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PODCAST

The Sweeper - A World Football Podcast

Lee Wingate and Paul Watson

Are you tired of the Premier League and want to discover the hidden stories of the global game? The Sweeper tells the most extraordinary stories from across the football world. From the World Cup and Champions League to the most obscure competitions on earth, experts Lee Wingate and Paul Watson explore the intersection of soccer, travel, geography, geopolitics and history. If you enjoy Guardian Football Weekly, The Totally Football Show or Football Ramble, you"ll love The Sweeper. Start here:

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All Episodes

00:34:48

Shakhtar Donetsk's imposter club – Plus Heidelberg’s...

The Sweeper - A World Football Podcast ·

2026/04/21

Shakhtar Donetsk is a Ukrainian club – but Russia are trying to change that!As part of their efforts to integrate occupied Ukrainian territories, Russia are now creating their own versions of major Ukrainian teams.So why are UEFA not stopping this? What lie is being told to make it happen? And could the real Shakhtar win the Conference League?On this episode, we’re taking you on a journey to Ukraine to investigate how football is being used as a weapon of war. Plus: Semi-pro Heidelberg United eye up

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00:36:44

Inside promoted Thun’s fairytale season in the Swiss...

The Sweeper - A World Football Podcast ·

2026/04/14

A newly-promoted club are on the verge of the impossible.If tiny FC Thun can get just a few more points on the board, they will win the Swiss Super League and claim the first major trophy in their 128-year history.But what do the locals make of it all? Why is Thun the perfect place for such a fairytale? And how did a literal sauna force a high-stakes clash with Basel to be called off?We headed to the Alps to meet the fans and find out the answers. Join us in Thun for Europe’s most extraordinary club

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00:37:30

Bosnia’s poker player at the World Cup – Plus Ceuta...

The Sweeper - A World Football Podcast ·

2026/04/07

A former poker player has coached Bosnia to the World Cup!Sergej Barbarez has guided the Balkan country to the tournament in his first head coach role – at the expense of four-time champions Italy.So how did he go from the casino for the dugout? Why has qualification cost his striker Ermedin Demirovic €300,000? And how are Bosnia at a second World Cup without ever making the EUROs?In this episode, we explore brilliant Bosnia’s incredible journey and reflect on Iraq and DR Congo’s play-offs successes

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00:34:19

Liechtenstein: Europe’s strangest national team –...

The Sweeper - A World Football Podcast ·

2026/03/31

Liechtenstein have the strangest national football team in Europe.They have no domestic league to develop players, sometimes take just one fan to away matches and, for years, had just one professional footballer.So how do they make it work? Why is it so hard to generate support for the team? And what change to international football might improve their fortunes?In this episode, we put the micro-state under the microscope and examine how Europe’s richest country is also home to its strangest national

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00:29:20

Eritrea’s dictatorship defection dilemma – Plus...

The Sweeper - A World Football Podcast ·

2026/03/24

Eritrea’s national team haven’t played an official match in seven years.But this month, the Red Sea Camels are making their long-awaited return to the international stage in AFCON 2027 qualifying.So what kept Eritrea away? Why are they returning to the fold now? And do they have any chance against Eswatini?In this episode, we take you on a virtual journey to the Horn of Africa – and shine a light on the only country excluded from the FIFA rankings.Plus, the Belarusian team in exile in Poland and the

en

00:32:25

Iran's possible World Cup withdrawal – Plus the Barca...

The Sweeper - A World Football Podcast ·

2026/03/17

A World Cup co-host is at war with another participating nation.Since the United States launched strikes against Iran at the end of last month, the big question in the football world has been whether the latter will still play at the World Cup.So will Iran play or not? Could they even face the United States? And who would likely replace them if they were to withdraw?Today, we run through all the conceivable scenarios and analyse the most turbulent build-up to a World Cup in living memory.Plus: The

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00:33:40

Steaua Bucharest’s European Cup dispute – Plus the...

The Sweeper - A World Football Podcast ·

2026/03/10

Steaua Bucharest, Romania’s most successful club, no longer exists.Instead, two teams now both lay claim to the original club’s success – including the highly prized 1986 European Cup.So who is the true successor? Why did UEFA change its mind four decades later? And could they ever play against each other?In this episode, we take you inside one of European football’s oddest disputes: the battle for Steaua Bucharest’s history.Plus: The Italian coach who sacked himself after 44 years and the German

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00:00:42

Welcome to The Sweeper Podcast

The Sweeper - A World Football Podcast ·

2026/03/09

Welcome to The Sweeper Podcast. Each week, we bring you the most extraordinary global football stories from across the 211 FIFA countries and beyond.New episodes are released at 8pm UK time every Tuesday. For bonus podcasts every Thursday at the same time, sign up at patreon.com/sweeperpod.

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00:29:33

North Korea's top-secret football league – Plus...

The Sweeper - A World Football Podcast ·

2026/03/03

In North Korea, even football is shrouded in secrecy.Fixtures in the DPRK Premier League aren’t published. Fans only find out matches are happening when notices appear outside the stadium the day before. You can’t check the scores. And you can’t watch full games on TV.So how does football actually work in the world’s most secretive country?Why are English Premier League matches shown – but delayed by months and cut down to 60 minutes? Is it really possible to groundhop in Pyongyang? And how have

en

00:28:36

Football at the top of the world – Plus a family feud...

The Sweeper - A World Football Podcast ·

2026/02/24

Bodø/Glimt continued their sensational debut UEFA Champions League campaign by beating Italian giants Inter in the Arctic Circle – after 80 tons of snow had first been cleared from their pitch, of course.But did you know Norway is home to an even snowier pitch, 1,000km further north at the very top of the world, in a place where seeds are stored for the event of an apocalypse and people carry rifles to the supermarket to stave off polar bear attacks?So who used to play here, on this northernmost

en

00:34:12

Brazil’s rainforest rivalry, Myanmar’s unbeatable...

