 2 by an announcement about a change to the podcast, which will return to its previously fortnightly rhythm. We then round off the episode by talking about the ‘Pariah Derby’ between the North Korean and Russian women’s teams and turn our attentions to pre-season friendlies: the pitch invaders at Rapid Vienna vs. AC Milan, Augsburg’s immigration disaster and a playground-style switch in Heilbronn.
If you don’t want to wait until Wednesday 7 August for our next podcast, then join us on Patreon for our bonus podcasts. In the episode on Wednesday 31 July, we will examine the intriguing back stories of three promoted clubs from Eastern Europe, take a look at the Coupe de France action in St. Pierre & Miquelon and discuss the upcoming Milne Cup between Orkney & the Shetland Islands in Scotland. You can sign up at patreon.com/SweeperPod.
RUNNING ORDER:
00:00 - Intro
00:38 - Victorious villages
04:52 - 27th time lucky for La Fiorita
11:38 - The NK Bravo keeper on the run
13:41 - Icelandic accumulator threats
15:19 - Pub team with a view of Africa
21:31 - Podcast frequency announcement
23:52 - North Korea's 'Pariah Derby'
29:22 - Rapid vs. Milan & pre-season friendlies
Video of the NK Bravo goalkeeper on a run: x.com/FootballBurp/status/1814063958224978365
Editor: Ralph Foster
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Part 1 is dedicated to the best part of the European football calendar: the UEFA club competition qualifying rounds. We chat about the Gibraltarian pub team that claimed a win in the Conference League, the victorious Polish and Romanian teams in the Europa League and the part-timers from the Faroe Islands excelling in the Champions League.
In Part 2, we bring you a random mix of stories from across the football world: Paul has been offered a coaching job on a mystery island in the South Pacific, Thimphu City of Bhutan have come up with a great initiative to protect the white-bellied heron and The Sweeper has sponsored a football team for the first time at the Icarus Cup in the USA.
Join us for Part 3 over on Patreon at patreon.com/SweeperPod to hear about the Brazilian policeman who fired a rubber bullet at a goalkeeper, an Anguillan side that allows their supporters a top-flight run-out and the Icelandic footballer presented with a bottle of champagne by a Fantasy Football Winner.
RUNNING ORDER:
00:00 - Intro
00:40 - EURO 2024 disappointment
02:44 - Second-tier Corvinul's quirky situation
09:39 - UEFA win for pub team Bruno's Magpies
13:10 - San Marino, Wales & the Faroe Islands
19:38 - A mystery island coaching job for Paul
23:46 - Thimphu City's white-bellied heron initiative
30:50 - The first Sweeper-sponsored football team
Buy your Sweeper-sponsored football shirt from the Icarus Cup:
https://icarusfc.com/products/malmo?_pos=1&_psq=malmo&_ss=e&_v=1.0
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Part 1 is dedicated to the overachieving underdogs at the continental competitions taking place this summer: Canada at the Copa América, Vanuatu at the OFC Nations Cup and Georgia at the EUROs. Meanwhile, in Part 2, there is a rare move to a European club for an Eritrean player and an ex-Gibraltar international is jailed for drug dealing. Join us for Part 3 at patreon.com/SweeperPod as we round up some headlines from the home nations and bring you some spectacular transfer fails too.
RUNNING ORDER:
Intro - 00:00
Canada at the Copa América - 00:59
Vanuatu at the OFC Nations Cup - 07:58
Georgia at the EUROs - 14:36
Listener mails - 20:30
A rare Eritrean transfer to Europe - 24:02
Ex-Gibraltar international jailed - 28:13 -
With the UEFA club competition qualifying rounds getting under way this week, it’s time for a full Sweeper preview of the action in Part 1 – in the form of a trivia quiz, of course! Join us and play along in our three rounds – Multiple Choice, Odd One Out & The Right Order – as we look ahead to the Champions, Europa & Conference League qualifiers: the debutants, the second-tier teams, the geographical extremes, the funny back stories and much more besides. And there’s plenty at stake, with Lee and Paul competing for a coveted prize.
We’re off to the Pacific in Part 2 to look ahead to the Marshall Islands’ long-awaited international debut at the end of July. But where will the match take place? Who will the opponents be? And why is the landmark fixture taking place on a futsal court rather than a football pitch? Finally, we discuss a match between Germans Erzgebirge Aue and Glenavon of Northern Ireland that should have taken place in 1960. So what’s the reason for the 64-year delay? Why is it taking place now? And what other unlikely fan friendships exist in the football world?
