The Sweeper - A World Football Podcast

• Ferencváros' ultras in disguise, HamKam 2’s AI coach & Burkina Faso’s bus-funded leaders

  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 Part 1 is all about the final round of Europa League and Champions League action. How have Brest made the play-offs with an inexperienced coach and a shoestring budget? What does Fenerbahce boss José Mourinho have against the Danish town of Herning? Does Ryan Kent love his pet crocodiles more than his own family? How did the Ferencváros ultras disguise themselves for the visit of AZ Alkmaar? And what bold move did the German TV channel RTL+ make for Eintracht Frankfurt’s clash with Roma? Part 2 is dedicated to artificial intelligence and transport. What happened when the HamKam reserves appointed an AI coach on a one-game basis? How is Iceland’s Football Manager tactician getting on at Vesturbæjar? What happens when you ask Chat GPT to script a Sweeper episode about football in space/Narnia? And how have a club funded by a former player’s bus company shot to the top of the table in Burkina Faso? For bonus episodes and heaps of extra content, check out our Patreon page at patreon.com/SweeperPod. RUNNING ORDER:00:00 – Intro00:31 – Overachieving outsiders07:33 – Church bells & crocodiles13:14 – Jostles & jungles17:26 – Blunders & backstroke23:27 – HamKam 2’s AI coach28:12 – KV’s Football Manager tactician29:37 – Football in space & Narnia35:26 – Rahimo FC’s bus-funded title tilt Editor: Ralph Foster Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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• Ascension Island’s tortoise troubles, Omonia’s fan-paid groceries & Lazio’s live-in falconer

  There’s an island theme in Part 1. Starting with the return of football to Ascension Island, an isolated outpost in the Atlantic Ocean. It will be the second-most remote place to host football in the world – but what is the first?! Next up is Malta, where the only team in the pyramid from the neighbouring island of Gozo has made a 100% start to the season and the top flight has adopted a Latin American-style format. Our final stop in this segment is Cyprus, where Omonia Nicosia are preparing to face their breakaway rivals Omonia 29M. Part 2 contains a selection of great stories from across the European continent. There are shocks in France and Portugal as top-flight teams are dumped out of the cup by amateur opponents. Lazio have sacked their falconer for posting inappropriate pictures online, but he is reportedly refusing to leave their Formello training ground – where he has lived for the past 15 years! And finally, the bizarre tale of North Korea’s short-lived friendly against Kosovan club SC Gjilani – and perhaps the craziest pre-match graphic that has ever been made!Check out our new Patreon, which will go live on 1 February 2025 Listen to Cypriot football podcast 'This is Mappa' RUNNING ORDER: 00:00 – Intro01:21 – Ascension Island’s tortoise troubles11:00 – Gozitans off to flying start in Malta18:01 – Omonia Nicosia’s breakaway rivals28:17 – Amateur cupsets across the continent35:45 – The bizarre tale of Lazio’s falconer41:03 – North Korea’s short-lived friendly49:39 – The Sweeper's revamped Patreon Editor: Ralph Foster Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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  53:04
• Balzers’ Internet fame, the world’s newest league & The Strongest’s Chocolate Party

  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 The Sweeper is back for the first episode of 2025 to round up all the world football headlines from over the Christmas and New Year period. Starting in Europe, where Balzers of Liechtenstein have gone from 1,000 to 400,000 Instagram followers almost overnight – but how have they achieved their stratospheric growth? In Portugal, Nacional’s Madeiran mist has wrought havoc yet again and Oliveirense have used milk to mark the goal-lines in the absence of paint. Finally, in Italy, we take a deep dive into the wonderful world of Serie C.  In the rest of the world, there are teething problems for the world’s newest top-flight league in the world’s newest country: South Sudan. In Bolivia, national giants The Strongest have resorted to an unusual measure to raise money for children in San Pedro prison in La Paz and the relegation/promotion play-off has come to the most dramatic of conclusions. And there’s a similar story over in Indonesia, where controversy reigns supreme after PSM Makassar missed the memo that the 12th man is supposed to be the fans and fielded an extra player.   For a bonus episode on Wednesday 15 January and plenty of other extra content, join us on Patreon at patreon.com/SweeperPod.   RUNNING ORDER00:00 – Intro02:02 – Balzers’ instant Internet fame07:02 – Cult clubs and countries08:54 – Madeiran mist & mainland milk15:40 – The wonderful world of Serie C25:55 – A Chocolate Party and a play-off31:45 – Favourite sounding football fixtures36:07 – The newest league on the planet44:42 – A 12th man – but not the fans Editor: Ralph Foster Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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  50:15
• Víkingur’s 13-month season, Vitória’s crazy Kazakh away day & a Career We Go quiz

  Part 1 is all about the drama of the 2024/25 UEFA Conference League. Bosnia & Herzegovina, Iceland and Ireland have their first-ever representatives in a European knockout stage, Portugal’s Vitoria de Guimaraes set a new continental away day record, Omonia’s "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire" coach is sacked & the reserves of English giants Chelsea run riot. To help us review the action, we have a panel of experts from across Europe: Andy Brassell from On The Continent in the UK, Hinrik Wöhler from Vísir in Iceland & Massimo Solari of Corriere del Ticino in Switzerland.   In Part 2, Lee and Paul have their world football knowledge put to the test by Joe McAuliffe of the excellent Career We Go football trivia podcast. Finally, we review our favourite stories, topics and trips of 2024 – from the Marítimo-Nacional derby on the island of Madeira to San Marino’s first win in 20 years over Liechtenstein in the UEFA Nations League – and look ahead to our plans for 2025. Finally, a big thank you from us to our editors, partners, collaborators, listeners and patrons. We wish you a happy Christmas & all the best for the new year! Remember that if you don't want to wait until 8 January for your next dose of Sweeper goodness, you can sign up to our Patreon at patreon.com/SweeperPod and listen to our bonus podcast on New Year's Day. Becoming a member of our Patreon means you are supporting our independent journalism and getting access to a load of great content, such as bonus episodes, blogs, a weekly World Football Newsletter, access to our Discord server and entry into our football shirt giveaways. There are no contracts, no sign-up fees, no minimum stays and no advertisements. Watch back our UEFA Conference League final matchday watch-along on ⁠X⁠ or ⁠Facebook⁠. RUNNING ORDER:00:00 – Intro02:45 – Shamrock Rovers with Andy Brassell08:06 – Conference League or Nations League?10:26 – Víkingur Reykjavík with Hinrik Wöhler14:38 – A trigger-happy Bosnian club president17:50 – Lugano with Massimo Solari23:44 – Crazy European away day records27:25 – World football trivia with Career We Go46:34 – Our best stories, matches & trips of 2024 Please leave us a rating or review on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. It means a great deal to us and will make it easier for other potential listeners to discover our show. Thanks for your support! Editor: Ralph Foster Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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  50:06
• Georgia’s bodyguard cup winners, Danish snowball fights & a smuggled skull in Paraguay

  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 – Intro00:39 – A Spaeri-tale Georgian Cup triumph06:17 – Senegal’s lower-league final09:53 – Cupsets across the continent17:12 – An expensive Danish snowball fight20:28 – Africa: TP Mazembe’s airport disaster24:28 – Europe: Piacenza’s mental 24 hours28:51 – South America: A smuggled skull in Paraguay31:50 – Asia: A transfer to the wrong Esteghlal35:13 – North & Central America: Alajuelense’s CWC claim37:46 – The 2024 Intercontinental Cup on FIFA+ Editor: Ralph Foster Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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