The Sweeper - A World Football Podcast

Oct 15 2024 62 ep. 43 mins 410

The Sweeper - A World Football Podcast artwork

Lee Wingate and Paul Watson explore the weird and wonderful world of football across FIFA’s 211 member states – and sometimes beyond. Join us once a fortnight as we round up the global football headlines with a touch of geography, politics, history, culture and food, plus a healthy dose of humour. Listen to our next episode on Wednesday 16 October 2024 or join us for a bonus podcast on Patreon on Wednesday 9 October. Sign up at patreon.com/SweeperPod.

Copy RSS

Subscribe on Podcast Addict

Bhutanese monk ultras, a golden era for micro-states & the Southgate of the Solomons

Oct 15 2024 42 mins

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 k

Switalian adventures, Welsh routes into Europe & the Vatican on tour

Oct 01 2024 46 mins

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

Turks & Caicos' 14-year-old goalie, Bolivia's altitude advantage & Argentina's gun-wielding chairman

Sep 17 2024 36 mins

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 201

BONUS POD: SAN MARINO WIN A FOOTBALL MATCH!!!

Sep 05 2024 17 mins

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 & liste

Europe for Larne & TNS, Papua NG's breakaway league & Comoros’ wizard-loving boss

Sep 03 2024 46 mins

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

Noah’s unique European run, Djibouti’s power plant club & St. Kitts' three-legged final

Aug 20 2024 46 mins

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

A Tongan World Cup dream, Greenland’s Disko Island & Olympic sprinter-footballers

Aug 06 2024 44 mins

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

A victorious Faroese village, 27th time lucky for La Fiorita & North Korea’s ‘Pariah Derby’

Jul 23 2024 38 mins

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

Pub team's European win, a mystery island coaching job & a Sweeper-sponsored team

Jul 16 2024 36 mins

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

Rooftop viewings in Vanuatu, Zivzivadze’s house-turned-hotel & an Eritrean on the move

Jul 09 2024 33 mins

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/SweeperP