The Sweeper - A World Football Podcast TOB Sports Media
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- Sport
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The Sweeper is a football podcast unlike any other. Once a week, journalists Lee Wingate and Paul Watson bring you unique and quirky football headlines and stories from across Europe and the wider world that you won’t hear elsewhere.
Whether it’s San Marino’s 20-year winless run, Greenland’s week-long season or the two-team league in the Scilly Isles, The Sweeper does not focus on Europe’s top five leagues - but instead casts its net across FIFA’s 211 members and beyond.
Join us for a whistle-stop tour of the football world every Wednesday. Episodes are released at midnight CET.
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Spain’s tiniest football town, North Sea pizza planes & a Dutch double invasion
Is this the best-ever Sweeper line-up? In Part 1, Lee & Paul discuss stories from the lower tiers in Spain, Germany & the Netherlands. How has a team from a Spanish village
of 100 people gained promotion? What are the smallest European settlements with a football team? Why did a German footballer hire a plane for a derby on a neighbouring island? And how can the longest journey in Dutch football be between two towns that are 4km apart?
Part 2 contains more stories from across the European continent. What mistake did a Dutch stadium announcer recently make to cause a pitch invasion? Which second-tier club might we see in European competition next season? Why did a Polish football fan hike 100 kilometres to meet a goalkeeper who scored on April Fool’s Day? And why do Oslo-based YMCA club KFUM Kameratene have to go across a Zebra crossing to reach their pitch?
If you want scintillating stories from other continents, join us on Patreon at patreon.com/SweeperPod as we travel to Argentina, Canada & the Philippines. Why has an Argentinian football coach spent 24 years living at club headquarters? Is Canada’s Frostbite Cup really the coldest competition in world football? And why has the Philippines allowed non-professional teams to compete with pro clubs in its top flight?
RUNNING ORDER:
00:00 - Intro
01:03 - Subiza's rise to Spanish fourth tier
03:51 - Smallest football towns in Europe
06:17 - The island derby in East Frisia
09:59 - The island derby in West Frisia
14:00 - The sorry plight of Vitesse Arnhem
17:57 - The Roda JC stadium announcer
20:45 - Second-tier Wisła Kraków's cup win
24:57 - A 100km hike to meet scoring keeper
26:49 - The goal-kick that took out a seagull
28:08 - Cringe rap & Zebra crossings in Oslo -
The Valletta funeral parade, Al Ahly’s unique feat & dark arts in Chechnya
Having just visited Malta and witnessed an historic weekend of football, Lee tells Paul all about the key events in Europe’s only island micro-state in Part 1. Who came out on top in the title-decider between Ħamrun Spartans & Floriana? Why do Valletta hold a funeral parade through the streets when they win the league? How has the island reacted to the capital club’s first relegation? And what is it like to accidentally get caught up in a bus parade?
Part 2 is dedicated to three big stories on three different continents: Africa, Europe & South America. Two teams think they have won the Republic Youth League in Egypt – but why? Who was allegedly behind the poisoning of Sochi’s players before their recent game against Akhmat Grozny in Russia? And what unique tribute did Brazilians Cariri pay to their owner after gaining promotion to the Campeanato Cearense Série A last week?
Tune in to The Sweeper to find out the answers – and join us on Patreon at patreon.com/SweeperPod for a bonus segment as we answer some big questions from across Europe. Which is the only top-30 UEFA nation to have rejected VAR? What was the unlikely resting place for a shot in the third tier of French football? And did a former Port Vale player really get a pilot’s license just to mock his old club’s relegation?
RUNNING ORDER:
00:00 - Intro
00:51 - Ħamrun Spartans vs. Floriana live
10:05 - Promoted Melita's bus parade
11:34 - Valletta’s first-ever relegation
15:31 - Football on Gozo & Comino
20:11 - Title confusion in Egypt’s Youth League
29:27 - An alleged poisoning in Chechnya
34:22 - A funeral home tribute in Brazil -
Algerian airport anger, a 560km voyage to Mauritius & a Transylvanian cup run
Part 1 is all about Africa, where a kit controversy has escalated into a geopolitical dispute between Algeria & Morocco ahead of the CAF Confederations Cup semi-final between USM Alger & RS Berkane. Elsewhere on the continent, Rising FC from Rodrigues Island in the Indian Ocean have made the long voyage to mainland Mauritius to take part in the cup, winning their last-32 tie!
It's back to Europe - or at least, UEFA - in Part 2 as Paul & Lee discuss the 'Isolation Derby' between SKA Khabarovsk & Yenisay Krasnoyarsk in the Russian second division and look at some of the lower-league clubs on track for cup success - including Transylvanian outfit Corvinul, who have made it to next month's final against Oțelul Galați with an all-Romanian squad.
On the bonus segment, there's talk of Harry Redknapp & Romario returning from retirement, a look at some goal-laden games in the ninth tiers of Italian and English football & the story of a Polish goalkeeper presented with a Zimmer frame as a birthday present by his Portuguese club. To listen to that, simply join us over at patreon.com/sweeperpod.