Join for our patron-only Part 3 at patreon.com/SweeperPod for a deeper dive into two little-known international football competitions that are taking place at the moment: the UEFA Regions Cup and the Europeada. There’s also an alternative look at the transfer window, including Rosario Central’s offer of an armoured car to Angel di María, a lower-league Spanish side signing Zidane and Ronaldo – but not those ones – and Kazu Miura’s loan move to Atletico Suzuka in his homeland at the age of 57.
RUNNING ORDER:
00:00 - Intro
00:41 - UEFA qualifier quiz: Multiple choice
08:53 - UEFA qualifier quiz: Odd one out
17:17 - UEFA qualifier quiz: The right order
22:46 - Marshall Islands' international debut
28:36 - A delayed Cold War friendly
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Part 1 kicks off with some stories from around the footballworld. Why were the Solomon Islands locked out of their dressing room at the OFC Nations Cup? How come New Caledonia dramatically pulled out of the tournament? What are the most remote football tournaments in the world in terms of the distance to the closest inhabited land? And which footballer has recently established himself on the over-45s tennis circuit in South America?
We’re back to Europe for Part 2. Which Spanish fallen giant recently gained a dramatic promotion and celebrated with their supporters at the terminal building of the local airport? We’re joined by Matt Harrison of the Guiricast Podcast to find out more. What are the standout ties of the Champions League first qualifying round? And how did Bodø/Glimt manage to send scouts to check out the wrong Latvian opponent?
Join us for the patron-only Part 3 at patreon.com/SweeperPod as we take our listeners behind the scenes for the first time and explain how we make the podcast. Where do we find our stories? What is the process for deciding which ones make the cut and deserve inclusion in the episode? How do we keep tabs on everything that is happening around the world? And what happens when we have a “bad pod day”?
RUNNING ORDER
00:00 - Intro
00:42 - Chaos at the OFC Nations Cup
09:46 - Rescue missions on Saint Helena
16:47 - Diego Forlán's tennis transition
22:29 - Malaga's promotion madness
28:40 - European fallen giants
31:46 - The UCL first qualifying round
34:57 - Bodø/Glimt scout wrong Latvian opponent
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The European Championships are in full swing not only on the pitch but off it too. In Part 1, we pick out three themes from the opening stages of the tournament in Germany that have made us laugh: food wars, culture craziness & online polls/searches. Tune in to find out which country at EURO 2024 has the best national dish, who is empirically speaking the sexiest of the 24 head coaches, why Niklas Füllkrug has the best ‘Personal life’ section on Wikipedia and why Ralf Rangnick has taken the Austria squad to a Rod Stewart concert in Berlin.
The focus is on club football in Part 2, with three amazingstories from Portugal, Japan and Iceland. Why could a Santa Clara player’s tattoo to commemorate winning the Portuguese second division prove to be premature? How has a university team managed to pull off one of the biggest upsets in the history of the Emperor’s Cup in Japan? And will lower-league Icelandic club FC Reynir, who are based at the foot of a volcano, get the home cup tie they have been dreaming of for 30 years?
For Part 3 and some international football headlines from three other continents, join us over on Patreon at patreon.com/SweeperPod. Why is 16-year-old Bolivian wonderkid Moisés Paniagua unable to travel to the Copa America in the United States? What emotional moment of unity took place at the world’s newest international football derby between Sudan and South Sudan? And why has Singapore’s 40-year-old goalkeeper Hassan Sunny had to beg Chinese football fans to stop sending him money?
RUNNING ORDER:
00:00 – Intro
00:40 – EURO 2024 – Christmas for adults
03:40 – EURO 2024 culture craziness
07:02 – EURO 2024 food wars
11:15 – EURO 2024 online polls & searches
15:57 – Guest podcast appearances
17:52 – A tattoo mishap in Portugal
22:01 – A university upset in Japan
27:29 – An Icelandic village dream
34:53 – Listener emails
Podcast guest appearances:
Lee on The Totally Show: https://open.spotify.com/episode/6npASOQ1BZPvYYFpnb4ssE
Paul on Guardian Football Weekly: https://open.spotify.com/episode/2uu1QCQC1vH2ISK8euq8kj
Lee on The Window: https://open.spotify.com/episode/4tPj0TvQ5NQfN6CcQPDOCA
Paul on World of CONCACAF: https://open.spotify.com/episode/24hiIr0iqUW7MSEKGnY5ol
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EURO 2024 is just around the corner and we have put the tournament under the spotlight in typically Sweeper style in Part 1. How did Austria’s Maximilian Entrup go from a third-tier amateur/PE teacher to a place at EURO 2024 in the space of a year? Does Georgia’s Budu Zivzivadze harbour any regrets about choosing football over chess? Who is the only player at the tournament currently on the books of a third-tier European club? And where does Latvia’s 0-0 draw with Germany in 2004 rank among the all-time biggest EURO shocks?