The Sweeper - A World Football Podcast ·

2026/02/17

The most-played match in world football has been contested nearly 1,000 times – yet most fans have never heard of it.Join us on a journey to a tropical corner of the planet as we uncover a rivalry first played in 1914… and still being contested today.Who are the two teams involved? Why have they faced each other so often – an average of seven times a year for over a century? And what could finally slow this extraordinary fixture down in 2026?Next, we explore the remarkable story of a top-flight club

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00:29:48

Why is Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orbán funding...

The Sweeper - A World Football Podcast ·

2026/02/10

A sleepy town of 22,000 people in southern Slovakia is home to a top-flight football club that is challenging for national titles and boasts an ultra-modern, sleek stadium that is entirely out of step with its surroundings – thanks to money from abroad.We paid a visit to Dunajská Streda to watch local team DAC 1904 play domestic giants Slovan Bratislava in a top-of-the table clash in Slovakia. But this was no ordinary game. It was the most politically charged football match we’ve ever seen.The

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00:30:00

Qarabağ's historic Champions League run, Portugal's...

The Sweeper - A World Football Podcast ·

2026/02/03

Qarabağ have made Champions League history this season, becoming the first Azerbaijani club to ever reach the knockout stages of the competition – and setting up a play-off tie against Premier League team Newcastle United.Their run has come at a time of dramatic geopolitical change in the South Caucasus, with the club preparing to return to their hometown of Ağdam after spending more than three decades in exile in the capital Baku.Elsewhere, Bodø/Glimt stunned the continent by qualifying for the

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00:31:10

The Finnish Cup: Santa's little helpers, Round 0 & a...

The Sweeper - A World Football Podcast ·

2026/01/27

Christmas has come and gone, but for Santa Claus – the football club that is, not the man with the beard – the other big moment of the year is fast approaching. This amateur team of tourism and post office workers are about to enter the Finnish Cup – their one big moment each year to show they are more than just a novelty name. But beyond Lapland, what else is so unique about the competition? We speak to Tomi Leivo-Jokimäki, the chief organiser at the Finnish Football Association, about its soaring

en

00:25:23

Luxembourg's digger president, Dutch Bible Belt...

The Sweeper - A World Football Podcast ·

2026/01/20

In just three seasons, a small-town club from central Luxembourg have gone from third-tier obscurity to challenging for the top-flight title. At the heart of their rise is president Carlos Teixeira, a construction entrepreneur who literally built the club’s stadium himself before reluctantly taking over the reins. On this episode, we tell Atert Bissen's story – before heading to the Netherlands, where an amateur club in the KNVB Beker are guaranteed to lift a trophy whether they win the

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00:54:48

Tahiti's tomorrow travels, Germany's fast food coach...

The Sweeper - A World Football Podcast ·

2026/01/06

In Part 1, Lee and Paul preview the inaugural OFC Pro League – the first fully professional football competition in Oceania’s history – which kicks off in New Zealand on Saturday 17 January. What matches will take place in the first circuit series in Auckland – and where can you watch them? Which team will have to travel the furthest and cross the International Date Line for their fixtures? Who are the standout players to watch out for? And what does the new tournament mean for the future of the OFC

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00:56:07

India’s Super League crisis, Poland’s utterly mad...

The Sweeper - A World Football Podcast ·

2025/12/23

In Part 1, Lee and Paul are joined by Asia correspondent John Duerden to cast a look at some huge stories across the continent – in India, Malaysia and South Korea. What on earth happened on Lionel Messi’s GOAT Tour of Kolkata? And why is the world’s largest country still without a top-flight league months after the season should have gotten under way? What has the fallout been from Malaysia’s attempt to illegally naturalise seven players? And why did Gus Poyet resign in protest after winning the

en

00:52:34

Vancouver Whitecaps' relocation fears, Quebec's...

The Sweeper - A World Football Podcast ·

2025/12/09

In Part 1, Lee and Paul take a deep dive into Canadian football, including the national team's World Cup draw, Vancouver Whitecaps' incredible campaign and the changes to the line-up in the Canadian Premier League. Do Canada have a chance against Qatar, Switzerland – and probably Italy? Will the Vancouver Whitecaps be able to stay in Vancouver? How on earth did the Canadian Premier League's bottom club qualify for the top continental competition? And who are FC Supra du Quebec, the new

en

00:52:57

Curacao & Haiti's World Cup heroics, Thun’s Swiss...

The Sweeper - A World Football Podcast ·

2025/11/25

In Part 1, Lee and Paul are joined by North and Central American football expert Jon Arnold to talk about the craziness in CONCACAF World Cup qualifying. Why did Curacao fly from Bermuda to Jamaica via London in the November window? Why has Haiti's French coach Sebastien Migne never set foot on the island? How did an uncelebrated last-gasp own goal save Suriname's World Cup hopes? And was it a cowardly move for Steve McClaren to resign as Jamaica coach with the play-offs coming up in March

en

00:48:26

Coquimbo Unido's treasured title, Mirassol's organic...

The Sweeper - A World Football Podcast ·

2025/11/11

In Part 1, Lee and Paul are joined by Nathan Joyes, a South American football expert and the host of the Copa Club Podcast to talk about some sensational stories from the CONMEBOL nations this season. Why do Chile’s new champions Coquimbo Unido have a pirate theme? Which strategic decision helped Mirassol rise from the sixth tier to the brink of the Copa Libertadores? Is there something in the water in Argentina, where underdogs are sweeping up the trophies? And which other South American country

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115 results

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