RUNNING ORDER:
00:00 - Intro
00:59 - Algerian airport anger
09:12 - Russ Cook's Africa run
10:52 - From Rodrigues Island to Mauritius
18:32 - The 'Isolation Derby' in Russia
21:12 - The Niue Island listener
23:11 - Corvinul & other second-tier cup runs
30:10 - Champions League fallen giants -
The fabulous Fenix Trophy, Nordic nonsense & Liechtenstein’s quirky cup
The latest Sweeper starts off in windy Wales with our visit to the game between Llantwit Major & Enfield Town in the Fenix Trophy and a wider look at the tournament regarded as the Champions League of non league. Then we're off to Scandinavia for some goalkeeper heroics, cupsets & geographical extremes, before finishing Part 1 in little Liechtenstein, where FC Vaduz will likely set a world record next month.
With Bayer Leverkusen having claimed the first league title in their 120-year history, Part 2 is dedicated to seven other European clubs gunning for their first-ever title and the longest ongoing title-winning streaks across the continent now that Bayern Munich's 11-year stranglehold on the Bundesliga is over. Finally, we look at the Moldovan Clasico, where two twins recently scored for opposing teams, and read some listener e-mails.
To win a unique Llantwit Major shirt and get access to the bonus segment of this podcast, where we chat about a Japanese side rising rapidly through the ranks, an unusual Portuguese on-pitch protest, an English team playing two games in two days and a truly bizarre Man of the Match award in the USA, join us at patreon.com/sweeperpod. We are entirely self-funded and your support makes a huge difference.
RUNNING ORDER:
00:00 - Intro
01:11 - A Fenix Trophy game in windy Wales
10:38 - Nonsense in the Nordic nations
17:13 - Liechtenstein's ludicrously quirky cup
23:15 - Potential first-time champs across Europe
31:00 - The longest ongoing title-winning runs
37:48 - Listener e-mails -
Copa Chile charm, Peruvian player names & a transfer to Tanzania
This episode of The Sweeper begins with a focus on South American domestic cup competitions. We hear about the Juan Fernández Islands – 670km off the coast of Chile – taking part in the Copa Chile as a special invitee and the unusual journey opponents Santiago Wanderers must take to reach them. Up next is Ecuador’s non-existent cup competition and the story of a team called Bonita Banana ('Beautiful Banana'), followed by some terrible pitches and hideously named players in Peru.
With Sudan’s Al-Hilal set to join the Tanzanian Premier League to escape the conflict in their homeland, we look at teams playing in other country’s football leagues in Part 2, including the likes of Liechtenstein's FC Vaduz and their uniquely tough path to the Champions League. Finally, we have an update on The Sweeper’s competition in conjunction with Icarus, which will send one lucky fan to Bhutan to watch Thimphu City in action.
To hear the bonus segment of this podcast, Sweeper Xtra, which is an extended Q&A session with Lee Wingate and Paul Watson touching on their best and worst football experiences, culinary treats, animal encounters and aspirations for the future, join us at patreon.com/sweeperpod.
RUNNING ORDER:
00:00 - Intro
01:20 - The Juan Fernández Islands in the Copa Chile
09:00 - The non-existent Copa Ecuador
12:36 - Horrendous pitches & player names in Peru
20:04 - Al-Hilal of Sudan to play in Tanzania
23:43 - Clubs playing in leagues of other countries
33:19 - Update on the Bhutan competition by Icarus -
North Korean no-show, Georgian jubilation & glorious groundhopping
First up on this episode of The Sweeper, we delve deeper into North Korea’s mysterious cancellation of their World Cup qualifier against Japan and look back at memorable moments in the hermit kingdom’s football history. Then we’re off to Georgia to hear about the nation’s maiden qualification for a major tournament, before we chat through Austria's Rangnick resurgence as they shape up to be EURO 2024 dark horses.
After the break it’s time to show some love for groundhoppers and to hear some amazing stories from our patrons in pursuit of the joy of ticking off new stadiums. Then we announce an exciting new competition from Thimphu City and shirt manufacturer Icarus that will see someone win a trip of a lifetime to Bhutan, plus there's a San Marino shirt giveaway too!
To hear the bonus segment of this podcast where we chat about Estonia’s U21 side playing a friendly against the wrong team, a Romanian player who was sacked for turning up to training drunk and then appointed sporting director, and a Bosnian giant in decline, join us at patreon.com/sweeperpod.
RUNNING ORDER:
00:00 Intro
01:15 North Korea's mysterious no-show
08:33 Georgia's EURO jubilation
11:57 Austria's Rangnick resurgence
16:22 Glorious groundhoppers
33:25 Thimphu City/Icarus competition
38:29 San Marino shirt giveaway
Browse the Icarus website: icarusfc.com
Read the Thimphu City-Icarus competition details: icarusfc.com/pages/thimphu-city-sweepstakes
Customer Reviews
Quirky facts and stories
If you love football outside the top leagues this one is for you. The stories and facts are absolutely brilliant and the hosts are great at sharing the stories and their own experiences with football from around the world