Part 2 is dedicated to the rest of the international football news. Was San Marino’s recent friendly against Slovakia at a stadium with a water slide behind the main stand in Austria's ugliest town our most random live game to date? Why have FIFA ruled that AFCON top scorer Emilio Nsue has actually been ineligible to play for Equatorial Guinea over the past 11 years? And why did everyone think that Syria had beaten North Korea 1-0 when it was actually the other way around?
You can join us for Part 3 over on Patreon at patreon.com/SweeperPod as we reflect on some international news from the Caribbean and a selection of other stories. What did the Cayman Islands players fear they might lose ahead of their recent World Cup qualifying trip to Cuba? Why did Bonaire contest a recent friendly against a ninth-tier team from the Netherlands? And why has Spanish goalkeeper Miguel Guerreiro given up on his Only Fans dream and made a return to football with Velez in the fourth tier?
RUNNING ORDER
00:00 – Intro
01:05 – EURO 2024 alternative career paths
09:28 – EURO 2024 players outside the top tier
14:17 – EURO 2024 underdogs & outsiders
21:20 – Mystery shirt guessing game
24:36 – San Marino’s water slide away day
33:46 – Emilio Nsue’s Equatoguinean ineligibility
39:02 – North Korea’s secret Syria score
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Part 1 contains an international round-up of European minnows inside and outside of UEFA. In which version of football has Gibraltar become a European champion? Why has Corsica recently hosted their counterparts from Sardinia, Sicily & St. Martin? Will we watch San Marino vs. Slovakia from the top of a water slide? And which football stadium straddles an EU/non-EU border?
Up next in Part 2 are a series of records and achievements from across the football world. What remarkable feat did Attack Energy Herat accomplish en route to winning the Afghan Super League? Why did a goalkeeper recently take three penalties in Israel? And is Turkmenistan's dictator partly responsible for the longest winning run in football history?
Join us for Part 3 on Patreon at patreon.com/SweeperPod as we look at Pas de la Casa's run to the Andorran Cup final without winning a game, hear about the world's ugliest building in the Kosovan capital Pristina, play a UEFA Conference League-themed game of 'Pointless' and discuss the collapse of a goal frame in the USA.
RUNNING ORDER:
00:00 - Intro
01:10 - Gibraltar's walking football triumph
06:20 - The return of the Corsica Cup
15:03 - San Marino vs. Slovakia & quirky football grounds
21:54 - Attack Energy Herat's perfect Afghan season
24:56 - A 22nd consecutive Bosnian title for SFK 2000
26:54 - The longest penalty shootout ever in Israel
29:06 - Ascent Soccer U21s' remarkable feat in Malawi
32:36 - 47 straight wins for Arkadag in Turkmenistan
VIDEO: The annual All-Priests Over 75s Five-a-Side Football Challenge Match from Father Ted: https://bit.ly/FatherTedVideo
VIDEO: The longest penalty shootout in football history in Israel: https://bit.ly/IsraelPenaltyShootoutVideo -
Part 1 brings you a full round-up of all the news from the Benelux countries. What controversial actions recently earned a Dutch referee a lifelong ban from football? Why are two storied Belgian clubs facing an existential threat? And what strange series of events could lead to European football being played on a Luxembourgish campsite this summer?
Next up in Part 2 is a round-up of all the action from the rest of Europe. How have Sturm Graz finally managed to dethrone Red Bull Salzburg and does it mark a turning point for Austrian football? How did a marriage proposal mentally unsettle a goalkeeper in the Albanian Cup final? And why have Finnish club SJK Seinäjoki started giving away free sausages to fans?
Join us on Patreon at patreon.com/SweeperPod for Part 3 to find out how Baltika have managed to reach the Russian Cup final despite already being eliminated, why Poland wins our award for the most unpredictable country in Europe in the 2023/24 season and how a raccoon managed to evade capture for 161 seconds in a recent MLS fixture.
RUNNING ORDER:
00:00 - Intro
00:58 - The Dutch referee who celebrated
10:00 - The two Belgian clubs on the brink
15:08 - Surprises and campsites in Luxembourg
20:40 - Party time for Sturm Graz in Austria
33:11 - Egnatia's Albanian double bid & a proposal
38:02 - Free sausages at SJK Seinäjoki in Finland
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