by Lee Wingate and Paul Watson
<p>Welcome to The Sweeper, the world football podcast made in association with FIFA+. Join Lee Wingate and Paul Watson every second Wednesday as they bring you the best headlines from across the football world and tell you the stories that you won't hear elsewhere.</p><p> </p><p>Whether it’s a Greenlandic club withdrawing from the championship to go reindeer hunting, scuffles on the sidelines in the Vatican City’s league, a team in Turkmenistan who win every game, or turtles stopping play on Ascension Island, The Sweeper has you covered!</p><p> </p><p>Join us on Patreon: <a href="patreon.com/SweeperPod" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">patreon.com/SweeperPod</a></p><p> </p><p>Audio editing: Ralph Foster & Tom Middler</p><p> </p><p>Graphic design: The Gentlemen Creatives</p><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>
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5/4/2021
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April 15, 2025
<p>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: <a href="https://www.tinyurl.com/FIFAPlusSweeper" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">www.tinyurl.com/FIFAPlusSweeper</a></p><br><p>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?</p><br><p>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?</p><br><p>Join The Sweeper on Patreon: <a href="https://patreon.com/SweeperPod" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">patreon.com/SweeperPod</a></p><br><p>Support The Sweeper on Buy Me A Coffee: <a href="http://www.buymeacoffee.com/sweeperpod" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">buymeacoffee.com/sweeperpod</a></p><br><p>Editor: Ralph Foster</p><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>
April 1, 2025
<p>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.</p><p> </p><p>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?</p><p> </p><p>Join us on <a href="www.patreon.com/SweeperPod" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Patreon</a> for:</p><p>- Bonus episodes, including an interview with James Montague about his time spent with ultra groups around the world</p><p>- Blog posts about football in the likes of Africa, the Faroe Islands, Japan and Mongolia</p><p>- Access to our Discord chat community containing hundreds of Sweeper listeners</p><p>- Weekly newsletters with a FIFA+ match recommendation of the week</p><p>- And much more besides!</p><br><p>The Blizzard: Get 10% off subscriptions to <a href="https://forwardpress.imbmsubscriptions.com/sweeper10/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The Blizzard</a> by entering the code 'sweeper10' at checkout.</p><p> </p><p>Editor: Ralph Foster</p><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>
March 18, 2025
<p>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: <a href="https://www.tinyurl.com/FIFAPlusSweeper" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">www.tinyurl.com/FIFAPlusSweeper</a></p><p> </p><p>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?</p><p> </p><p>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.</p><p> </p><p>Patreon:</p><p> </p><p>Join us on Patreon at <a href="https://patreon.com/SweeperPod" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">patreon.com/SweeperPod</a> 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.</p><br><p>The Blizzard:</p><br><p>Get 10% off subscriptions to 'The Blizzard' by entering the code 'sweeper10' at checkout: <a href="https://forwardpress.imbmsubscriptions.com/sweeper10/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://forwardpress.imbmsubscriptions.com/sweeper10/</a></p><br><p>Editor:</p><br><p>Ralph Foster</p><br /><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>
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