Soccer · Sweeper Productions Ltd

The Sweeper - A World Football Podcast

by Sweeper Productions Ltd

Tired of the Premier League and big-league European football? Want to discover the hidden stories of the global game? The Sweeper Podcast is your passport to the most extraordinary stories from across the football world. From the World Cup and Champions League to the most obscure and overlooked competitions on earth, expert journalists Lee Wingate and Paul Watson explore the intersection of football, travel, geography, geopolitics, history and culture. Start here: 🎧 A Europa League team from North America? It IS possible (11 August 2026) 🎧 North Korea’s top-secret league (3 March 2026) 🎧 Greenland left out in the cold (24 June 2025) Hit “Follow” to discover new stories from the global game every Tuesday and Thursday. Join us Patreon at patreon.com/sweeperpod for bumper bonus podcasts every Monday. Contact: hello@sweeperpod.com. ——————————————————— World soccer archive The Sweeper is the only podcast committed to covering the beautiful game in all 211 FIFA countries – and beyond. The archives include deep dives into: EUROPEAN FOOTBALL (UEFA) • Countries: Andorra, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Faroe Islands, Finland, Gibraltar, Kosovo, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Poland, Romania, San Marino, Switzerland, Ukraine • Clubs: Austria Salzburg, Bodø/Glimt, Bursaspor, Ceuta, Kairat Almaty, Ludogorets, Mjällby, Paks, Qarabag, Shakhtar Donetsk, Steaua Bucharest, Südtirol, Thun, Vaduz • Competitions: Champions League, Conference League, Coupe de France, Europa League, European Championship ASIAN FOOTBALL (AFC) • Countries: Australia, Bhutan, China, India, Iran, Japan, Jordan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Myanmar, North Korea, Northern Mariana Islands, South Korea, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan • Clubs: Arkadag, Gimcheon Sangmu, Heidelberg United, Johor Darul Taz’im, Machida Zelvia, Mohun Bagan, Neom, Thimphu City • Competitions: Asian Cup, Challenge League, Champions League 2, Champions League Elite AFRICAN FOOTBALL (CAF) • Countries: Algeria, Cape Verde, Comoros, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Madagascar, Mauritania, Morocco, Sudan, Zanzibar • Clubs: Al Ahly, Al Hilal Omdurman, Mamelodi Sundowns, Pyramids, Rahimo FC, RS Berkane • Competitions: Africa Cup of Nations, Champions League, Confederation Cup NORTH & CENTRAL AMERICAN FOOTBALL (CONCACAF) • Countries: Anguilla, Belize, Bonaire, Canada, Curacao, Guyana, Haiti, Mexico, Montserrat, Suriname, USA • Clubs: El Farolito, FC Supra du Québec, Robinhood FC, Vancouver Whitecaps • Competitions: Caribbean Cup, CFU Shield, Champions Cup, Gold Cup OCEANIAN FOOTBALL (OFC) • Countries: American Samoa, Cook Islands, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Tahiti, Vanuatu • Clubs: Auckland FC, Bula FC, Hekari United, Solomon Kings, South Island United, South Melbourne, Tahiti United, Vanuatu FC • Competitions: OFC Champions League, OFC Pro League SOUTH AMERICAN FOOTBALL (CONMEBOL) • Countries: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, Venezuela • Clubs: Chapecoense, Coquimbo Unido, Mirassol, Mushuc Runa, The Strongest • Competitions: Copa América, Copa Libertadores, Copa Sudamericana REST OF THE WORLD • Countries: Bougainville, Greenland, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Monaco, Nauru, Palau, Scilly Isles, Tuvalu, Vatican City • Clubs: B67 Nuuk • Competitions: CONIFA World Football Cup, Fenix Trophy Topics: Altitude, amateurs, artificial intelligence, away days, cross-border clubs, cross-border leagues, day jobs, defections, derbies, dictatorships, elections, exclaves, fairytales, Football Manager, Futbology, groundhopping, identity, investigative journalism, islands, micro-states, minnows, multi-club ownership, non-league, outsiders, play-offs, promotion, relegation, sports washing, stories, ultras, unbeaten runs, underdogs, winning streaks

Latest episodes

Showing 20 · updated from the feed

Why Europe’s two eligible countries choose not to join UEFA | Monaco & Vatican City

UEFA has not added to its 55 members in a decade – the longest time between new additions since San Marino joined in 1988 – though it has not been for a lack of trying.

Oct 22
23 min

What if Bolivia hosted the World Cup? (At 4,000 metres altitude!)

By 2030, half of CONMEBOL’s 10 members will have hosted a World Cup match. But the likes of Bolivia, Ecuador and Peru are unlikely to ever follow suit – in large part due

Oct 20
29 min

B-teams in La Liga 2: Problem or catalyst for Spain’s 2026 World Cup win?

Real Sociedad were in action in Vigo last weekend – not in La Liga but in La Liga 2, in what is currently the only fixture between two B-teams in Spain’s second tier. Th

Oct 16
29 min

How Albanian giants Skenderbeu earned UEFA’s longest-ever ban (10 years!!!)

Almost a decade ago, a scandal shook Albanian football as Skenderbeu were found guilty of match-fixing on an unprecedented scale and banned by UEFA for 10 years. It is t

Oct 14
31 min

How Hispaniola’s first football derby in 13 years sparked a diplomatic backlash

Relations on the Caribbean island of Hispaniola, which is shared by Haiti in the west and the Dominican Republic in the east, are already fraught enough. But tensions we

Oct 8
25 min

India & China: Why the world’s two largest countries are football's biggest underachievers

With a combined 2.9 billion inhabitants, India and China are the world’s largest countries. Yet both of them underachieve spectacularly when it comes to international foo

Oct 6
25 min

Why UEFA rejected Ireland’s request to avoid Israel in draws – and could that change?

Ireland last year joined Türkiye and Norway in calling for the suspension of Israel’s UEFA membership for what the United Nations has termed genocide against Palestinians

Oct 1
22 min

What are the world’s biggest leagues that don't stop for the international break?

Die-hard club football fans love to grumble about the international window, especially now that it has been extended as part of FIFA’s new-look calendar. But it is a myt

Sep 29
20 min

Why South Korea’s military club Gimcheon Sangmu will be relegated (even if they finish top)

South Korea’s Gimcheon Sangmu are one of the most curious clubs in world football, with players only allowed to stay for 18 months while they complete their military serv

Sep 25
26 min

How does Portugal’s geography & history explain the big three | Benfica, Sporting & Porto

There have been 92 editions of the Portuguese Primeira Liga to date. Only two of them have been won by clubs other than Benfica, Sporting and Porto. A whopping 95% of fo

Sep 22
23 min

Ugandan king? Why a 9th-tier goalkeeper turned down the throne

There is a lot to love about the English non-leagues, but it will be hard to top the sensational story that emerged about SE Dons goalie George Desmond Kamurasi last week

Sep 17
25 min

What if the English FA Cup included British Overseas Territories?

The English FA Cup is the oldest and most storied domestic football competition in the world. But it is not the most inclusive. The Coupe de France comfortably takes that

Sep 15
26 min

Osnabrück’s moving rollercoaster: How fans built football’s best-ever tifo

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Sep 10
22 min

The African club bringing the Champions League to the Sahara Desert | JS Saoura

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Sep 8
24 min

From the 9th tier and ‘Who Wants To Be A Millionaire’ to the UCL | Valdas Dambrauskas

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Sep 1
38 min

109 games unbeaten! How Johor Darul Ta’zim broke the Guinness World Record

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